Romans 2:25

Romans 2:25 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.
• New International Version (NIV)Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised.
• English Standard Version (ESV)For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision.
• New King James Version (NKJV)For circumcision is indeed profitable if you keep the law; but if you are a breaker of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision.

Context of Romans 2:25

23As you brag about the laws in Moses’ Teachings, are you dishonoring God by ignoring those laws? 24As Scripture says, “God’s name is cursed among the nations because of you.” For example, circumcision is valuable if you follow the laws in Moses’ Teachings. If you don’t follow those laws, your circumcision amounts to uncircumcision. 26So if a man does what those laws demand, won’t he be considered circumcised even if he is uncircumcised? 27The uncircumcised man who carries out what those laws say will condemn you for not following them. He will condemn you in spite of the fact that you are circumcised and have those laws in writing.

Romans 2:25 word by word

Περιτομὴ μὲν γὰρ ὠφελεῖ ἐὰν νόμον πράσσῃς· ἐὰν δὲ παραβάτης νόμου ᾖς, ἡ περιτομή σου ἀκροβυστία γέγονεν.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Forγάρgar · forG1063
• circumcisionπεριτομήperitomē · circumcisionG4061
• verilyμένmen · on the other handG3303
• profitethὠφελέωōpheleō · to helpG5623
• ifἐάνean · ifG1437
• thou keepπράσσωprassō · to do/requireG4238
• the lawνόμοςnomos · lawG3551
• butδέde · thenG1161
• thou beεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• a breakerπαραβάτηςparabatēs · transgresorG3848
• thyσύsu · youG4771
• circumcisionὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• is madeγίνομαιginomai · to beG1096
• uncircumcisionἀκροβυστίαakrobustia · uncircumcisionG203

Cross-references for Romans 2:25

• Romans 2:28A person is not a Jew because of his appearance, nor is circumcision a matter of how the body looks.
• Romans 3:1Is there any advantage, then, in being a Jew? Or is there any value in being circumcised?
• Romans 4:11Abraham’s faith was the basis of his approval by God while he was still uncircumcised. The mark of circumcision is the seal of that approval. Therefore, he is the father of every believer who is not circumcised, and their faith, too, is regarded as the basis of their approval by God.
• Deuteronomy 30:6The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants. You will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and you will live.
• Jeremiah 4:4Be circumcised by the Lord, and get rid of the foreskins of your hearts, people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. If you don’t, my fury will flare up like a fire. It will burn, and no one will be able to put it out, because of the evil you do.
• Galatians 5:3Again, I insist that everyone who allows himself to be circumcised must realize that he obligates himself to do everything Moses’ Teachings demand.
• Galatians 6:15Certainly, it doesn’t matter whether a person is circumcised or not. Rather, what matters is being a new creation.
• Ephesians 2:11Remember that once you were not Jewish physically. Those who called themselves “the circumcised” because of what they had done to their bodies called you “the uncircumcised.”
• Romans 2:23As you brag about the laws in Moses’ Teachings, are you dishonoring God by ignoring those laws?
• Jeremiah 9:25“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will punish all who are circumcised.
• Acts 7:51“How stubborn can you be? How can you be so heartless and disobedient? You’re just like your ancestors. They always opposed the Holy Spirit, and so do you!

Commentaries on Romans 2:25

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 25For circumcision verily profiteth - It is a blessing to belong to the Church of God and wear the sign of the covenant, provided the terms of the covenant are complied with. But if thou be a breaker of the law - If thou do not observe the conditions of the covenant, the outward sign is both without meaning and without effect. This was a maxim of the rabbins themselves; for they allowed that an apostate or ungodly Israelite must go to hell, notwithstanding…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 25For circumcision - John 7:22 note; Acts 7:8 note. This was the special rite by which the relation to the covenant of Abraham was recognised; or by which the right to all the privileges of a member of the Jewish commonwealth was acknowledged. The Jews of course affixed a high importance to the rite. Verily profiteth - Is truly a benefit; or is an advantage. The meaning is, that their being recognised as members of the Jewish commonwealth, and introduced to…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 25-29Verses 25-29 No forms, ordinances, or notions can profit, without regenerating grace, which will always lead to seeking an interest in the righteousness of God by faith. For he is no more a Christian now, than he was really a Jew of old, who is only one outwardly: neither is that baptism, which is outward in the flesh: but he is the real Christian, who is inwardly a true believer, with an obedient faith. And the true baptism is that of the heart, by the…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 25God established the Jewish ceremony of circumcision as a sign of his covenant (special agreement) with Abraham. God required that every male Israelite child be circumcised (Genesis 17:9–13; see Romans 4:11). Circumcision represents God’s covenant with his people, Israel. The ceremony became more important during the intertestamental period (the time between the Old and New Testaments). During this time, the pagan king Antiochus IV Epiphanes tried to…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 25-2925-29. For circumcision--that is, One's being within the covenant of which circumcision was the outward sign and seal. verily profiteth, if thou keep the law--if the inward reality correspond to the outward sign. but if, &c.--that is, "Otherwise, thou art no better than the uncircumcised heathen."Read the comment

Topics related to Romans 2:25

• Circumcision
• Formalism
• Hypocrisy
• Minister, Christian

In the dictionaries

• Accuse
• Boast
• Continuance
• Doer
• Excuse
• Fall of man
• Forbearance
• Sure
• Treasure
• Bible, the

Commentaries on Romans 2

• 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