circumcise, circumcision

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The Hebrew and Greek terms that are translated as “circumcise” or “circumcision” in English (originally meaning of English term: “to cut around”) are (back-) translated in various ways:

  • Chimborazo Highland Quichua: “cut the flesh”
  • San Miguel El Grande Mixtec, Navajo (Dinė): “cut around”
  • Javanese: “clip-away”
  • Uab Meto: “pinch and cut” (usually shortened to “cut”)
  • North Alaskan Inupiatun, Western Highland Purepecha: “put the mark”
  • Tetelcingo Nahuatl: “put the mark in the body showing that they belong to God” (or: “that they have a covenant with God”)
  • Indonesian: disunat — “undergo sunat” (sunat is derived from Arabic “sunnah (سنة)” — “(religious) way (of life)”)
  • Ekari: “cut the end of the member for which one fears shame” (in Gen. 17:10) (but typically: “the cutting custom”) (source for this and above: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • Cheke Holo: “peel for the purpose of making a sign” (source: Freddy Boswell in The Bible Translator 2009, p. 132ff. )
  • Hiri Motu: “cut the skin” (source: Deibler / Taylor 1977, p. 1079)
  • Garifuna: “cut off part of that which covers where one urinates”
  • Bribri: “cut the soft” (source for this and the one above: Ronald Ross)
  • Amele: deweg cagu qoc — “cut the body” (source: John Roberts)
  • Eastern Highland Otomi: “cut the flesh of the sons like Moses taught” (source: Ronald D. Olson in Notes on Translation January, 1968, p. 15ff.)
  • Totontepec Mixe: “cut so that a sign remains in one’s body” (source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
  • Newari: “put the sign in one’s body” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Central Mazahua: “sign in his flesh”
  • Hopi: “being cut in a circle in his body” (source for this and above: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
  • Mandarin Chinese: gēlǐ (割礼 / 割禮) or “rite of cutting” (Protestant); gēsǔn (割损 / 割損) or “cut + loss” (Catholic) (Source: Zetzsche)
  • Tibetan: mdun lpags gcod (མདུན་​ལྤགས་​གཅོད།), lit. “fore + skin + cut” (source: gSungrab website )
  • Kutu: “enter the cloth (=undergarments)” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
  • Cherokee: “de-head” (source: Bender / Belt 2025, p. 33)

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Circumcision .

complete verse (Romans 2:26)

Following are a number of back-translations of Romans 2:26:

  • Uma: “As for the non-Jews, they are not circumcised according to the Lord’s Law. But if their behavior is straight like the behavior that is demanded in the Lord’s Law, God will certainly receive them the same as people who are circumcised according to the Lord’s Law.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “The people not Yahudi, even if they are not circumcised but if they follow God’s law, God looks at them as if they had been circumcised.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And the same way also, for example, if there is a person who is not a Jew and he thoroughly obeys the Law, God will accept Him just as if he were already circumcised.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “So also the Gentiles, even though they have not gotten-circumcised, yet if they obey God’s law, God counts them as if they are his people who have-gotten-circumcised.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Concerning the person who isn’t a Jew, if he does what is said in the law which the Jews follow, then he is God’s person. He then becomes as though he were a Jew.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

law

The Greek, Hebrew, and Ge’ez that is translated in English as “Law” or “law” is translated in Mairasi as oro nasinggiei or “prohibited things” (source: Enggavoter 2004), in Noongar with a capitalized form of the term for “words” (Warrinya) (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang), in Yucateco as “ordered-word” (for “commandment,” it is “spoken-word”) (source: Nida 1947, p. 198), and in Central Tarahumara it is “writing-command” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)

McKnight’s English translation (publ. 2023) has it as Covenant Code. He explains (p. 301): “The law of Moses was a covenantal arrangement by God with the people of Israel. This code of conduct expected of them was not the same as law in the Roman world or what law means to us today. It is a revelation of God’s will for God’s covenant people but requires ongoing interpretation and adjustments.”

In a 1922 translation into Chagatai, a precursor language of both Uzbek and Uighur, it is translated with the Arabic loan word shari’at (شريعت), originally meaning “(Islamic) law (Shari’a).” (Source: F. Erbay and F.N. Küçükballı in Acta Theologica 2025 45/2, p. 133ff. )

See also teaching / law (of God) (Japanese honorifics).

Translation commentary on Romans 2:26

The Gentile, who is not circumcised (see Revised Standard Version “a man who is uncircumcised”) is literally “the uncircumcision.” Paul uses this word “uncircumcision” in three different senses, depending on the context: (1) the foreskin of the male, (2) the state of being uncircumcised, and (3) those persons who are uncircumcised, that is, Gentiles. In a similar fashion Paul sometimes uses “circumcision” as a reference to the Jews (see Romans 3.30; 4.9, 12; 15.8). The passive verb “be regarded” (Revised Standard Version) is actually a Semitic way of speaking of God’s action without mentioning the name of God. In order to make this information clear for the reader, the Good News Translation renders the entire expression as will not God regard him as though he were circumcised?

Verse 26 involves several problems, not only because of the rhetorical question which completes the verse, but also because of the nonrestrictive attributive clause who is not circumcised. In some languages this expression must be a complete sentence, but clearly marked as contrastive—for example, “on the other hand, Gentiles are not circumcised; nevertheless, if they obey the commands of the Law, God will surely regard them as though they were circumcised.” In this manner the logical relations between the various clauses is carefully preserved and the singular is changed to plural in order to indicate clearly that all such persons are involved.

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Romans. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1973. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Romans 2:26

2:26a

This verse begins with a word that is often translated as “therefore.” This word introduces a conclusion from what Paul said in 2:25. The Berean Standard Bible has left this word untranslated. It may be natural in your language to make the relationship with the previous verse explicit. For example:

So (English Standard Version)

a man who is not circumcised: This phrase refers to a non-Jew. No one has cut off the foreskin of his penis.

keeps: Here this word means “obeys.”

requirements: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as requirements refers to rules for right behavior. Here are other ways to translate this word:

precepts (English Standard Version)
-or-
commands (New Jerusalem Bible)

2:26b

will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision?: If a non-Jew does the right things according to God’s law, God considers him as if he had a covenant with him, like the covenant he has with the Jews. There are two issues:

Issue 1: Passive

This clause is passive. Some languages must use an active clause here. For example:

will not God regard him as though he were circumcised? (Good News Translation)

Issue 2: Rhetorical Question

This question is rhetorical. It emphasizes that this man will be regarded as someone circumcised. Translate it with that meaning. Here are some ways:

• As a rhetorical question. See the example above.

• As a statement. For example:

they will be regarded as though they were circumcised.
-or-

⌊God⌋ will regard him as though he were circumcised.

be regarded as: The more literal sense of the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as be regarded as refers to counting something, often as in business costs and sales. Here it refers to counting or considering an uncircumcised person to be the same as a circumcised one, and therefore treating him in that way. Here are other ways to translate this Greek word:

counted as (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
be considered (New American Bible, Revised Edition)

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Commentaire sur la traduction de la lettre aux Romains 2.26

Paul utilise une question rhétorique pour amener son auditoire à réfléchir sur la situation où certains non-Juifs suivent la loi d’eux-mêmes. Il pose un cas hypothétique, en l’introduisant par Si donc (ἐάν οὖν ean oun), que la Parole de Vie rend par « Supposons ceci ».

Si donc l’incirconcis observe les prescriptions de la loi : en grec, il s’agit du nom abstrait « incirconcision », qui peut renvoyer soit à un état (1 Cor 7.18), soit aux gens non-circoncis, c’est-à-dire les non-Juifs. Voir aussi Gal 2.7. De la même façon, Paul utilise parfois le mot « circoncision » pour désigner les Juifs (voir Rom 3.30 ; Rom 4.9, Rom 4.12 ; Rom 15.8).

observe les prescriptions de la loi : le mot rendu par observer signifie « garder » et a donc aussi le sens d’obéir. Dans certaines langues on parle de « suivre les prescriptions de la loi ».

prescription : il s’agit du même mot qui se trouve en Rom 1.32 où il avait le sens de « verdict », « déclaration ». Il s’agit des différentes parties ou statuts de la loi de Dieu. La Bible en français courant opte pour les « commandements de la loi », tandis que la Parole de Vie omet ce mot et parle directement de celui qui « obéit à la loi de Dieu ».

son incirconcision ne lui sera-t-elle pas comptée comme circoncision : le mot ἀκροβυστία akrobustia incirconcision a un autre sens que ci-dessus. Il s’agit ici de l’état d’être incirconcis. Paul demande : lorsqu’on agit comme une personne circoncise, c’est-à-dire, en suivant la loi, ne doit-on pas être considéré comme circoncis ? Il faut rappeler que pour les Juifs, la circoncision était une grande fierté. Mais Paul pense que les « païens » qui se comportent comme les Juifs en suivant la loi font partie du groupe des circoncis, c’est-à-dire, qu’ils font partie du peuple de Dieu.

compter renvoie à l’acte de raisonner, mais dans un contexte comme celui-ci, il signifie « être considéré comme ». La Bible de Jérusalem parle d’égalité entre les deux états : « son incirconcision ne vaudra-t-elle pas une circoncision ? » Le verbe est au passif et certaines versions préfèrent tourner la phrase à l’actif en identifiant Dieu comme l’agent. La Bible en français courant dit : « Dieu ne le considérera-t-il pas comme s’il était circoncis ? » et la Parole de Vie : « Est-ce que Dieu ne va pas faire comme s’il était circoncis ? » Il s’agit d’une question rhétorique, dont la réponse sous-entendue est à l’affirmatif : « oui, il le fera ». S’il faut remplacer la question rhétorique par une affirmation, on pourrait dire : « En fait, s’ils obéissent à la Loi, ils valent autant que celui qui est circoncis ».

Source: Margot, Jean-Claude & Zogbo, Lynell. La lettre aux Romains – Manuel de traduction – Commentaire linguistique et exégétique de la Bible. Alliance biblique universelle, 2021.