22. You say that others must not take part in adultery. But you yourselves are guilty of that sin. You hate idols. But you steal from temples.
23. You brag about having God’s law. But you bring shame to God by breaking his law.
24. It is written in the Scriptures: “The non-Jews speak against God’s name because of you Jews.”
25. If you follow the law, then your circumcision has meaning. But if you break the law, then it is as if you were never circumcised.
26. The non-Jews are not circumcised. But if they do what the law says, then it is as if they were circumcised.
27. You Jews have the written law and circumcision, but you break the law. So those who are not circumcised in their bodies, but still obey the law, will show that you are guilty.
28. A person is not a true Jew if he is only a Jew in his physical body. True circumcision is not only on the outside of the body.
29. A person is a true Jew only if he is a Jew inside. True circumcision is done in the heart by the Spirit, not by the written law. Such a person gets praise from God, not from other people.