Romans 4

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Abraham Justified by Faith

¹What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has discovered?

¹What then will we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found?

²If Abraham was indeed justified by works, he had something to boast about, but not before God.

²For if Abraham was justified by works, he has a ground of boasting, but not before God.

³For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”^a

³For what does the Scripture say? “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.”

⁴Now the wages of the worker are not credited as a gift, but as an obligation.

⁴Now to the one working, the wage is not reckoned according to grace, but according to debt.

⁵However, to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness.

⁵But to the one not working but believing on the One justifying the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness,

⁶And David speaks likewise of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

⁶just as David also declares the blessedness of the man to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works:

⁷“Blessed are they whose lawless acts are forgiven,

whose sins are covered.

⁷“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered;

⁸Blessed is the man

whose sin the Lord will never count against him.”^a

⁸blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall never reckon sin.”

⁹Is this blessing only on the circumcised, or also on the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness.

⁹Is this blessedness, then, on the circumcision, or also on the uncircumcision? For we are saying faith was reckoned to Abraham as righteousness.

¹⁰In what context was it credited? Was it after his circumcision, or before? It was not after, but before.^a

¹⁰How then was it reckoned—being in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.

¹¹And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but are not circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them.

¹¹And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith that he had while in the uncircumcision, for him to be father of all those believing through uncircumcision, for the righteousness to be reckoned also to them,

¹²And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised, but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

¹²and father of circumcision to those not only of circumcision, but also to those walking in the footsteps of the faith of our father Abraham in uncircumcision.

Abraham Receives the Promise

¹³For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world was not given through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.

¹³For not through law was the promise to Abraham or his seed for him to be heir of the world, but through the righteousness of faith.

¹⁴For if those who live by the law are heirs, faith is useless and the promise is worthless,

¹⁴For if those of the law are heirs, faith has been made void and the promise has been nullified.

¹⁵because the law brings wrath. And where there is no law, there is no transgression.

¹⁵For the law brings about wrath; and where there is no law, neither is there transgression.

¹⁶Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may rest on grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.

¹⁶Because of this it is of faith, so that it may be according to grace for the promise to be sure to all the seed, not only to that of the law, but also to that of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all

¹⁷As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.”^a He is our father in the presence of God, in whom he believed, the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being what does not yet exist.

¹⁷(as it has been written: “A father of many nations I have set you”) before Him whom he believed—God, the One making alive the dead and calling existing the things not as existing—

¹⁸Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.”^a

¹⁸who against hope in hope believed, for him to become the father of many nations, according to that having been spoken, “So will your seed be.”

¹⁹Without weakening in his faith, he acknowledged the decrepitness of his body (since he was about a hundred years old) and the lifelessness of Sarah’s womb.

¹⁹And not having become weak in the faith, he considered his body already having become dead, being about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb.

²⁰Yet he did not waver through disbelief in the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God,

²⁰Yet he did not doubt in unbelief in the promise of God, but was empowered in faith, having given glory to God,

²¹being fully persuaded that God was able to do what He had promised.

²¹and having been fully assured that what He has promised, He is also able to do.

²²This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.”^a

²²Therefore also “it was reckoned to him as righteousness.”

²³Now the words “it was credited to him” were written not only for Abraham,

²³Now it was not written because of him alone that “it was reckoned to him,”

²⁴but also for us, to whom righteousness will be credited—for us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.

²⁴but also because of us, to whom it is about to be reckoned, to those believing on the One having raised Jesus our Lord out from the dead,

²⁵He was delivered over to death for our trespasses and was raised to life for our justification.

²⁵who was delivered over because of our trespasses, and was raised because of our justification.