ROM 2:29 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: light-green:nominative/subject, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object, red:negative.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT but the Jew in secret is, and circumcision is of the heart in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose the praise is not from men but from God.

UST Rather, a true Jew is one by means of something that people cannot see. True circumcision happens in a person’s mind and the Holy Spirit does it. Obeying the written rules God gave the Jews cannot do it. God commends a true Jew, but other people do not.

BLB But he who is a Jew is one on the inside; and circumcision is of heart, in spirit, not in letter, of whom the praise is not of men, but of God.

AICNT But the one in the hidden place is a Jew, and circumcision is of the heart, in spirit not in letter, whose praise is not from men but from God.

OEB and the real circumcision is the circumcision of the heart, a spiritual and not a literal thing. Such a person wins praise from God, though not from people.

WEBBE but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men, but from God.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET but someone is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart by the Spirit and not by the written code. This person’s praise is not from people but from God.

LSV but a Jew [is] he who is [so] inwardly, and circumcision [is] of the heart, in spirit, not in letter, of which the praise is not of men, but of God.

FBV What makes you a Jew is on the inside, a “circumcision of the heart” that doesn't follow the letter of the law but the Spirit. Someone like that is looking for praise from God, not from people.

TCNT but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. Such a man's praise comes not from men but from God.

T4T On the contrary, we whom God has changed inwardly are true Jews [MTY]. And God has accepted us because we have allowed God’s Spirit to change our hearts, not because we perform rituals. Even if other people will not praise us for that change, God will praise us.

LEB But the Jew _⌊is one inwardly_⌋[fn], and circumcision is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter, whose praise is not from people but from God.

2:29 Literally “in secret”

BBE But he is a Jew who is a secret one, whose circumcision is of the heart, in the spirit and not in the letter; whose praise is not from men, but from God.

Moff he is a Jew who is one inwardly,
⇔ and circumcision is a matter of the heart, spiritual not literal — praised by God, not by man.

Wymth But the true Jew is one inwardly, and true circumcision is heart-circumcision—not literal, but spiritual; and such people receive praise not from men, but from God.
¶ 

ASV but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

DRA But he is a Jew, that is one inwardly; and the circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

YLT but a Jew [is] he who is [so] inwardly, and circumcision [is] of the heart, in spirit, not in letter, of which the praise is not of men, but of God.

Drby but he [is] a Jew [who is so] inwardly; and circumcision, of the heart, in spirit, not in letter; whose praise [is] not of men, but of [fn]God.

2.29 Elohim

RV but he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

SLT But he in concealment, a Jew; and circumcision of the heart, in spirit, not in letter; whose approbation not of man, but of God.

Wbstr But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not from men, but from God.

KJB-1769 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

KJB-1611 But he is a Iew which is one inwardly, and Circumcision is, that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise is not of men, but of God.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation and punctuation)

Bshps But he is a Iewe whiche is one inwardly, and the circumcisio of ye heart, which consisteth in the spirite, and not in the letter is circumcision whose prayse is not of men, but of God.
(But he is a Yewe which is one inwardly, and the circumcisio of ye/you_all heart, which consisteth in the spirit, and not in the letter is circumcision whose praise is not of men, but of God.)

Gnva But he is a Iewe which is one within, and the circumcision is of the heart, in the spirite not in the letter, whose praise is not of men, but of God.
(But he is a Yewe which is one within, and the circumcision is of the heart, in the spirit not in the letter, whose praise is not of men, but of God. )

Cvdl But he is a Iewe, which is hydd within. And the circumcision of ye hert is the circumcision, which is done in the sprete and not in the letter: Whoseprayse is not of men, but of God.
(But he is a Yewe, which is hydd within. And the circumcision of ye/you_all heart is the circumcision, which is done in the spirit and not in the letter: Whosepraise is not of men, but of God.)

TNT But he is a Iewe which is hid wythin and the circucisio of the herte is the true circumcision which is in the sprete and not in the letter whose prayse is not of men but of god.
(But he is a Yewe which is hid wythin and the circucisio of the heart is the true circumcision which is in the spirit and not in the letter whose praise is not of men but of god. )

Wycl but he that is a Jew in hid, and the circumcisioun of herte, in spirit, not bi the lettre, whos preisyng is not of men, but of God.
(but he that is a Yew in hid, and the circumcision of heart, in spirit, not by the lettre, whose praising is not of men, but of God.)

Luth sondern das ist ein Jude, der inwendig verborgen ist, und die Beschneidung des Herzens ist eine Beschneidung, die im Geist und nicht im Buchstaben geschieht, welches Lob ist nicht aus Menschen, sondern aus GOtt
(rather the is a Yude, the/of_the inside hidden/concealed is, and the Beschneidung the heart is a/one Beschneidung, the in_the spirit and not in_the letters happens/occurs, which Lob is not out_of people, rather out_of God)

ClVg sed qui in abscondito, Judæus est: et circumcisio cordis in spiritu, non littera: cujus laus non ex hominibus, sed ex Deo est.[fn]
(but who/which in/into/on secretly, Yudahus it_is: and circumcision of_the_heart in/into/on in_spirit, not/no letter: whose praise not/no from to_humans, but from to_God it_is. )

2.29 Circumcisio cordis. ORIG. Est quæ purificat animam, et vitiorum maculas abscindit. Cujus laus. AMBR. Laudat Deus credentem, etc., usque ad quod coram hominibus apparebat in opere. Non ex hominibus. AUG. Circumcisionem autem cordis dicit, puram scilicet ab omni illicita concupiscentia voluntatem: quod non fit littera docente et minante, sed spiritu adjuvante atque sanante.

2.29 Circumcisio of_the_heart. ORIG. It_is which purificat the_soul, and of_vices blemish/stains abscindit. Cuyus praise. AMBR. Praiset God they_will_believeem, etc., until to that before to_humans apparebat in/into/on by_work. Not/No from to_humans. AUG. Circumcisionem however of_the_heart he_says, pure namely away all thereita desire will: that not/no fit letter teache and minante, but in_spirit assistede and_yet healthynte.

UGNT ἀλλ’ ὁ ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ Ἰουδαῖος; καὶ περιτομὴ καρδίας, ἐν Πνεύματι, οὐ γράμματι; οὗ ὁ ἔπαινος οὐκ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων, ἀλλ’ ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ.
(all’ ho en tōi kruptōi Youdaios; kai peritomaʸ kardias, en Pneumati, ou grammati; hou ho epainos ouk ex anthrōpōn, all’ ek tou Theou.)

SBL-GNT ἀλλʼ ὁ ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ Ἰουδαῖος, καὶ περιτομὴ καρδίας ἐν πνεύματι οὐ γράμματι, οὗ ὁ ἔπαινος οὐκ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ἀλλʼ ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ.
(allʼ ho en tōi kruptōi Youdaios, kai peritomaʸ kardias en pneumati ou grammati, hou ho epainos ouk ex anthrōpōn allʼ ek tou theou.)

RP-GNT ἀλλ' ὁ ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ Ἰουδαῖος, καὶ περιτομὴ καρδίας ἐν πνεύματι, οὐ γράμματι· οὗ ὁ ἔπαινος οὐκ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων, ἀλλ' ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ.
(all' ho en tōi kruptōi Youdaios, kai peritomaʸ kardias en pneumati, ou grammati; hou ho epainos ouk ex anthrōpōn, all' ek tou theou.)

TC-GNT ἀλλ᾽ ὁ ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ Ἰουδαῖος, καὶ περιτομὴ καρδίας ἐν πνεύματι, οὐ γράμματι· οὗ ὁ ἔπαινος οὐκ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων, ἀλλ᾽ ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ.
(all ho en tōi kruptōi Youdaios, kai peritomaʸ kardias en pneumati, ou grammati; hou ho epainos ouk ex anthrōpōn, all ek tou Theou. )

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, orange:accents differ, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 2:17–29: The Jews and the law of Moses

In this section, Paul talked to the Jews about themselves. He continued to use the singular “you,” as in the previous section. This form of teaching is called a “diatribe.” (See Section 2:1–16.)

Using this diatribe, Paul rebuked the Jews because they had the law of Moses but they disobeyed it.

Paul showed them that an outward sign of religion is of no use to people if they did not do what is right. He told them that God praises those whose heart is right with God.

Here are other possible headings for this section:

God praises a changed heart

Truly following God comes from the heart

2:29a

No, a man is a Jew because he is one inwardly,

However, a true/real Jew is someone who thinks in godly ways,
Indeed, the person who is a true Jew must/will think according to God.

No: This word indicates contrast between outward appearances and thoughts. But 2:28 says it is not about outward appearances, and 2:29 says it is about thoughts.

In some languages it is more natural to allow the context to indicate the connection and not translate the conjunction. For example:

True,

Indeed,

a Jew: See the note at 2:28a–29a above.

inwardly: Here this word means “the inner being.” It refers to what a person thinks. Here are other ways to translate this word:

on the inside (GNT)

thoughtsKankanaey Back Translation on TW.

in what is not seen

in what he thinks

2:29b

and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code.

and true circumcision is something that happens in the inner person, by the Holy Spirit and not by the words of the law of Moses.
Similarly, true circumcision occurs in a person’s heart/liver/insides. The Holy Spirit causes it. Following rules does not cause it.

circumcision is a matter of the heart: Here Paul used the word circumcision and heart in a figurative sense. This clause means “the mark of a relationship with God is found in the inner being of a person.” If a person has turned to God, God makes his inner being new and that marks him as having a relationship with God.

In many languages, a literal translation would not have the correct meaning. If that is true in your language, you may want to:

Explain the clause in the text. For example:
circumcision (and here I mean the mark/sign that he is one of God’s people) is a matter of the heart But since you added this implied information in 2:28b, you may not need to repeat it here.
Translate the meaning of “the mark of a relationship with God is found in the inner being of a person” here. You may then want a footnote to indicate the literal word. Here is an example footnote:
Literally “circumcision is a matter of the heart.”
Translate the literal meaning of the clause but explain it here in a footnote. Here is an example footnote:
Here this clause means “the mark of a relationship with God is found in the heart of a person.”

by the Spirit, not by the written code: There are four ways to interpret the word Spirit here:

It refers to the Holy Spirit, as in the BSB. (BSB, ESV, NIV, GNT, NASB, NLT, NET, NCV)
It refers to the intent and purpose of the law of Moses. It contrasts to the letter (the literal words) of that law. For example:
in the spirit, [and] not in the letter (KJV) (KJV, NABRE)
It indicates that this circumcision is spiritual. For example:
spiritual and not literal (RSV) (RSV, GW, CEV, REB)
It refers to a person’s spirit. For example:
a thing not of the letter but of the spirit (NJB) (NJB)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because many scholars support it.Including Moo, Morris, and Schreiner. But Alford and Nicoll present good arguments for interpretation (2).

2:29c

Such a man’s praise does not come from men, but from God.

God praises him, even if no person does.
That person's praise will come from God, not from people. (GW)

Such a man’s praise does not come from men, but from God: This clause refers to the man who has a relationship with God. The Holy Spirit has “circumcised” his heart.

In some languages this clause would refer to the person of the “written code,” because it is the last word of 2:29b. If that is true in your language, you may want to:

Make “Spirit” the last word in 2:29b. For example:
^29band circumcision is a matter of the heart, not by the written code but by the Spirit. ^29cSuch a man’s praise does not come from men, but from God.
Explain the correct meaning in the text. For example:
The man whose circumcision is by the Spirit, such a man’s praise does not come from men, but from God.

praise: This word refers to God commending this person. God says that he has done good and approves him.

Some languages must use a verb here. For example:

God, rather than men, praises such a person.

men: Here this word is general and refers to people. For example:

He may not be praised by any human being, but he will be praised by God. (NJB)

Nobody might praise him, but God praises him.

General Comment on 2:28a–29c

These verses say what a true person of God is not, then says what he is. In some languages it is more natural to say what he is first. For example:

^28–29For a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise does not come from men, but from God. A man is not a Jew because he is one outwardly, nor is circumcision only outward and physical.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ Ἰουδαῖος

on the secret ˓a˒_Jew_‹is›

The word translated secretly refers to something that other people cannot see or that is hidden. The meaning here is the opposite of “visibly” in the previous verse. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: [a Jew in an inward way not seen by others]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

Ἰουδαῖος

˓a˒_Jew_‹is›

Here Paul uses Jew in the same way he did in the previous verse. See how you translated this word in the previous verse.

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

περιτομὴ καρδίας

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἀλλʼ ὁ ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ Ἰουδαῖος καί περιτομή καρδίας ἐν Πνεύματι οὒ γράμματι οὗ ὁ ἔπαινος οὐκ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ἀλλʼ ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ)

Paul is using the possessive form to describe a circumcision that is performed in the heart. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a different expression. Alternate translation: [circumcision is performed in the heart] or [circumcision is an inward change]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

περιτομὴ καρδίας

The phrase circumcision of the heart is an idiom that refers to the change in thinking and attitude that happens when God saves a person. It can also be considered an inward mark of belonging to God’s people, just as circumcision was an outer mark of being Jewish. This expression first occurred in the Old Testament ([Deuteronomy 30:6](../deu/30/06.md); [Jeremiah 4:4](../jer/04/04.md)). If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent idiom or use plain language. See how you translated “this circumcision” in the previous verse. Alternate translation: [truly belongs to God’s people by removal of sin]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

καρδίας

˱of˲_heart

See how you translated this word in [1:21](../01/21.md).

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ἐν Πνεύματι, οὐ γράμματι

on by ˓the˒_Spirit (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἀλλʼ ὁ ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ Ἰουδαῖος καί περιτομή καρδίας ἐν Πνεύματι οὒ γράμματι οὗ ὁ ἔπαινος οὐκ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ἀλλʼ ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ)

Here, both occurrences of in indicate the means by which something happened. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: [by means of the Spirit, not by means of the letter]

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ἐν Πνεύματι

on by ˓the˒_Spirit

Here, the Spirit could refer to: (1) the Holy Spirit, who changes a person’s thoughts and attitude when God saves that person, as in the UST. (2) a person’s spirit, which would require interpreting in to refer to a place. Alternate translation: [in one’s spirit]

Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

γράμματι

˱by˲_˓the˒_letter

See how you translated letter in [2:27](../02/27.md).

Note 9 topic: writing-pronouns

οὗ ὁ ἔπαινος

˱of˲_whom the praise

The pronoun whose refers to the one who is inwardly a Jew. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: [that inward Jew’s praise]

Note 10 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

οὗ ὁ ἔπαινος

˱of˲_whom the praise

Paul is using the possessive form whose to indicate who receives the praise. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a different expression. Alternate translation: [his praise]

Note 11 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations

ἐξ ἀνθρώπων

of humans

Although the term men is masculine, Paul is using the word here in a generic sense that includes both men and women. Alternate translation: [from people]

Parallel ROM 2:29

Section 2:17–29: The Jews and the law of Moses

2:29a

2:29b

2:29c

General Comment on 2:28a–29c