7. How joyful are those whose lawless acts are forgivenand whose sins are covered!
8. How joyful is the manthe Lord will never charge with sin!
9. Is this blessing only for the circumcised, then? Or is it also for the uncircumcised? For we say, Faith was credited to Abraham for righteousness.
10. In what way then was it credited — while he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while he was circumcised, but uncircumcised.
11. And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while still uncircumcised. This was to make him the father of all who believe but are not circumcised, so that righteousness may be credited to them also.
12. And he became the father of the circumcised, who are not only circumcised but who also follow in the footsteps of the faith our father Abraham had while he was still uncircumcised.
13. For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would inherit the world was not through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.
14. If those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made empty and the promise is canceled.
15. For the law produces wrath. And where there is no law, there is no transgression.
16. This is why the promise is by faith, so that it may be according to grace, to guarantee it to all the descendants — not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of Abraham’s faith. He is the father of us all
17. in God’s sight. As it is written: I have made you the father of many nations. He believed in God, who gives life to the dead and calls things into existence that do not exist.