Romans 4:10

THE MESSAGE

Now think: Was that declaration made before or after he was marked by the covenant rite of circumcision? That's right, before he was marked. That means that he underwent circumcision as evidence and confirmation of what God had done long before to bring him into this acceptable standing with himself, an act of God he had embraced with his whole life.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
In what way then was it credited—while he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? It was not while he was circumcised, but uncircumcised.

King James Version (1611)
How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in vncircumcision? not in circumcision, but in vncircumcision.

King James Version
How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.

English Standard Version
How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised.

New American Standard Bible
How then was it credited? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised;

New Century Version
So how did this happen? Did God accept Abraham before or after he was circumcised? It was before his circumcision.

Amplified Bible
How then was it credited [to him]? Was it after he had been circumcised, or before? Not after, but while [he was] uncircumcised.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
How then was it credited? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised;

Legacy Standard Bible
How then was it counted? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised;

Berean Standard Bible
In what context was it credited? Was it after his circumcision, or before? It was not after, but before.

Contemporary English Version
But when did this happen? Was it before or after Abraham was circumcised? Of course, it was before.

Complete Jewish Bible
but what state was he in when it was so credited — circumcision or uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision!

Darby Translation
How then has it been reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.

Easy-to-Read Version
So how did this happen? Did God accept Abraham before or after he was circumcised? God accepted him before his circumcision.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Howe was it then imputed? when he was circumcised, or vncircumcised? not when he was cricumcised, but when he was vncircumcised.

George Lamsa Translation
How then was it given to him? by means of circumcision, or in uncircumcision? It was not given in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.

Good News Translation
When did this take place? Was it before or after Abraham was circumcised? It was before, not after.

Lexham English Bible
How then was it credited? While he was circumcised or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised but while uncircumcised!

Literal Translation
How then was it counted? Being in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision!

American Standard Version
How then was it reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision:

Bible in Basic English
How, then, was it judged? when he had circumcision, or when he had it not? Not when he had it, but when he did not have it:

Hebrew Names Version
How then was it counted? When he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.

International Standard Version
Under what circumstances was it credited? Was he circumcised or uncircumcised? He had not been circumcised, but was uncircumcised.

Etheridge Translation
When, then, was it reckoned to him ? In circumcision or in uncircumcision ? It was not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.

Murdock Translation
How then was it reckoned to him? In circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Howe was it then reckened? When he was in the circumcision? or whe he was in the vncircumcision? Not in the circumcision: but in vncircumcision.

English Revised Version
How then was it reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision:

World English Bible
How then was it counted? When he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
How was it then imputed? When he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.

Weymouth's New Testament
What then were the circumstances under which this took place? Was it after he had been circumcised, or before?

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Hou thanne was it arettid? in circumcisioun, or in prepucie? Not in circumcisioun, but in prepucie.

Update Bible Version
How then was it reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision:

Webster's Bible Translation
How then was it reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.

New English Translation
How then was it credited to him? Was he circumcised at the time, or not? No, he was not circumcised but uncircumcised!

New King James Version
How then was it accounted? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised.

New Living Translation
But how did this happen? Was he counted as righteous only after he was circumcised, or was it before he was circumcised? Clearly, God accepted Abraham before he was circumcised!

New Life Bible
When did this happen? Was it before or after Abraham went through the religious act of becoming a Jew? It was before.

New Revised Standard
How then was it reckoned to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
How, then, was it reckoned? When he was in circumcision or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision;

Douay-Rheims Bible
How then was it reputed? When he was in circumcision or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.

Revised Standard Version
How then was it reckoned to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised.

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
How was it rekened? in the tyme of circumcision? or in the tyme before he was circumcised? Not in tyme of circucision: but when he was yet vncircumcised.

Young's Literal Translation
how then was it reckoned? he being in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
How was it the rekened vnto him? In the circucision, or in the vncircumcision? Doutles not in the circucision, but in the vncircumcision.

Mace New Testament (1729)
how was it then accounted? whilst he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? he was not then circumcised, but uncircumcised:

Simplified Cowboy Version
But many asked if God said this before or after Abraham's pickle was clipped. Let me tell you. God said it before it happened, not after.

Contextual Overview

¹⁰Now think: Was that declaration made before or after he was marked by the covenant rite of circumcision? That's right, before he was marked. That means that he underwent circumcision as evidence and confirmation of what God had done long before to bring him into this acceptable standing with himself, an act of God he had embraced with his whole life. ¹² And it means further that Abraham is father of all people who embrace what God does for them while they are still on the "outs" with God, as yet unidentified as God's, in an "uncircumcised" condition. It is precisely these people in this condition who are called "set right by God and with God"! Abraham is also, of course, father of those who have undergone the religious rite of circumcision not just because of the ritual but because they were willing to live in the risky faith-embrace of God's action for them, the way Abraham lived long before he was marked by circumcision. ¹³That famous promise God gave Abraham—that he and his children would possess the earth—was not given because of something Abraham did or would do. It was based on God's decision to put everything together for him, which Abraham then entered when he believed. If those who get what God gives them only get it by doing everything they are told to do and filling out all the right forms properly signed, that eliminates personal trust completely and turns the promise into an ironclad contract! That's not a holy promise; that's a business deal. A contract drawn up by a hard-nosed lawyer and with plenty of fine print only makes sure that you will never be able to collect. But if there is no contract in the first place, simply a promise—and God's promise at that—you can't break it. ¹⁶ This is why the fulfillment of God's promise depends entirely on trusting God and his way, and then simply embracing him and what he does. God's promise arrives as pure gift. That's the only way everyone can be sure to get in on it, those who keep the religious traditions and those who have never heard of them. For Abraham is father of us all. He is not our racial father—that's reading the story backward. He is our faith father.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

not in circumcision: "Faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness," at least 14 years before he was circumcised; the former having taken place some time before Ishmael's birth, at which time he was 86 years old, and the other when Ishmael was 13 years of age, and Abraham 99. Genesis 15:5, Genesis 15:6, Genesis 15:16, Genesis 16:1-3, Genesis 17:1, Genesis 17:10, Genesis 17:23-27, 1 Corinthians 7:18, 1 Corinthians 7:19, Galatians 5:6, Galatians 6:15

Reciprocal: Acts 7:8 - the covenant Romans 2:28 - neither Galatians 3:6 - as Colossians 3:11 - there James 2:23 - Abraham

Cross-References

Genesis 3:13
"The serpent seduced me," she said, "and I ate."

Genesis 4:9
God said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" He said, "How should I know? Am I his babysitter?"

Genesis 4:10
God said, "What have you done! The voice of your brother's blood is calling to me from the ground. From now on you'll get nothing but curses from this ground; you'll be driven from this ground that has opened its arms to receive the blood of your murdered brother. You'll farm this ground, but it will no longer give you its best. You'll be a homeless wanderer on Earth."

Genesis 9:5
"But your own lifeblood I will avenge; I will avenge it against both animals and other humans.

Genesis 18:20
God continued, "The cries of the victims in Sodom and Gomorrah are deafening; the sin of those cities is immense. I'm going down to see for myself, see if what they're doing is as bad as it sounds. Then I'll know."

Exodus 3:7
God said, "I've taken a good, long look at the affliction of my people in Egypt. I've heard their cries for deliverance from their slave masters; I know all about their pain. And now I have come down to help them, pry them loose from the grip of Egypt, get them out of that country and bring them to a good land with wide-open spaces, a land lush with milk and honey, the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.

Numbers 35:33
"Don't pollute the land in which you live. Murder pollutes the land. The land can't be cleaned up of the blood of murder except through the blood of the murderer.

Joshua 7:19
Joshua spoke to Achan, "My son, give glory to God , the God of Israel. Make your confession to him. Tell me what you did. Don't keep back anything from me."

Job 16:18
"O Earth, don't cover up the wrong done to me! Don't muffle my cry! There must be Someone in heaven who knows the truth about me, in highest heaven, some Attorney who can clear my name— My Champion, my Friend, while I'm weeping my eyes out before God. I appeal to the One who represents mortals before God as a neighbor stands up for a neighbor. "Only a few years are left before I set out on the road of no return."

Isaiah 5:7
Do you get it? The vineyard of God -of-the-Angel-Armies is the country of Israel. All the men and women of Judah are the garden he was so proud of. He looked for a crop of justice and saw them murdering each other. He looked for a harvest of righteousness and heard only the moans of victims.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

How was it then reckoned?.... The Arabic version adds, "and when"; and the Ethiopic version reads it, "when was Abraham justified?" expressing the sense, not the words of the original text, with which agree the following questions:

when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? that is, was he justified, or his faith reckoned to him for righteousness, when he was a circumcised, or an uncircumcised person?

not in circumcision; or when he was circumcised; for when it was said of him, that "he believed in the Lord", and "he counted it to him for righteousness", Genesis 15:6, he was then uncircumcised, and remained so many years after: for this was before the birth of Ishmael, and Ishmael was "thirteen" years of age when he and his father Abraham were circumcised; so that it must be "fourteen" years, or thereabout, before his circumcision, that this declaration of his being a justified person was made; wherefore the apostle rightly adds,

but in uncircumcision; or whilst an uncircumcised person: hence it clearly appears that circumcision could not be the cause of his justification, since it followed it; and if Abraham when uncircumcised was a justified person, as it is certain he was, why may not uncircumcised Gentiles be justified also? and especially when it is observed, that the covenant made with Abraham when uncircumcised, included the Gentiles; see Genesis 12:3.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

How - In what circumstances, or time.

When he was in circumcision ... - Before or after he was circumcised? This was the very point of the inquiry. For if he was justified by faith after he was circumcised, the Jew might pretend that it was in virtue of his circumcision; that even his faith was acceptable, because he was circumcised. But if it was before he was circumcised, this plea could not be set up; and the argument of the apostle was confirmed by the case of Abraham, the great father and model of the Jewish people, that circumcision and the deeds of the Law did not conduce to justification; and that as Abraham was justified without those works, so might others be, and the pagan, therefore, might be admitted to similar privileges.

Not in circumcision - Not being circumcised, or after he was circumcised, but before. This was the record in the case; Genesis 15:6; Compare Genesis 17:10.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Romans 4:10. How was it then reckoned? — In what circumstances was Abraham when this blessing was bestowed upon him? When he was circumcised, or before?

Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision. — Faith was reckoned to Abraham for justification, as we read Genesis 15:6, (where see the note;) but circumcision was not instituted till about fourteen or fifteen years after, Genesis 17:1, c. for faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness or justification at least one year before Ishmael was born; compare Genesis 15:0, and 16. At Ishmael's birth he was eighty-six years of age, Genesis 16:16; and, at the institution of circumcision, Ishmael was thirteen, and Abraham ninety-nine years old. See Genesis 17:24, Genesis 17:25; and see Dr. Taylor.