“Behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will punish all who are circumcised yet uncircumcised:
Parallel translations
- WEB “Behold, the days come,” says Yahweh, “that I will punish all those who are circumcised only in their flesh:
- KJV Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will punish all them which are circumcised with the uncircumcised;
- NKJV “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “that I will punish all who are circumcised with the uncircumcised—
- NASB “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “that I will punish all who are circumcised and yet uncircumcised—
- NLT “A time is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will punish all those who are circumcised in body but not in spirit—
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God warns that days are coming when He will punish those who are circumcised only in flesh. Outward religious marks without inward reality bring no exemption.
Overview
Yahweh announces judgment on the merely physically circumcised, distinguishing external rite from inward devotion. The verse begins a list that includes Judah alongside pagan nations, stripping away false security in ritual. It anticipates the New Testament emphasis on circumcision of the heart and true faith over outward form, fulfilled in the Spirit's inward work through Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Rom 2:25–26Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision.
- Rom 2:8–9But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow wickedness, there will be wrath and anger.
- Gal 5:2–6Take notice: I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all.
- Amos 3:2“Only you have I known from all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.”
- Ezek 32:19–32Whom do you surpass in beauty? Go down and be placed with the uncircumcised!
- Ezek 28:10You will die the death of the uncircumcised at the hands of foreigners. For I have spoken, declares the Lord GOD.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Against the failure of false shepherds Jeremiah promises the Righteous Branch, 'The LORD our righteousness,' and the new covenant written on the heart and sealed in the blood of Christ.
How Jeremiah 9:25 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.