Circumcision

Circumcision was the sign of God's covenant with Abraham and his descendants, and the heart is also said to be circumcised. This page lists verses on its institution, its practice in Israel, circumcision of the heart, and the debate over circumcision in Acts and Paul's letters.

The sign of the covenant with Abraham

• Genesis 17:9-14
  ⁹And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.God also said to Abraham, “You must keep My covenant—you and your descendants in the generations after you. ¹⁰This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.This is My covenant with you and your descendants after you, which you are to keep: Every male among you must be circumcised. ¹¹And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.You are to circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and this will be a sign of the covenant between Me and you. ¹²And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.Generation after generation, every male must be circumcised when he is eight days old, including those born in your household and those purchased from a foreigner—even those who are not your offspring. ¹³He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.Whether they are born in your household or purchased, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh will be an everlasting covenant. ¹⁴And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.But if any male is not circumcised, he will be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”
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• Genesis 17:24-26
  ²⁴And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.So Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised, ²⁵And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.and his son Ishmael was thirteen; ²⁶In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son.Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised on the same day.
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• Genesis 21:4
  And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him.When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God had commanded him.
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• Acts 7:8
  And he gave him the covenant of circumcision: and so Abraham begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat the twelve patriarchs.Then God gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision, and Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day. And Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.
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Circumcision in Israel

• Leviticus 12:3
  And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.And on the eighth day the flesh of the boy’s foreskin is to be circumcised.
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• Exodus 12:48
  And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land: for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof.If a foreigner resides with you and wants to celebrate the LORD’s Passover, all the males in the household must be circumcised; then he may come near to celebrate it, and he shall be like a native of the land. But no uncircumcised man may eat of it.
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• Joshua 5:2-7
  ²At that time the Lord said unto Joshua, Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time.At that time the LORD said to Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the sons of Israel once again.” ³And Joshua made him sharp knives, and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of the foreskins.So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the sons of Israel at Gibeath-haaraloth. ⁴And this is the cause why Joshua did circumcise: All the people that came out of Egypt, that were males, even all the men of war, died in the wilderness by the way, after they came out of Egypt.Now this is why Joshua circumcised them: All those who came out of Egypt—all the men of war—had died on the journey in the wilderness after they had left Egypt. ⁵Now all the people that came out were circumcised: but all the people that were born in the wilderness by the way as they came forth out of Egypt, them they had not circumcised.Though all who had come out were circumcised, none of those born in the wilderness on the journey from Egypt had been circumcised. ⁶For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people that were men of war, which came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they obeyed not the voice of the Lord: unto whom the Lord sware that he would not shew them the land, which the Lord sware unto their fathers that he would give us, a land that floweth with milk and honey.For the Israelites had wandered in the wilderness forty years, until all the nation’s men of war who had come out of Egypt had died, since they did not obey the LORD. So the LORD vowed never to let them see the land He had sworn to their fathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. ⁷And their children, whom he raised up in their stead, them Joshua circumcised: for they were uncircumcised, because they had not circumcised them by the way.And Joshua raised up their sons in their place, and these were the ones he circumcised. Until this time they were still uncircumcised, since they had not been circumcised along the way.
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• Luke 1:59
  And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father.On the eighth day, when they came to circumcise the child, they were going to name him after his father Zechariah.
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• Luke 2:21
  And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.When the eight days until His circumcision had passed, He was named Jesus, the name the angel had given Him before He had been conceived.
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Circumcision of the heart

• Deuteronomy 10:16
  Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and stiffen your necks no more.
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• Deuteronomy 30:6
  And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, and you will love Him with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live.
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• Jeremiah 4:4
  Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and remove the foreskins of your hearts, O men of Judah and people of Jerusalem. Otherwise, My wrath will break out like fire and burn with no one to extinguish it, because of your evil deeds.”
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• Romans 2:28-29
  ²⁸For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:A man is not a Jew because he is one outwardly, nor is circumcision only outward and physical. ²⁹But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.No, a man is a Jew because he is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise does not come from men, but from God.
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• Colossians 2:11
  In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:In Him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of your sinful nature, with the circumcision performed by Christ and not by human hands.
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• Acts 7:51
  Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did.
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The debate in Acts

• Acts 11:2-3
  ²And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him,So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers took issue with him ³Saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them.and said, “You visited uncircumcised men and ate with them.”
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• Acts 15:1-2
  ¹And certain men which came down from Judea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.Then some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” ²When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.And after engaging these men in sharp debate, Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question.
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• Acts 15:5
  But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.But some believers from the party of the Pharisees stood up and declared, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses.”
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• Acts 15:10-11
  ¹⁰Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?Now then, why do you test God by placing on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? ¹¹But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.On the contrary, we believe it is through the grace of the Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”
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• Acts 15:19-20
  ¹⁹Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God:It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not cause trouble for the Gentiles who are turning to God. ²⁰But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.Instead, we should write and tell them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals, and from blood.
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• Acts 16:3
  Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a Greek.Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, so he took him and circumcised him on account of the Jews in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.
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• Acts 21:21
  And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs.But they are under the impression that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or observe our customs.
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Paul on circumcision and the law

• Romans 3:1-2
  ¹What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision?What, then, is the advantage of being a Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? ²Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.Much in every way. First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God.
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• Romans 2:25-27
  ²⁵For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. ²⁶Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?If a man who is not circumcised keeps the requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? ²⁷And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law?The one who is physically uncircumcised yet keeps the law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker.
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• Romans 4:9-12
  ⁹Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness.Is this blessing only on the circumcised, or also on the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness. ¹⁰How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.In what context was it credited? Was it after his circumcision, or before? It was not after, but before. ¹¹And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also:And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but are not circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. ¹²And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised.And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised, but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
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• Galatians 2:3
  But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised:Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek.
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• Galatians 5:2-4
  ²Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.Take notice: I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. ³For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.Again I testify to every man who gets himself circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. ⁴Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.You who are trying to be justified by the law have been severed from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.
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• Galatians 6:12-13
  ¹²As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ.Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised. They only do this to avoid persecution for the cross of Christ. ¹³For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh.For the circumcised do not even keep the law themselves, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast in your flesh.
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• Philippians 3:2-3
  ²Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.Watch out for those dogs, those workers of evil, those mutilators of the flesh! ³For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh—
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Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision

• 1 Corinthians 7:18-19
  ¹⁸Is any man called being circumcised? let him not become uncircumcised. Is any called in uncircumcision? let him not be circumcised.Was a man already circumcised when he was called? He should not become uncircumcised. Was a man still uncircumcised when called? He should not be circumcised. ¹⁹Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God.Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God’s commandments is what counts.
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• Galatians 5:6
  For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. All that matters is faith, expressed through love.
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• Galatians 6:15
  For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything. What counts is a new creation.
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• Colossians 3:11
  Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free, but Christ is all and is in all.
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• Romans 3:30
  Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.
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See also

• Covenant
• Abraham
• Law of Moses
• Heart
• Gentiles

Notes

1. Verses are quoted in the translation chosen in the Translation menu at the top of the page. See Translations for sources and copyright notices.
2. Each reference links to the full chapter so the verse can be read in context.