Ad Romanos 4

VULGATA	NEW JERUSALEM
1 Quid ergo dicemus invenisse Abraham patrem nostrum secundum carnem ?	1 Then what do we say about Abraham, the ancestor from whom we are descended physical y?
2 Si enim Abraham ex operibus justificatus est, habet gloriam, sed non apud Deum.	2 If Abraham had been justified because of what he had done, then he would have had something toboast about. But not before God:
3 Quid enim dicit Scriptura ? Credidit Abraham Deo, et reputatum est illi ad justitiam.	3 does not scripture say: Abraham put his faith in God and this was reckoned to him as uprightness?
4 Ei autem qui operatur, merces non imputatur secundum gratiam, sed secundum debitum.	4 Now, when someone works, the wages for this are not considered as a favour but as due;
5 Ei vero qui non operatur, credenti autem in eum, qui justificat impium, reputatur fides ejus ad justitiam secundum propositum gratiæ Dei.	5 however, when someone, without working, puts faith in the one who justifies the godless, it is this faiththat is reckoned as uprightness.
6 Sicut et David dicit beatitudinem hominis, cui Deus accepto fert justitiam sine operibus :	6 David, too, says the same: he cal s someone blessed if God attributes uprightness to that person,apart from any action undertaken:
7 Beati, quorum remissæ sunt iniquitates, et quorum tecta sunt peccata.	7 How blessed are those whose offence is forgiven, whose sin is blotted out.
8 Beatus vir, cui non imputavit Dominus peccatum.	8 How blessed are those to whom the Lord imputes no guilt.
9 Beatitudo ergo hæc in circumcisione tantum manet, an etiam in præputio ? Dicimus enim quia reputata est Abrahæ fides ad justitiam.	9 Is this blessing only for the circumcised, or is it said of the uncircumcised as wel ? Wel , we said ofAbraham that his faith was reckoned to him as uprightness.
10 Quomodo ergo reputata est ? in circumcisione, an in præputio ? Non in circumcisione, sed in præputio.	10 Now how did this come about? When he was already circumcised, or before he had beencircumcised? Not when he had been circumcised, but while he was still uncircumcised;
11 Et signum accepit circumcisionis, signaculum justitiæ fidei, quæ est in præputio : ut sit pater omnium credentium per præputium, ut reputetur et illis ad justitiam :	11 and circumcision was given to him later, as a sign and a guarantee that the faith which he had whilestill uncircumcised was reckoned to him as uprightness. In this way, Abraham was to be the ancestor of albelievers who are uncircumcised, so that they might be reckoned as upright;
12 et sit pater circumcisionis non iis tantum, qui sunt ex circumcisione, sed et iis qui sectantur vestigia fidei, quæ est in præputio patris nostri Abrahæ.	12 as well as the ancestor of those of the circumcision who not only have their circumcision but who alsofol ow our ancestor Abraham along the path of faith that he trod before he was circumcised.
13 Non enim per legem promissio Abrahæ, aut semini ejus ut hæres esset mundi : sed per justitiam fidei.	13 For the promise to Abraham and his descendants that he should inherit the world was not through theLaw, but through the uprightness of faith.
14 Si enim qui ex lege, hæredes sunt : exinanita est fides, abolita est promissio.	14 For if it is those who live by the Law who wil gain the inheritance, faith is worthless and the promise iswithout force;
15 Lex enim iram operatur. Ubi enim non est lex, nec prævaricatio.	15 for the Law produces nothing but God's retribution, and it is only where there is no Law that it ispossible to live without breaking the Law.
16 Ideo ex fide, ut secundum gratiam firma sit promissio omni semini, non ei qui ex lege est solum, sed et ei qui ex fide est Abrahæ, qui pater est omnium nostrum	16 That is why the promise is to faith, so that it comes as a free gift and is secure for al thedescendants, not only those who rely on the Law but al those others who rely on the faith of Abraham, theancestor of us all
17 (sicut scriptum est : Quia patrem multarum gentium posui te) ante Deum, cui credidit, qui vivificat mortuos, et vocat ea quæ non sunt, tamquam ea quæ sunt :	17 (as scripture says: I have made you the father of many nations). Abraham is our father in the eyes ofGod, in whom he put his faith, and who brings the dead to life and cal s into existence what does not yet exist.
18 qui contra spem in spem credidit, ut fieret pater multarum gentium secundum quod dictum est ei : Sic erit semen tuum.	18 Though there seemed no hope, he hoped and believed that he was to become father of many nationsin fulfilment of the promise: Just so wil your descendants be.
19 Et non infirmatus est fide, nec consideravit corpus suum emortuum, cum jam fere centum esset annorum, et emortuam vulvam Saræ.	19 Even the thought that his body was as good as dead -- he was about a hundred years old -- and thatSarah's womb was dead too did not shake his faith.
20 In repromissione etiam Dei non hæsitavit diffidentia, sed confortatus est fide, dans gloriam Deo :	20 Counting on the promise of God, he did not doubt or disbelieve, but drew strength from faith and gaveglory to God,
21 plenissime sciens, quia quæcumque promisit, potens est et facere.	21 ful y convinced that whatever God promised he has the power to perform.
22 Ideo et reputatum est illi ad justitiam.	22 This is the faith that was reckoned to him as uprightness.
23 Non est autem scriptum tantum propter ipsum quia reputatum est illi ad justitiam :	23 And the word 'reckoned' in scripture applies not only to him;
24 sed et propter nos, quibus reputabitur credentibus in eum, qui suscitavit Jesum Christum Dominum nostrum a mortuis,	24 it is there for our sake too -- our faith, too, wil be 'reckoned'
25 qui traditus est propter delicta nostra, et resurrexit propter justificationem nostram.	25 because we believe in him who raised from the dead our Lord Jesus who was handed over to deathfor our sins and raised to life for our justification.