Romans 2:29

inwardly Lit. in that which is hidden, in secret; same word as Matthew 6:4, &c. Just above, "outwardly" is lit. in that which is open. The contrast is between an external seal on the body and an internal change in the soul. See 1 Peter 3:4 for an illustrative phrase, "the hidden man of the heart."

in the spirit, and not in the letter The same contrast appears Romans 7:6, and 2 Corinthians 3:6-8. Here practically the contrasted things are, (1) circumcision, a literal act done on the body; (2) that state of the soul, the result of a change spiritual and unseen, of which circumcision was a symbol. "In" this latter, in respect of it, in relation to it, the pious Gentile was "circumcised." See further below on Romans 7:6.

whose praise "Whose" refers to the man. The "praise" of such a "Jew in the hidden man," his commendation as a true son of Abraham, may be refused by the Pharisees, but will be given by God when He gathers His Israel in. The whole two verses (28, 29) are more exactly rendered thus: For not the outwardly-sealed Jew is a Jew, and not the circumcision outwardly wrought in the flesh is circumcision; but the inwardly-sealed Jew, and the circumcision of the heart in spirit, not in letter; of whom the praise is not from men, but from God.