| English Standard Version | New Living Translation |
| 1What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? | 1Abraham was, humanly speaking, the founder of our Jewish nation. What did he discover about being made right with God? |
| 2For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. | 2If his good deeds had made him acceptable to God, he would have had something to boast about. But that was not God’s way. |
| 3For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” | 3For the Scriptures tell us, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” |
| 4Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. | 4When people work, their wages are not a gift, but something they have earned. |
| 5And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, | 5But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners. |
| 6just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: | 6David also spoke of this when he described the happiness of those who are declared righteous without working for it: |
| 7“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; | 7“Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are put out of sight. |
| 8blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.” | 8Yes, what joy for those whose record the LORD has cleared of sin.” |
| 9Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. | 9Now, is this blessing only for the Jews, or is it also for uncircumcised Gentiles? Well, we have been saying that Abraham was counted as righteous by God because of his faith. |
| 10How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. | 10But 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! |
| 11He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, | 11Circumcision was a sign that Abraham already had faith and that God had already accepted him and declared him to be righteous—even before he was circumcised. So Abraham is the spiritual father of those who have faith but have not been circumcised. They are counted as righteous because of their faith. |
| 12and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised. | 12And Abraham is also the spiritual father of those who have been circumcised, but only if they have the same kind of faith Abraham had before he was circumcised. |
| 13For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. | 13Clearly, God’s promise to give the whole earth to Abraham and his descendants was based not on his obedience to God’s law, but on a right relationship with God that comes by faith. |
| 14For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. | 14If God’s promise is only for those who obey the law, then faith is not necessary and the promise is pointless. |
| 15For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression. | 15For the law always brings punishment on those who try to obey it. (The only way to avoid breaking the law is to have no law to break!) |
| 16That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, | 16So the promise is received by faith. It is given as a free gift. And we are all certain to receive it, whether or not we live according to the law of Moses, if we have faith like Abraham’s. For Abraham is the father of all who believe. |
| 17as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. | 17That is what the Scriptures mean when God told him, “I have made you the father of many nations.” This happened because Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who creates new things out of nothing. |
| 18In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” | 18Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping—believing that he would become the father of many nations. For God had said to him, “That’s how many descendants you will have!” |
| 19He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. | 19And Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead—and so was Sarah’s womb. |
| 20No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, | 20Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. |
| 21fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. | 21He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises. |
| 22That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” | 22And because of Abraham’s faith, God counted him as righteous. |
| 23But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, | 23And when God counted him as righteous, it wasn’t just for Abraham’s benefit. It was recorded |
| 24but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, | 24for our benefit, too, assuring us that God will also count us as righteous if we believe in him, the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. |
| 25who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. | 25He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God. |
| ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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