ESTUDIO DEL CAPÍTULO

Romans 2 — Righteous Judgment, Circumcision of Heart

Romans 2 argues that God's judgment is impartial and grounded in truth: hypocrites who judge others while practicing the same sins store up wrath, while genuine obedience—not ethnic markers or possession of the law—is what God accepts.

Escritura

  1. 1.Por lo cual eres inexcusable, oh hombre, quienquiera que seas tú que juzgas; pues en lo que juzgas a otro, te condenas a ti mismo; porque tú que juzgas haces lo mismo.Wherefore thou art without excuse, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judges another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest dost practise the same things.
  2. 2.Mas sabemos que el juicio de Dios contra los que practican tales cosas es según verdad.And we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against them that practise such things.
  3. 3.¿Y piensas esto, oh hombre, tú que juzgas a los que tal hacen, y haces lo mismo, que tú escaparás del juicio de Dios?And reckonest thou this, O man, who judgest them that practise such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?
  4. 4.¿O menosprecias las riquezas de su benignidad, paciencia y longanimidad, ignorando que su benignidad te guía al arrepentimiento?Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
  5. 5.Pero por tu dureza y por tu corazón no arrepentido, atesoras para ti mismo ira para el día de la ira y de la revelación del justo juicio de Dios,but after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up for thyself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;
  6. 6.el cual pagará a cada uno conforme a sus obras:who will render to every man according to his works:
  7. 7.vida eterna a los que, perseverando en bien hacer, buscan gloria y honra e inmortalidad,to them that by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and incorruption, eternal life:
  8. 8.pero ira y enojo a los que son contenciosos y no obedecen a la verdad, sino que obedecen a la injusticia;but unto them that are factious, and obey not the truth, but obey unrighteousness, shall be wrath and indignation,
  9. 9.tribulación y angustia sobre todo ser humano que hace lo malo, el judío primeramente y también el griego,tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that worketh evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Greek;
  10. 10.pero gloria y honra y paz a todo el que hace lo bueno, al judío primeramente y también al griego;but glory and honor and peace to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek:
  11. 11.porque no hay acepción de personas para con Dios.for there is no respect of persons with God.
  12. 12.Porque todos los que sin ley han pecado, sin ley también perecerán; y todos los que bajo la ley han pecado, por la ley serán juzgados;For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without the law: and as many as have sinned under the law shall be judged by the law;
  13. 13.porque no son los oidores de la ley los justos ante Dios, sino los hacedores de la ley serán justificados.for not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified:
  14. 14.Porque cuando los gentiles que no tienen ley, hacen por naturaleza lo que es de la ley, éstos, aunque no tengan ley, son ley para sí mismos,(for when Gentiles that have not the law do by nature the things of the law, these, not having the law, are the law unto themselves;
  15. 15.mostrando la obra de la ley escrita en sus corazones, dando testimonio su conciencia, y acusándoles o defendiéndoles sus razonamientos,in that they show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness therewith, and their thoughts one with another accusing or else excusing them);
  16. 16.en el día en que Dios juzgará por Jesucristo los secretos de los hombres, conforme a mi evangelio.in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men, according to my gospel, by Jesus Christ.
  17. 17.He aquí, tú tienes el sobrenombre de judío, y te apoyas en la ley, y te glorías en Dios,But if thou bearest the name of a Jew, and restest upon the law, and gloriest in God,
  18. 18.y conoces su voluntad, e instruido por la ley apruebas lo mejor,and knowest his will, and approvest the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law,
  19. 19.y confías en que eres guía de los ciegos, luz de los que están en tinieblas,and art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them that are in darkness,
  20. 20.instructor de los indoctos, maestro de niños, que tienes en la ley la forma de la ciencia y de la verdad.a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of babes, having in the law the form of knowledge and of the truth;
  21. 21.Tú, pues, que enseñas a otro, ¿no te enseñas a ti mismo? Tú que predicas que no se ha de hurtar, ¿hurtas?thou therefore that teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?
  22. 22.Tú que dices que no se ha de adulterar, ¿adulteras? Tú que abominas de los ídolos, ¿cometes sacrilegio?thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou rob temples?
  23. 23.Tú que te jactas de la ley, ¿con infracción de la ley deshonras a Dios?thou who gloriest in the law, through thy transgression of the law dishonorest thou God?
  24. 24.Porque como está escrito, el nombre de Dios es blasfemado entre los gentiles por causa de vosotros.For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you, even as it is written.
  25. 25.Pues en verdad la circuncisión aprovecha, si guardas la ley; pero si eres transgresor de la ley, tu circuncisión viene a ser incircuncisión.For circumcision indeed profiteth, if thou be a doer of the law: but if thou be a transgressor of the law, thy circumcision is become uncircumcision.
  26. 26.Si, pues, el incircunciso guardare las ordenanzas de la ley, ¿no será tenida su incircuncisión como circuncisión?If therefore the uncircumcision keep the ordinances of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be reckoned for circumcision?
  27. 27.Y el que físicamente es incircunciso, pero guarda perfectamente la ley, te condenará a ti, que con la letra de la ley y con la circuncisión eres transgresor de la ley.and shall not the uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who with the letter and circumcision art a transgressor of the law?
  28. 28.Pues no es judío el que lo es exteriormente, ni es la circuncisión la que se hace exteriormente en la carne;For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh:
  29. 29.sino que es judío el que lo es en lo interior, y la circuncisión es la del corazón, en espíritu, no en letra; la alabanza del cual no viene de los hombres, sino de Dios.but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

Qué significa este pasaje

Verses 1–5 confront the self-righteous judge: by condemning others for what they themselves practice, such a person pronounces self-condemnation. God's judgment is κατὰ ἀλήθειαν (according to truth), not according to outward status. The patience and χρηστότης (goodness) of God is not license but an opportunity leading to μετάνοια (repentance); despising it treasuries wrath for the day of revelation.

Verses 6–11 lay out the impartial moral standard: God repays each according to works, granting eternal life to those who patiently seek glory, honor, and incorruption, and wrath to those who obey unrighteousness. The pairing of Jew first and also Greek, anchored in the principle that God is not a respecter of persons (προσωπολημψία), frames the whole chapter: privilege brings greater responsibility, not exemption.

Verses 12–29 extend the standard to both the lawless and the law-possessing. Hearing the law does not justify; doing it does. Gentiles who by nature do what the law requires show the work of the law written on their hearts, with conscience bearing witness. Paul then turns to the boastful Jew: outward name, reliance on the law, and fleshly circumcision profit nothing without obedience. True circumcision is of the heart, by the Spirit, and its praise comes from God.

Contexto

Romans 1 closed by cataloguing Gentile idolatry and its moral consequences; Romans 2 immediately turns the lens on those who pass judgment on others while committing the same sins—most plausibly Jewish interlocutors, though the addressee remains the generic 'O man' until verse 17. The chapter bridges the universal indictment of 1:18–32 and the exposition of justification by faith beginning in 3:21. Its placement is therefore rhetorical: Paul removes every ethnic or ritual ground for boasting before presenting the gospel remedy.

The chapter-note in the supplied material highlights two themes: righteous judgment (God's verdict is truthful and works-based, yet not earned-merit because the standard is unreachable apart from grace) and circumcision of the heart (the inward reality foreshadowed in Deuteronomy 30:6 and Ezekiel 36, later claimed by Philippians 3:3 for the community of believers). Romans 2 does not contradict justification by faith in 3–5; it dismantles the assumption that covenant membership, law possession, or ritual sign can substitute for the transformed obedience God requires.

Palabras clave del original

  • G0379 Used only here in the NT, ἀναπολόγητος combines ἀν- (without) and ἀπολογία (defense). Paul's verdict: the judging sinner has no legal defense before God's tribunal.
  • G2917 κρίμα is the decision or verdict that follows κρίνω; in verse 2 it is qualified by κατὰ ἀλήθειαν, stressing that God's verdict corresponds to reality, not appearances.
  • G2919 The present participle κρίνων depicts ongoing judgment, not a single act. The repetition across vv. 1 and 3 underscores habitual hypocrisy as the target of Paul's rebuke.

Versículos relacionados

  • Acts 10:34 Peter's confession at Cornelius' house echoes Romans 2:11: God is not a respecter of persons. Both passages frame the early church's expansion beyond Jewish boundary markers.
  • Deuteronomy 30:6 Moses anticipated the inward reality Paul names in Romans 2:29: YHWH will circumcise the heart. Paul's 'circumcision of the heart, in the spirit' claims this promise as fulfilled in the new-covenant community.
  • 2 Peter 3:9 Verse 4 of Romans 2 asks whether the despiser understands that God's goodness leads to repentance; 2 Peter 3:9 supplies the divine motive—God's longsuffering aims at repentance, not destruction.

Preguntas frecuentes

Does Romans 2 teach salvation by works?

No. Romans 2 establishes the universal human inability to meet God's standard—Jew and Gentile alike fall short—so that justification by faith in 3:21–26 becomes necessary. Works are the criterion of judgment, not the ground of acceptance for the ungodly; Paul elsewhere explicitly rejects self-earned righteousness.

Who is the 'man' being addressed in verses 1–16?

The address begins as a generic moralist or hypocrite (vv. 1–16) and becomes specifically the boastful Jew in verse 17. Paul keeps the indictment deliberately open before narrowing it, so that every reader who judges others must face the same charge.

What is 'circumcision of the heart' in verse 29?

It is the inward counterpart to the physical sign of the Abrahamic covenant: a heart oriented toward God, wrought by the Spirit rather than by external compliance with the law's letter. Its praise, Paul says, comes from God, not from human estimation of ritual conformity.

Continuar estudiando

Leer en el lectorGuía del libro
HomeDiscoverStudyReadMe