Bible verses about "circumcision" | ISV

¹⁰ Here is my covenant that you are to observe, between me and you and your descendants: Every male among you is to be circumcised. ¹¹ You are all to be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and this is to be the sign of the covenant between me and you. ¹² Generation after generation, every male among you is to be circumcised on the eighth day after his birth, including the servant born in your house or the one purchased from a foreigner, who is not of your offspring. ¹³ The servant born in your house or the one purchased with money is to be circumcised. My covenant is to remain in your flesh as an eternal covenant. ¹⁴ Any uncircumcised male who does not have the foreskin of his flesh circumcised on the eighth day after his birth is to be eliminated from his people because he has broken my covenant.”

¹² Generation after generation, every male among you is to be circumcised on the eighth day after his birth, including the servant born in your house or the one purchased from a foreigner, who is not of your offspring.

¹⁶ Therefore, circumcise your heart and stop being stubborn.

²¹ Jesus is CircumcisedAfter eight days had passed, the infant was circumcised and named Jesus, the name given him by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

¹¹ Afterward he received the mark of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. Therefore, he is the ancestor of all who believe while uncircumcised, in order that righteousness may be credited to them.

¹ Controversy about the LawThen some men came down from Judea and started to teach the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the Law of Moses, you can’t be saved.” ² Paul and Barnabas had quite a dispute and argument with them. So Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to confer with the apostles and elders about this question. ³ They were sent on their way by the church, and as they were going through Phoenicia and Samaria they told of the conversion of the gentiles and brought great joy to all the brothers. ⁴ When they arrived in Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church, the apostles, and the elders, and they reported everything that God had done through them. ⁵ But some believers from the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The gentiles must be circumcised and ordered to keep the Law of Moses.”
⁶ So the apostles and the elders met to look into this claim. ⁷ After a lengthy debate, Peter stood up and told them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days, God chose me to be the one among you through whom the gentiles would hear the message of the gospel and believe. ⁸ God, who knows everyone’s heart, showed them he approved by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us. ⁹ He made no distinction between them and us, because of their faith-cleansed hearts. ¹⁰ So why do you test God by putting on the disciples’ neck a yoke that neither our ancestors nor we could carry? ¹¹ We certainly believe that it is through the grace of the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, that we are saved, just as they are.”
¹² The whole crowd was silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul tell about all the signs and wonders that God had done through them among the gentiles. ¹³ After Paul and Barnabas had finished speaking, James responded, “Brothers, listen to me: ¹⁴ Simeon has explained how God first showed his concern for the gentiles by taking from among them a people for his name. ¹⁵ This agrees with the words of the prophets. As it is written, ¹⁶ ‘“After this, I will come back and set up David’s fallen tent again. I will restore its ruined places and set it up again ¹⁷ so that the rest of the people may search for the Lord, including all the gentiles who are called by my name,’ declares the Lord. ‘He is the one who has been doing these things ¹⁸ that have been known from long ago.’
¹⁹ “Therefore, I have decided that we should not trouble these gentiles who are turning to God. ²⁰ Instead, we should write to them to keep away from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from anything strangled, and from blood. ²¹ After all, Moses has had people to proclaim him in every city for generations, and on every Sabbath his books are read aloud in the synagogues.”
²² The Reply of the ChurchThen the apostles, the elders, and the whole church decided to choose some of their men to send with Paul and Barnabas to Antioch. These were Judas, who was called Barsabbas, and Silas, who were leaders among the brothers. ²³ They wrote this letter for them to deliver: “From: The apostles and the elders, your brothersTo: Their gentile brothers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia. Greetings. ²⁴ We have heard that some men, coming from us without instructions from us, have said things to trouble you and have unsettled you. ²⁵ So we have unanimously decided to choose men and send them to you with our dear Barnabas and Paul, ²⁶ who have risked their lives for the sake of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah. ²⁷ We have therefore sent Judas and Silas to tell you the same things by word of mouth. ²⁸ For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to place on you any burden but these essential requirements: ²⁹ to keep away from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from anything strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you avoid these things, you will do well. Goodbye.”
³⁰ So the men were sent on their way and arrived in Antioch. They gathered the congregation together and delivered the letter. ³¹ When the people read it, they were pleased with how the letter encouraged them. ³² Then Judas and Silas, who were also prophets, said a lot to encourage and strengthen the brothers. ³³ After staying there for some time, they were sent back with a greeting from the brothers to those who had sent them. ^{34 35} Both Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch to teach and proclaim the word of the Lord, as did many others.
³⁶ Paul and Barnabas DisagreeA few days later, Paul told Barnabas, “Let’s go back and visit the brothers in every town where we proclaimed the word of the Lord and see how they’re doing.” ³⁷ Barnabas wanted to take along John, who was called Mark, ³⁸ but Paul did not think it was right to take along the man who had deserted them in Pamphylia and who had not gone with them into the work. ³⁹ The disagreement was so sharp that they parted ways. Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus, ⁴⁰ while Paul chose Silas and left after the brothers had entrusted him to the grace of the Lord. ⁴¹ He went through Syria and Cilicia and strengthened the churches.

²⁸ For a person is not a Jew because of his appearance, nor is circumcision something just external and physical.

¹⁵ For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision matters. Rather, what matters is being a new creation.

³ But not even Titus, who was with me, was forced to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek.

³ For it is we who are the circumcision—we who worship in the Spirit of God and find our joy in the Messiah Jesus. We have not placed any confidence in the flesh,

⁴ On the eighth day after his son Isaac had been born, Abraham circumcised him, just as God had commanded him.

⁴ Circumcise yourselves to the LORD and remove the foreskin of your heart, you men of Judah and residents of Jerusalem, or else my wrath will break out like fire and burn with no one to put it out, because of your evil deeds.”

²⁵ For circumcision is valuable if you observe the Law, but if you break the Law, your having been circumcised has no more value than if you were uncircumcised. ²⁶ So if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the requirements of the Law, his uncircumcision will be regarded as circumcision, won’t it? ²⁷ The man who is uncircumcised physically but who keeps the Law will condemn you who break the Law, even though you have the written Law and circumcision. ²⁸ For a person is not a Jew because of his appearance, nor is circumcision something just external and physical. ²⁹ No, a person is a Jew inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, brought about by the Spirit, not by a written law. That person’s praise will come from God, not from people.

² Listen! I, Paul, am telling you that if you allow yourselves to be circumcised, the Messiah will be of no benefit to you. ³ Again, I insist that everyone who allows himself to be circumcised is obligated to obey the entire Law. ⁴ Those of you who are trying to be justified by the Law have been cut off from the Messiah. You have fallen away from grace.
⁵ Through the Spirit by faith we confidently await the fulfillment of our righteous hope, ⁶ for in union with the Messiah Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision matters. What matters is faith expressed through love.
⁷ You were running the race beautifully. Who cut in on you and stopped you from obeying the truth? ⁸ Such influence does not come from the one who calls you. ⁹ A little yeast spreads through the whole batch of dough. ¹⁰ I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view of this. However, the one who is troubling you will suffer God’s judgment, whoever he is. ¹¹ As for me, brothers, if I am still preaching the necessity of circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed.

¹⁹ Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but obeying God’s commandments is everything.