Paul’s Letter to the Galatians

1 Paul, an apostle not from men nor through a man but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead, 2 and all the brothers who are with me, to the churches of Galatia: 3* Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ 4 who gave himself for our sins in order to take us out of the present vicious world in accordance with the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be glory world without end; amen!

6 I wonder that you are so quickly shifting from the Christ who called you in grace to another gospel, 7 which is not another one, unless there are some who are disturbing you and wanting to turn the gospel of the Christ another way. 8 But even if we, or if an angel from heaven, preaches to you a gospel inconsistent with the gospel we preached, let him be for God’s destruction. 9 As we have said before, now too I say again, if anyone preaches to you a gospel inconsistent with what you did have given to you, let him be for God’s destruction.

10 For am I now persuading men or God? or am I aiming to please men? If I were still pleasing men I should not be Christ’s property. 11* And I give you notice, brothers, as to the gospel preached by me that it is not along human lines; 12 for I did not even take it over nor receive teaching from a man, but through a revelation of Jesus Christ. 13 For you have heard about my life back in my Jewish days, that I was extraordinarily active in persecuting and ravaging God’s church, 14 and went further in Jewishness than a good many in my race who were of my age, being a very special zealot for the traditions I had from my fathers. 15 But when he who had set me apart before I was born and had called me by his grace was pleased 16 to reveal his Son in me in order that I might preach his gospel among the nations, at once I did not consult flesh and blood 17 nor go up to Jerusalem to those who had been apostles before me but went off into Arabia, and came back again to Damascus. 18 Then, after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to look up Cephas, and stayed at his house a fortnight, 19 but did not see another of the apostles, except the Lord’s brother James. 20* And in what I am writing to you God knows I am not lying. 21 Then I came into the Syrian and Cilician neighborhood. 22 But I was unknown by face to the churches of Christ in Judea; 23 but they only heard “He who once persecuted us is now preaching the gospel of the faith he used to ravage,” 24 and glorified God over me.

2 Then, after fourteen years, I went up to Jerusalem again with Barnabas, taking Titus along too. 2 And I went up in accordance with a revelation; and I laid before them the gospel I am proclaiming among the nations, but privately before those who had reputations, for fear that I should be or had been running a bootless course; 3* but there was no requirement that even Titus who was with me, being a Greek, should be circumcised. 4 But because of the intrusive false brothers who had intruded themselves to spy on our liberty that we have in Christ Jesus, in order to enslave us,— 5 to whom we did not for a moment give way in submission, in order that the truth of the gospel might remain with you. 6 But from those who had the reputation of being something (what they were makes no difference to me; God does not defer to a man’s personality)—for those who had reputations propounded nothing to me, 7* but on the contrary, as they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel message for the uncircumcised as Peter had with that for the circumcised, 8* for he who had inspired Peter to the apostleship for the circumcised had inspired me too to the nations, 9** and finding the grace that had been given to me, James and Cephas and John, those who had the reputation of being pillars, shook hands with Barnabas and me on a partnership, we to address ourselves to the nations and they to the circumcised; 10* only we were to remember the poor, which is just what I have made a point of doing. 11 But when Cephas came to Antioch I opposed him face to face because he was recognizably in the wrong; 12*** for before a certain person came from James he ate together with the foreigners, but when he came he flinched and separated himself, being afraid of the circumcised party, 13 and the rest of the Jews played the hypocrite together with him, so that even Barnabas was carried along with their hypocrisy; 14 but when I saw that they were not taking a straight line by the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before everybody “If you, when you are a Jew, are living in foreign fashion and not in Jewish, how is it you are forcing the foreigners to go Jewish? 15 We, as by natural birth Jews and not sinful foreigners, 16*** but knowing that a man is not justified as the outcome of deeds in observance of the law but only through faith in Jesus Christ, even we put our faith in Jesus Christ in order that we might be justified as the outcome of faith in Christ and not of deeds under the law, because out of the deeds under the law no mortal will be justified. 17 But if in seeking to be justified in Christ we ourselves have been found sinful too, then Christ is an auxiliary to sin! away with the thought! 18 For if I build up again what I did break down, I certify myself a transgressor. 19 As for me, through the law I died to the law in order that I might be alive to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ; and no longer I am alive, but Christ is alive in me; and insofar as I am now alive in flesh I am alive in faith on the Son of God who loved me and gave himself up for me. 21* I do not disregard God’s grace. For if there is righteousness through the law, then Christ died superfluously.”

3 You stupid Galatians, who hypnotized you, you who had had it advertised before your eyes that Jesus Christ was crucified? 2** I want to find out this one thing from you: was it as the outcome of deeds in observance of the law that you received the Spirit or was it as the outcome of listening in faith? 3 Are you so stupid as this? when you began by Spirit are you now finishing by flesh? 4 Did you undergo so much for nothing?—if for nothing it was! 5** Does he who furnishes the Spirit to you, then, and who works miracles among you, do it as the outcome of deeds in observance of the law or as the outcome of listening in faith? 6 As Abraham “believed God, and it was counted as righteousness for him.” 7* Know, then, that it is the men of faith who are sons of Abraham. 8 And the text, foreseeing that God is justifying the nations as the outcome of faith, gave Abraham the anticipatory gospel message “In you all the nations shall be blessed,” 9 so that the men of faith are blessed with believing Abraham. 10* For as many as are on the basis of deeds in observance of the law are under a curse; for it says “Accursed is everyone who does not persist in everything written in the book of the law to live up to it.” 11* And that in the law nobody is justified in God’s presence is obvious, because “the righteous man shall have life by virtue of faith” 12 and the law is not by virtue of faith but “he who practices them shall have life by them.” 13* Christ bought us off from the curse of the law, becoming a curse for us (because it says “anyone hanging on wood is accursed”), 14* that in Jesus Christ Abraham’s blessing might be on the nations, that we might receive the promised gift of the Spirit through faith.

15 Brothers, I speak from a human point of view; it is the same with a human engagement: when it has been validated, nobody ignores it or adds new conditions to it. 16 But the promise was uttered to Abraham “and his seed”—he does not say “and seeds” as referring to many, but, as referring to one, “and your seed,” who is Christ. 17 And this is what I am saying: when an engagement had been previously validated by God, the law that came into existence four hundred and thirty years later could not invalidate it so as to supersede the promise. 18* For if the inheritance is on the basis of a law it is no longer on the basis of a promise; but God has granted it to Abraham by a promise.

19* How about the law then? It was added with a view to transgressions, until the Seed to whom the promise was made should come, and was prescribed through angels by the hand of an intermediary. 20* But an intermediary is not the intermediary of one. But God is one. 21** So is the law in antagonism to God’s promises? away with the thought! For if there had been given a law that could bring life, righteousness would really be by the law; 22* but the text has shut up everything under sin in order that as the outcome of faith in Jesus Christ the fulfillment of the promise might be given to those who believe.

23* But before faith came we were kept in custody under the law, shut up to be ready for the faith that was going to be revealed, 24* so that the law has been our conductor to Christ in order that we might be justified on the basis of faith. 25 But now that faith has come we are no longer under a conductor.

26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For all you who have been baptized to Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ; 28 there is no such thing as Jew or Greek, there is no such thing as slave or free, there is no such thing as male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are seed of Abraham, heirs by promise.

4 But, I am saying, for so long as the heir is an infant he is no different from a slave though he is master of everything, 2 but is under guardians and stewards until the date that the father sets; 3 in the same way we, when we were infants, were enslaved under the elementary things of the world. 4* But when the full time had elapsed God sent out his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to buy off those who were under the law, so that we might receive our adoption as sons. 6** And because you are sons God sent out his Son’s spirit into our hearts crying “Abba,” Father. 7 So that you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, an heir too through God.

8* But then, not knowing God, you were in slavery to those who in nature are not gods. 9 But now when you do know God, or rather are known by God, how is it you are turning back again to the weak and cheap elementary things, to which you want to be in slavery over again? 10 you watch days and months and dates and years. 11 I am afraid of you, that I may have done my hard work on you for nothing. 12 Become like me, because I myself am becoming like you, brothers, I beg you. You did me no wrong; 13 but you know it was because of a physical infirmity that I preached the gospel to you in the first place; 14 and you were not provoked to scorn or disgust by the temptation to you in my bodily condition, but received me like an angel of God, like Jesus Christ. 15 What has become of your self-congratulation, then? for I am your witness that if it had been possible you would have dug out your own eyes and given them to me. 16 So that I have become your enemy by telling you the truth!

17 They are jealous of you, not in a good sense, but they want to shut you out in order that you may be jealous of them. 18 But it is a good thing to have people’s jealousy in a good cause at all times and not only while I am there with you, 19 my children, with whom I am in birth-pangs again till Christ takes shape in you. 20 But I wish I could be there with you now and change my tone, because I am at my wit’s end about you.

21 Tell me, you that want to be under the law, do you not hear the law? 22 For the text says Abraham had two sons, one by the slave-girl and one by the freewoman, 23* but the one by the slave-girl had been begotten in the way of flesh and the one by the freewoman through a promise: 24 which things are said allegorically; for these are two covenants, one from Mount Sinai, producing children for slavery, which is Hagar 25*** (and Sinai is a mountain in Arabia); and it corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for that is in slavery with its children. 26 But the Jerusalem above is free, which is our mother; 27 for it says “Jubilate, barren woman who bore no children; break loose and shout, you that felt no birth-pangs; because the deserted mother’s children outnumber those of the husbanded mother.” 28 And you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of a promise; 29 but just as then the one born in the way of flesh persecuted the one born in the way of spirit, 30 so now—but what does the text say? “Turn out the slave-girl and her son, for the slave-girl’s son shall not inherit along with the freewoman’s!”

31 Wherefore, brothers, we are not children of a slave-girl but of the freewoman.

5 It was to freedom that Christ liberated us; so stand firm and do not be held in a yoke of slavery again. 2 Here, it is I, Paul, that am telling you: if you get circumcised, Christ will not do you any good at all. 3* And again I declare to every man who gets circumcised that he owes the performance of the whole of the law. 4 You are disengaged from Christ, you who are being justified by the law; you have dropped out of grace; 5 for we by the Spirit await on the basis of faith a hope of justification. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any effect, but faith active through love. 7 You were running finely; who interfered with you to keep you from obeying truth? 8 the pressure is not from the one who is calling you. 9 A little piece of yeast makes all the dough yeasty. 10 But I am confident of you in the Lord that you will not take any other attitude; but he who is disturbing you shall bear the sentence he gets, whoever he is. 11 But why am I, brothers, still being persecuted, if I am still preaching circumcision? then the difficulty of the cross is shelved. 12* It would be a good thing if those who are unsettling you would do something more to themselves than circumcision.

13 For you, brothers, were called on terms of liberty; only do not make liberty an opening for the flesh, but be in slavery to each other through love. 14* For all of the law is fulfilled in one proposition, to love one’s neighbor as one’s self. 15 But if you bite and eat each other, look out that you do not get used up by each other.

16 But I am saying, walk by the Spirit and you shall not fulfill the desire of flesh. 17* For the flesh feels desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these two are opposed to each other in order that you may not do whatever you wish. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 And the activities of the flesh are plain, which are unchastity, nastiness, indecency, 20 idolatry, witchcraft, hatreds, quarreling, jealousy, fits of passion, schemes of church politics, factions, dissensions, 21 envying, getting drunk, wild parties, and things similar to these; as to which I forewarn you, just as I did, that those who do such things will not inherit the Reign of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, 23 meekness, self-mastery; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its susceptibilities and desires. 25 If we are alive by the Spirit, let us guide ourselves by the Spirit; 26 let us not grow pretentious, challenging each other, envying each other.

6* Brothers, if a person does get swept into some offense, straighten him out, you spiritual ones, in the spirit of meekness, having an eye to yourself for fear you too should be tempted. 2* Carry each other’s burdens, and so you will fulfill Christ’s law. 3 For if one thinks he is something when he is nothing, he is deluding himself. 4** But let each test his own work, and then he will have his boast with regard to himself alone and not to the other man; 5* for each will be carrying his own pack.

6 But let him who receives instruction in the word share everything good with his instructor. 7* Make no mistake, there is no thumbing your nose at God; for a man will reap just the same that he sows, 8 because he who sows into his own flesh will reap out of the flesh decay, but who sows into the Spirit shall reap out of the Spirit eternal life. 9 And let us not give up doing what is good, for at the right time reap we shall if we do not weaken. 10 So then let us, as we have opportunity, practice good deeds toward everybody, and especially toward the members of our family of faith.

11 See in what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand. 12 It is such as want to make a fine appearance in flesh that are compelling you to get circumcised, only in order that for the Christ’s cross they may not be persecuted; 13 for those who get circumcised do not themselves keep the law either, but they want you to be circumcised in order that they may boast over your flesh. 14 But far be it from me to boast over anything but the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which I have the world crucified to me and myself to the world. 15* For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision amounts to anything, but only new creation; 16 and as many as shall guide themselves by this standard, peace be upon them, and mercy, and upon God’s Israel.

17* Hereafter let nobody make me trouble; for I carry Jesus’s brand on my body.

18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirits, brothers; amen.

MARGINAL NOTES TO GALATIANS