Romans 4:1–12

Abraham Justified by Faith

4What then shall we say that ^aAbraham our ^bfather ¹has found according to the flesh? ²For if Abraham was ^cjustified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. ³For what does the Scripture say? ^d“Abraham believed God, and it was ²accounted to him for righteousness.” ⁴Now ^eto him who works, the wages are not counted ³as grace but as debt.

David Celebrates the Same Truth

⁵But to him who ^fdoes not work but believes on Him who justifies ^gthe ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, ⁶just as David also ^hdescribes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works:

⁷“Blessed ⁱare those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,

And whose sins are covered;

⁸Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.”

Abraham Justified Before Circumcision

⁹Does this blessedness then come upon the circumcised only, or upon the uncircumcised also? For we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for righteousness. ¹⁰How then was it accounted? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised. ¹¹And ^jhe received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that ^khe might be the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also, ¹²and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the faith which our father ^lAbraham had while still uncircumcised.