Epistula ad Romanos, 4

1. Quid ergo dicemus invenisse Abraham progenitorem no strum secundum carnem?

1. What then shall we say about Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh?

2. Si enim Abraham ex operibus iustificatus est, habet gloriam sed non apud Deum.

2. For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.

3. Quid enim Scriptura dicit? “Credidit autem Abraham Deo, et reputatum est illi ad iustitiam”.

3. For what does the scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness."

4. Ei autem, qui operatur, merces non reputatur secundum gratiam sed secundum debitum;

4. Now to one who works, his wages are not reckoned as a gift but as his due.

5. ei vero, qui non operatur, sed credit in eum, qui iustificat impium, reputatur fides eius ad iustitiam,

5. And to one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness.

6. sicut et David dicit beatitudinem hominis, cui Deus reputat iustitiam sine operibus:

6. So also David pronounces a blessing upon the man to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works:

7. “Beati, quorum remissae sunt iniquitates, et quorum tecta sunt peccata.

7. "Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered;

8. Beatus vir, cui non imputabit Dominus peccatum”.

8. blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not reckon his sin."

9. Beatitudo ergo haec in circumcisione an etiam in praeputio? Dicimus enim: “Reputata est Abrahae fides ad iustitiam”.

9. Is this blessing pronounced only upon the circumcised, or also upon the uncircumcised? We say that faith was reckoned to Abraham as righteousness.

10. Quomodo ergo reputata est? In circumcisione an in praeputio? Non in circumcisione sed in praeputio:

10. How then was it reckoned to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised.

11. et signum accepit circumcisionis, signaculum iustitiae fidei, quae fuit in praeputio, ut esset pater omnium credentium per praeputium, ut reputetur illis iustitia,

11. He received circumcision as a sign or seal of the righteousness which he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised and who thus have righteousness reckoned to them,

12. et pater circumcisionis his non tantum, qui ex circumcisione sunt, sed et qui sectantur vestigia eius, quae fuit in praeputio, fidei patris nostri Abrahae.

12. and likewise the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but also follow the example of the faith which our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

13. Non enim per legem promissio Abrahae aut semini eius, ut heres esset mundi, sed per iustitiam fidei;

13. The promise to Abraham and his descendants, that they should inherit the world, did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith.

14. si enim qui ex lege heredes sunt, exinanita est fides, et abolita est promissio.

14. If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void.

15. Lex enim iram operatur; ubi autem non est lex, nec praevaricatio.

15. For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression.

16. Ideo ex fide, ut secundum gratiam, ut firma sit promissio omni semini, non ei, qui ex lege est solum, sed et ei, qui ex fide est Abrahae — qui est pater omnium nostrum,

16. That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants -- not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham, for he is the father of us all,

17. sicut scriptum est: “Patrem multarum gentium posui te” C, ante Deum, cui credidit, qui vivificat mortuos et vocat ea, quae non sunt, quasi sint;

17. as 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.

18. qui contra spem in spe credidit, ut fieret pater multarum gentium, secundum quod dictum est: “Sic erit semen tuum”.

18. In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations; as he had been told, "So shall your descendants be."

19. Et non infirmatus fide consideravit corpus suum iam emortuum, cum fere centum annorum esset, et emortuam vulvam Sarae;

19. He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead because he was about a hundred years old, or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb.

20. in repromissione autem Dei non haesitavit diffidentia, sed confortatus est fide, dans gloriam Deo,

20. No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God,

21. et plenissime sciens quia, quod promisit, potens est et facere.

21. fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.

22. Ideo et reputatum est illi ad iustitiam.

22. That is why his faith was "reckoned to him as righteousness."

23. Non est autem scriptum tantum propter ipsum: reputatum est illi,

23. But the words, "it was reckoned to him," were written not for his sake alone,

24. sed et propter nos, quibus reputabitur, credentibus in eum, qui suscitavit Iesum Dominum nostrum a mortuis,

24. but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him that raised from the dead Jesus our Lord,

25. qui traditus est propter delicta nostra et suscitatus est propter iustificationem nostram.

25. who was put to death for our trespasses and raised for our justification.