Romans 4:11–18

^11cHe received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was ^dto make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, ¹²and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

The Promise Realized Through Faith

¹³For ^ethe promise to Abraham and his offspring ^fthat he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. ^14gFor if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. ¹⁵For ^hthe law brings wrath, but ⁱwhere there is no law ^jthere is no transgression.

¹⁶That is why it depends on faith, ^kin order that the promise may rest on grace and ^lbe guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, ^mwho is the father of us all, ¹⁷as it is written, ⁿ“I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, ^owho gives life to the dead and calls into existence ^pthe things that do not exist. ¹⁸In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, ^q“So shall your offspring be.”