Romans 4:10

Romans 4:10 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.
• New International Version (NIV)Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before!
• English Standard Version (ESV)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 King James Version (NKJV)How then was it accounted? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised.

Context of Romans 4:10

8A person is really happy when the Lord accepts him. The Lord does not think about that person's sin any more.’ 9God does this for all people, both Jews and Gentiles. All people can be really happy like this, when God accepts them. As we have said, Abraham believed God. As a result, God accepted Abraham as right with him. They circumcised Abraham to show that he was a Jew. Think about the time when God accepted Abraham. Did it happen before they circumcised him, or after that? We know that it was before they circumcised him! 11Some time after that, God told Abraham that someone should circumcise him. That would be a mark on his body to show that God had accepted him. God had already accepted Abraham because Abraham believed in him. God did not accept Abraham because they had circumcised him as a Jewish man. This shows that Abraham is like a father to everyone that God has accepted. Like Abraham, God has accepted them because they have believed in him. It is not important that nobody has circumcised them. 12But Abraham is also like the father of all Jews who believe in God. Someone has circumcised those Jews, but they have copied Abraham's example. They have believed in God, as Abraham believed before anyone had circumcised him.

Romans 4:10 word by word

πῶς οὖν ἐλογίσθη; ἐν περιτομῇ ὄντι ἢ ἐν ἀκροβυστίᾳ; οὐκ ἐν περιτομῇ ἀλλ᾽ ἐν ἀκροβυστίᾳ·Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Howπῶςpōs · how?!G4459
• was itλογίζομαιlogizomai · to countG3049
• thenοὖνoun · therefore/thenG3767
• when he wasεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• circumcisionπεριτομήperitomē · circumcisionG4061
• orἤē · orG2228
• uncircumcisionἀκροβυστίαakrobustia · uncircumcisionG203
• Notοὐou · noG3756
• butἀλλάalla · butG235

Cross-references for Romans 4:10

• Genesis 15:5The Lord took Abram outside. He said to Abram, ‘Look up at the sky. Count the stars. They are too many for you to count!’ Then God said, ‘That is how many descendants you will have.’
• Genesis 16:1Abram's wife, Sarai, had not given birth to any children. She had an Egyptian servant. The servant's name was Hagar.
• Genesis 17:1When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him. The Lord said, ‘I am God Almighty. In all your life, obey me and do nothing wrong.
• 1 Corinthians 7:18Some of you are Jews, so people circumcised you. That happened before you believed in Christ. So do not try to change it. Some of you are not Jews. Nobody circumcised you. So continue like that. Do not ask anyone to circumcise you.
• Galatians 5:6We belong to Christ Jesus. So it does not matter whether anyone has circumcised us or not. The only thing that matters is that we believe in Christ. As a result we will love others in the way that we live.
• Galatians 6:15It does not matter whether anyone has circumcised you or not. What matters is that God has made you a new person.

Commentaries on Romans 4:10

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 10How 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, (see the note on Genesis 15:6;); but circumcision was not instituted till about fourteen or fifteen years after, Genesis 17:1, etc.; for faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness or…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 10How - 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…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 10God accepted Abraham before circumcision. Paul’s point is simple: God "credited" Abraham as righteous in Genesis 15:6 before his circumcision, which happened later (Genesis 17). This shows that God’s acceptance and blessing are free gifts, not earned by works of the law.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 9-129-12. Cometh this blessedness then, &c.--that is, "Say not, All this is spoken of the circumcised, and is therefore no evidence of God's general way of justifying men; for Abraham's justification took place long before he was circumcised, and so could have no dependence upon that rite: nay, 'the sign of circumcision' was given to Abraham as 'a seal' (or token) of the (justifying) righteousness which he had before he was circumcised; in order that he might…Read the comment

Topics related to Romans 4:10

• Abraham
• Bigotry
• Catholicity
• Circumcision
• Faith
• Justification
• Salvation
• Works

In the dictionaries

• Flesh
• Impute
• Quicken
• Raise
• Reckon
• Stagger
• Unbelief
• Void
• Bible, the
• Galatians, Epistle to the

Commentaries on Romans 4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings