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.
Parallel Translations
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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.
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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.
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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.
Cross-references (24)
Passages linked to Romans 2:29 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Deuteronomy 30:6 Yahweh your God will circumcise your heart, and the heart of your offspring, to love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.
- Philippians 3:3 For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh;
- Deuteronomy 10:16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiff-necked.
- Colossians 2:11-12 In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, in the putting off of the body of the sins of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.
- Jeremiah 4:4 Circumcise yourselves to Yahweh, and take away the foreskins of your heart, you men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest my wrath go out like fire, and burn so that no one can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
- 1 Thessalonians 2:4 But even as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News, so we speak: not as pleasing men, but God, who tests our hearts.
- 1 Corinthians 4:5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each man will get his praise from God.
- 2 Corinthians 10:18 For it isn’t he who commends himself who is approved, but whom the Lord commends.
- 1 Peter 3:4 but in the hidden person of the heart, in the incorruptible adornment of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.
- Romans 7:6 But now we have been discharged from the law, having died to that in which we were held; so that we serve in newness of the spirit, and not in oldness of the letter.
- Romans 2:27 Won’t the uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfills the law, judge you, who with the letter and circumcision are a transgressor of the law?
- 1 Chronicles 29:17 I know also, my God, that you try the heart, and have pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things. Now I have seen with joy your people, who are present here, offer willingly to you.
- Jeremiah 4:14 Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness, that you may be saved. How long will your evil thoughts lodge within you?
- Luke 11:39 The Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the platter, but your inward part is full of extortion and wickedness.
- John 5:44 How can you believe, who receive glory from one another, and you don’t seek the glory that comes from the only God?
- John 12:43 for they loved men’s praise more than God’s praise.
- Romans 14:17 for God’s Kingdom is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
- 2 Corinthians 3:6 who also made us sufficient as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
- 1 Samuel 16:7 But Yahweh said to Samuel, “Don’t look on his face, or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for I don’t see as man sees. For man looks at the outward appearance, but Yahweh looks at the heart.”
- Matthew 23:25-28 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and unrighteousness. You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the platter, that its outside may become clean also. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitened tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
- Luke 17:21 neither will they say, ‘Look, here!’ or, ‘Look, there!’ for behold, God’s Kingdom is within you.”
- John 3:5-8 Jesus answered, “Most certainly I tell you, unless one is born of water and spirit, he can’t enter into God’s Kingdom. That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Don’t marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born anew.’ The wind blows where it wants to, and you hear its sound, but don’t know where it comes from and where it is going. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
- John 4:23 But the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such to be his worshipers.
- Psalms 45:13 The princess inside is all glorious. Her clothing is interwoven with gold.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 29. What he then adds, in the spirit, not…
29. What he then adds, in the spirit, not in the letter, understand thus: He calls the outward rite, without piety, the letter, and the spiritual design of this rite, the spirit; for the whole importance of signs and rites depends on what is designed; when the end in view is not regarded, the letter alone remains, which in itself is useless. And the reason for this mode of speaking is this, — where the voice of God sounds, all that he commands, except it be received by men in sincerity of heart, will remain in the letter, that is, in the dead writing; but when it penetrates into the heart, it is in a manner transformed into spirit. And there is an allusion to the difference between the old and the new covenant, which Jeremiah points out in Jeremiah 31:33; where the Lord declares that his covenant would be firm and permanent when engraven on the inward parts. Paul had also the same thing in view in another place, (2 Corinthians 3:6,) where he compares the law with the gospel, and calls the former “the letter,” which is not only dead but killeth; and the latter he signalizes with the title of “spirit.” But extremly gross has been the folly of those who have deduced a double meaning from the “letter,” and allegories from the “spirit.”
Whose praise is not from men, etc. As men fix their eyes only on those things which are visible, he denies that we ought to be satisfied with what is commendable in the estimation of men, who are often deceived by outward splendor; but that we ought to be satisfied with the all-seeing eyes of God, from which the deepest secrets of the heart are not hid. He thus again summons hypocrites, who soothe themselves with false opinions, to the tribunal of God.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Whose force is inward, and in the heart.
Whose force is inward, and in the heart.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 29 But he is a Jew, which is one…
29 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.
Ver. 29. Which is one inwardly] An Israelite indeed, Joh 1:47, that hath put away the foreskin of his heart, Jer 4:4. That worshippeth God in spirit, rejoiceth in Christ Jesus, and hath no confidence in the flesh, Php 3:3.
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Whose praise is not] He seeks not the applause of men, but God’s approbation; and holds the Euge well done of conscience far better than the world’s Hic est. Here is. The holy virgin was so far from affecting the vain praises of men, that she was troubled when truly praised of an angel.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain He is a right and true Jew, an Israelite…
He is a right and true Jew, an Israelite indeed, that hath taken away the foreskin of his heart, Jer 4:4; that is cleansed from all corrupt affections, and hath laid aside all superfluity of naughtiness; that worshippeth God in the Spirit, rejoiceth in Christ Jesus, and hath no confidence in the flesh. Such are the circumcision and Jews indeed: see Phi 3:3.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain But he is a Jew - That is, one…
But he is a Jew - That is, one of God's people. Who is one inwardly - In the secret recesses of his soul. And the acceptable circumcision is that of the heart - Referring to Deut. xxx, 6; the putting away all inward impurity. This is seated in the spirit, the inmost soul, renewed by the Spirit of God. And not in the letter - Not in the external ceremony. Whose praise is not from men, but from God - The only searcher of the heart.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 29. But he is a Jew] A true…
Verse 29. But he is a Jew] A true member of the Church of God.
Which is one inwardly] Who has his heart purified, according to what God has uniformly prescribed by his prophets; see above: for circumcision is of the heart, in the spirit, εν πνευματι by the Spirit of God, who is the author of all spiritual affections and holy purposes: or, every thing here is to be understood spiritually, and not literally; for without holiness none can please God, and without holiness none can see him.
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Whose praise is not of men] It has, with great probability, been conjectured that the apostle may here refer to the signification of the name Jew, or Judah, יהודה Yehudah, PRAISE, from ידה Yadah, he PRAISED. Such a one is a true Israelite, who walks in a conformity to the spirit of his religion: his countrymen may praise him because he is a steady professor of the Jewish faith; but GOD praises him, because he has entered into the spirit and design of the covenant made with Abraham, and has got the end of his faith, the salvation of his soul. Sentiments like these, on the same subject, may be found in the ancient Jewish writers. Rabbi Lipman gives the opinion of their most ancient and pure writers in these words:-"A certain Christian mocked us, saying, 'Women, who cannot be circumcised, cannot be reckoned among Jews.' Such persons are ignorant that faith does not consist in circumcision, but in the heart. He who has not genuine faith is not a partaker of the Jewish circumcision; but he who has genuine faith is a Jew, although not circumcised." NIZZACHON, Num. 21, p. 19. It is a curious maxim of the Talmudists, That the Jews sit in the inmost recesses of the heart. NIDDA, fol. 20, 2. This is exactly the sentiment of St. Paul: Circumcision is of the heart, in the spirit. In short, common sense, as well as their law and their prophets, taught every considerate man among them that God could be pleased with their rites and external performances no farther than they led to holiness of heart and righteousness of life.
1. WHAT the apostle says, in the preceding chapter, concerning the Gentiles doing by nature the things contained in the law, if properly considered, would lead certain persons from forming erroneous judgments concerning the Divine dispensations. We are not to suppose that God is not to be found where his written word does not appear; nor that the salvation of the nations yet unblessed with the light of the Gospel is impossible. God has never confined himself to any one particular way of communicating his salvation, any more than he has confined his saving grace to one people. His word is an indescribable blessing; but that word becomes effectual to salvation when accompanied by the power of the Holy Spirit. It was that Spirit which gave the word originally; and that same Spirit can speak without this word. It is through his influence alone that the Gentiles do the things contained in his own law; and it is not to be wondered at that the work is the same, both in the law and in the heart, when it has proceeded from the same Spirit.
2. God therefore will judge all nations according to the use and abuse they have made of this word, whether it was written in the heart, or written on tables of stone.
3. As he is no respecter of persons, all nations are equally dear to him; and he has granted and will grant to them such discoveries of himself as have been and will be sufficient for their salvation.
4. His WORD is an infinite blessing; and he has given it to one people that they may be the means of conveying it to another. Europe, and especially Christian Europe, has got the BIBLE; and God requires Europe to send the Bible throughout the earth. If this be not done, through their neglect, the Gentile nations will not be destroyed by a merciful God; yet the Europeans will have a most solemn and awful account to render to their Judge, that they have hidden the heavenly light under their own bushel. BRITAIN is shaking herself from the dust, and, by means of the BRITISH and FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY, is sending the holy Scriptures to every kingdom, and nation, and people, and tongue. The Gentiles are now learning from the written law more fully and savingly what the Spirit of God had before written on their hearts; and it seems as if the kingdom of God were now about to come with all-conquering power.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain But he is a Jew - He comes up…
But he is a Jew - He comes up to the design of the Jewish institution; he manifests truly what it is to be a Jew.
Which is one inwardly - Who is “in heart” a Jew. Who has the true spirit, and fulfils the design of their being separated as a special people. This passage proves that the design of separating them was not merely to perform certain external rites, or to conform to external observances, but to be a people holy in heart and in life. It cannot be denied that this design was not generally understood in the time of the apostles; but it was abundantly declared in the Old Testament: Deu 6:5; Deu 10:12-13, Deu 10:20; Deu 30:14; Isa 1:11-20; Mic 6:8; Psa 51:16-17; 50:7-23.
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And circumcision is that of the heart - That is, that circumcision which is acceptable to God. and which meets the design of the institution, is what is attended with holiness of heart; with the cutting off of sins; and with a pure life. The design of circumcision was to be a sign of separation from the pagan world, and of consecration to the holy God. And this design implied the renunciation and forsaking of all sins; or the cutting off of everything that was offensive to God. This was a work especially of the heart. This design was often stated and enforced in the writings of the Old Testament; Deu 10:16, “Circumcise, therefore, the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiff-necked;” Jer 4:4; Deu 30:6.
In the spirit - This is an expression explaining further what he had just said. It does not mean by the Holy Spirit, but that the work was to take place in the soul, and not in the body only. It was to be an internal, spiritual work, and not merely an external service.
And not in the letter - That is, not only according to the literal, external command,
Whose praise ... - Whose object is not to secure the praise of human beings. One of the main characteristics of the Jews in the time of Christ was, a desire to secure honor among men, as being exactly scrupulous in the performance of all the duties of their religion. They prided themselves on their descent from Abraham, and on their regular conformity to the precepts of the Law of Moses; Mat 3:9; Mat 6:2, Mat 6:5; Luk 18:10-12; Mat 23:23.
But of God - “Man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart;” 1Sa 16:7. The praise of God can be bestowed only on those who conform really, and not externally only, to his requirements.
The remarks which are made here respecting the Jews, are also strictly applicable to professing Christians, and we may learn,
That the external rites of religion are of much less importance than the state of the heart. That the only value of those rites is to promote holiness of heart and life. That the mere fact that we are born of pious ancestors will not save us. That the fact that we were dedicated to God in baptism will not save us. That a mere profession of religion, however orthodox may be our creed, will not save us. That the estimate which people may put on our piety is not the proper measure of our true character and standing. It is an inexpressible privilege to be in possession of the Word of God, and to know our duty. It may, if improved, conduce to our elevation in holiness and happiness here, and to our eternal felicity hereafter. It is also a fearful thing to neglect the privileges which we enjoy. We shall be judged according to the light which we have; and it will be an awful event to go to eternity from a Christian land unprepared. Whatever may be the destiny of the pagan, it is our duty to make preparation to meet God. The most wicked of the pagan may meet a far milder doom than many who are externally moral, or who profess religion in Christian lands. Instead, therefore, of speculating on what may be their destiny, it is the duty of every individual to be at peace himself with God, and to flee from the wrath to come.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 29. Of the heart—Circumcision is a symbol of purification.…
29. Of the heart—Circumcision is a symbol of purification. It shadows the cutting and severing all sensuality from the spiritual man. Hence even the Old Testament speaks of a circumcision of the heart, Deu_10:16; Jer_4:4. Purification, indicated in the Old Testament under the severe rite of cutting off, is signified in the New by the gentle rite of baptism.
A Jewish writer soon after the Christian era says: “The Christian taunts us, saying, ‘Your women not being circumcised, are Gentiles.’ But they are ignorant that faith lies not in circumcision, but in the heart. Whoever rightly believes not, circumcision cannot make a Jew; whoso rightly believes, uncircumcision does not prevent from being Jew.” Perhaps this Rabbi had read St. Paul to advantage. One of the tracts of the Talmud says, “The Jew sits in the interior of the heart.”
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Not of men—Who set great estimate on material matters.
Of God—Who is himself Spirit, and looks for purity in the finite spirit.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 29. inwardly] Lit. in that which is hidden, in…
29. inwardly] Lit. in that which is hidden, in secret; same word as Mat_6:4, &c. Just above, “outwardly” is lit. in that which is open. The contrast is between an external seal on the body and an internal change in the soul. See 1Pe_3:4 for an illustrative phrase, “the hidden man of the heart.”
in the spirit, and not in the letter] The same contrast appears Rom_7:6, and 2Co_3:6-8. Here practically the contrasted things are, (1) circumcision, a literal act done on the body; (2) that state of the soul, the result of a change spiritual and unseen, of which circumcision was a symbol. “In” this latter, in respect of it, in relation to it, the pious Gentile was “circumcised.” See further below on Rom_7:6.
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whose praise] “Whose” refers to the man. The “praise” of such a “Jew in the hidden man,” his commendation as a true son of Abraham, may be refused by the Pharisees, but will be given by God when He gathers His Israel in. The whole two verses (28, 29) are more exactly rendered thus: For not the outwardly-sealed Jew is a Jew, and not the circumcision outwardly wrought in the flesh is circumcision; but the inwardly-sealed Jew, and the circumcision of the heart in spirit, not in letter; of whom the praise is not from men, but from God.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 29. But he is a Jew, such a Jew…
29. But he is a Jew, such a Jew as just described, who is one inwardly, whose heart is given to God; and circumcision is that of the heart. Circumcision of the heart is a figurative expression for inward purity, as old as the book of Deuteronomy. See Deut. 10:16, and 30:6; also Jer. 9:26. This circumcision is not an outward mark in the flesh of the body, but is in the spirit. The spirit of man is under the influence of the Spirit. Not in the letter. Not literal. Whose praise is not of men. The Jew, as we have seen, made his boasts, and praised his privileges, but though the true Jew, such as Paul describes, shall be ill-spoken of by men, but shall have praise of God. The whole section shows that religious privileges, resulting from birth, the revelation of God's will, ritual observances and knowledge, increase the guilt of those whose morality does not correspond. The Jews, especially the Pharisees, were very eager for the praise of men, but the true Jew, the real child of Abraham's by faith, will have what is infinitely better, the praise of God.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain 29. “But he is a Jew who is one…
29. “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 of men but of God.” This beautiful and momentous affirmation of the Holy Ghost modernized would read: “He is no Christian who is one outwardly; neither is baptism that which is outward on the flesh: but he is a Christian who is one inwardly, and baptism is that of the heart in the spirit and not in the letter whose praise is not of men but of God.” From these Scriptures we see most unequivocally the pure spirituality of the gracious economy; no mere temporality like water baptism, eucharist or church rites having anything to do with it. When your heart and life are right in the sight of God, you are all right every way without the slightest reference to the external marks of a Christian profession. When I was a boy my father marked his sheep by cutting their ears. Now it is customary simply to mark them with paint. So God marked His sheep during the former dispensation by circumcision, a bloody and painful operation. Nowadays He marks them by the simple rite of water baptism, the recognition perpetuated in the eucharist received ever and anon. Yet this marking never did make a sheep. Neither do the ordinances have anything to do with making Christians, any more than cutting the ears or branding with paint has to do with making sheep. God makes the sheep and the people mark them. So God makes the Christian and the preacher marks him. The sheep unmarked is worth quite as much as after he has received the mark. So is the true Christian in the divine estimation worth as much without the mark as with it. Satan is always putting God’s sheep-mark on his hogs, covering them with sheepskins and passing them for sheep. They are readily detected, because they plunge into the first mud-hole they come to, perfectly delighted to wallow in the mire; whereas a sheep will actually die before it will pollute itself in the mud.
Shall we never wake up to the fond trickery of the devil, fooling the poor, blind, carnal people by the wholesale, bamboozling them with the nonsensical delusion that the Christian religion consists in outward ordinances, external manifestations, shams and hoaxes? These Scriptures clearly reveal not only the utter emptiness of all external forms, ceremonies and professions, uncorroborated by the internal spiritual transformation wrought by the Holy Ghost in the heart; but the awful reality that all of these things will only expedite the condemnation in the Judgment Day and augment the damnation in eternity.
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain but he is a Jew who is one inwardly;…
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 . [He is not a Jew in God's sight (though he is, of course, such in the sight of the world) who is simply one without; i. e., by being properly born of Jewish parents, nor is that a circumcision in God's sight (though it is in the sight of the world) which is merely fleshly. But he is the real, divinely accepted Jew who is one within; i. e., who has in him the spirit of Abraham and the fathers in whom God delighted ( Joh_1:47 ). His life may be hid from men, so that they may see nothing in him to praise, but it is praiseworthy in the sight of God, and circumcision is not that outward compliance with the letter of the law--literal circumcision--but that inward spiritual compliance with the true meaning of circumcision, the cutting off of all things that are impure and unholy, and that make the heart unworthy of an acceptance into the household of God.]
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain in the spirit
in the spirit
(See Scofield "Rom 7:6").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 2:29 The letter of the law refers to the…
2:29 The letter of the law refers to the law of God written on tablets of stone (see 2 Cor 3:3), while the Spirit now writes his law on people’s hearts (Jer 31:33-34). Outward conformity is thus contrasted with obedience motivated by a change of heart.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.