Deuteronomy 16-18
New Living Translation
Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread
16 “In honor of the Lord your God, celebrate the Passover each year in the early spring, in the month of Abib,[a] for that was the month in which the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night. 2 Your Passover sacrifice may be from either the flock or the herd, and it must be sacrificed to the Lord your God at the designated place of worship—the place he chooses for his name to be honored. 3 Eat it with bread made without yeast. For seven days the bread you eat must be made without yeast, as when you escaped from Egypt in such a hurry. Eat this bread—the bread of suffering—so that as long as you live you will remember the day you departed from Egypt. 4 Let no yeast be found in any house throughout your land for those seven days. And when you sacrifice the Passover lamb on the evening of the first day, do not let any of the meat remain until the next morning.
5 “You may not sacrifice the Passover in just any of the towns that the Lord your God is giving you. 6 You must offer it only at the designated place of worship—the place the Lord your God chooses for his name to be honored. Sacrifice it there in the evening as the sun goes down on the anniversary of your exodus from Egypt. 7 Roast the lamb and eat it in the place the Lord your God chooses. Then you may go back to your tents the next morning. 8 For the next six days you may not eat any bread made with yeast. On the seventh day proclaim another holy day in honor of the Lord your God, and no work may be done on that day.
The Festival of Harvest
9 “Count off seven weeks from when you first begin to cut the grain at the time of harvest. 10 Then celebrate the Festival of Harvest[b] to honor the Lord your God. Bring him a voluntary offering in proportion to the blessings you have received from him. 11 This is a time to celebrate before the Lord your God at the designated place of worship he will choose for his name to be honored. Celebrate with your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, the Levites from your towns, and the foreigners, orphans, and widows who live among you. 12 Remember that you were once slaves in Egypt, so be careful to obey all these decrees.
The Festival of Shelters
13 “You must observe the Festival of Shelters[c] for seven days at the end of the harvest season, after the grain has been threshed and the grapes have been pressed. 14 This festival will be a happy time of celebrating with your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows from your towns. 15 For seven days you must celebrate this festival to honor the Lord your God at the place he chooses, for it is he who blesses you with bountiful harvests and gives you success in all your work. This festival will be a time of great joy for all.
16 “Each year every man in Israel must celebrate these three festivals: the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Harvest, and the Festival of Shelters. On each of these occasions, all men must appear before the Lord your God at the place he chooses, but they must not appear before the Lord without a gift for him. 17 All must give as they are able, according to the blessings given to them by the Lord your God.
Justice for the People
18 “Appoint judges and officials for yourselves from each of your tribes in all the towns the Lord your God is giving you. They must judge the people fairly. 19 You must never twist justice or show partiality. Never accept a bribe, for bribes blind the eyes of the wise and corrupt the decisions of the godly. 20 Let true justice prevail, so you may live and occupy the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
21 “You must never set up a wooden Asherah pole beside the altar you build for the Lord your God. 22 And never set up sacred pillars for worship, for the Lord your God hates them.
17 “Never sacrifice sick or defective cattle, sheep, or goats to the Lord your God, for he detests such gifts.
2 “When you begin living in the towns the Lord your God is giving you, a man or woman among you might do evil in the sight of the Lord your God and violate the covenant. 3 For instance, they might serve other gods or worship the sun, the moon, or any of the stars—the forces of heaven—which I have strictly forbidden. 4 When you hear about it, investigate the matter thoroughly. If it is true that this detestable thing has been done in Israel, 5 then the man or woman who has committed such an evil act must be taken to the gates of the town and stoned to death. 6 But never put a person to death on the testimony of only one witness. There must always be two or three witnesses. 7 The witnesses must throw the first stones, and then all the people may join in. In this way, you will purge the evil from among you.
8 “Suppose a case arises in a local court that is too hard for you to decide—for instance, whether someone is guilty of murder or only of manslaughter, or a difficult lawsuit, or a case involving different kinds of assault. Take such legal cases to the place the Lord your God will choose, 9 and present them to the Levitical priests or the judge on duty at that time. They will hear the case and declare the verdict. 10 You must carry out the verdict they announce and the sentence they prescribe at the place the Lord chooses. You must do exactly what they say. 11 After they have interpreted the law and declared their verdict, the sentence they impose must be fully executed; do not modify it in any way. 12 Anyone arrogant enough to reject the verdict of the judge or of the priest who represents the Lord your God must die. In this way you will purge the evil from Israel. 13 Then everyone else will hear about it and be afraid to act so arrogantly.
Guidelines for a King
14 “You are about to enter the land the Lord your God is giving you. When you take it over and settle there, you may think, ‘We should select a king to rule over us like the other nations around us.’ 15 If this happens, be sure to select as king the man the Lord your God chooses. You must appoint a fellow Israelite; he may not be a foreigner.
16 “The king must not build up a large stable of horses for himself or send his people to Egypt to buy horses, for the Lord has told you, ‘You must never return to Egypt.’ 17 The king must not take many wives for himself, because they will turn his heart away from the Lord. And he must not accumulate large amounts of wealth in silver and gold for himself.
18 “When he sits on the throne as king, he must copy for himself this body of instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. 19 He must always keep that copy with him and read it daily as long as he lives. That way he will learn to fear the Lord his God by obeying all the terms of these instructions and decrees. 20 This regular reading will prevent him from becoming proud and acting as if he is above his fellow citizens. It will also prevent him from turning away from these commands in the smallest way. And it will ensure that he and his descendants will reign for many generations in Israel.
Gifts for the Priests and Levites
18 “Remember that the Levitical priests—that is, the whole of the tribe of Levi—will receive no allotment of land among the other tribes in Israel. Instead, the priests and Levites will eat from the special gifts given to the Lord, for that is their share. 2 They will have no land of their own among the Israelites. The Lord himself is their special possession, just as he promised them.
3 “These are the parts the priests may claim as their share from the cattle, sheep, and goats that the people bring as offerings: the shoulder, the cheeks, and the stomach. 4 You must also give to the priests the first share of the grain, the new wine, the olive oil, and the wool at shearing time. 5 For the Lord your God chose the tribe of Levi out of all your tribes to minister in the Lord’s name forever.
6 “Suppose a Levite chooses to move from his town in Israel, wherever he is living, to the place the Lord chooses for worship. 7 He may minister there in the name of the Lord his God, just like all his fellow Levites who are serving the Lord there. 8 He may eat his share of the sacrifices and offerings, even if he also receives support from his family.
A Call to Holy Living
9 “When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, be very careful not to imitate the detestable customs of the nations living there. 10 For example, never sacrifice your son or daughter as a burnt offering.[d] And do not let your people practice fortune-telling, or use sorcery, or interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, 11 or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord. It is because the other nations have done these detestable things that the Lord your God will drive them out ahead of you. 13 But you must be blameless before the Lord your God. 14 The nations you are about to displace consult sorcerers and fortune-tellers, but the Lord your God forbids you to do such things.”
True and False Prophets
15 Moses continued, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him. 16 For this is what you yourselves requested of the Lord your God when you were assembled at Mount Sinai.[e] You said, ‘Don’t let us hear the voice of the Lord our God anymore or see this blazing fire, for we will die.’
17 “Then the Lord said to me, ‘What they have said is right. 18 I will raise up a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites. I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell the people everything I command him. 19 I will personally deal with anyone who will not listen to the messages the prophet proclaims on my behalf. 20 But any prophet who falsely claims to speak in my name or who speaks in the name of another god must die.’
21 “But you may wonder, ‘How will we know whether or not a prophecy is from the Lord?’ 22 If the prophet speaks in the Lord’s name but his prediction does not happen or come true, you will know that the Lord did not give that message. That prophet has spoken without my authority and need not be feared.
Footnotes
- 16:1 Hebrew Observe the month of Abib, and keep the Passover unto the Lord your God. Abib, the first month of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar, usually occurs within the months of March and April.
- 16:10 Hebrew Festival of Weeks; also in 16:16. This was later called the Festival of Pentecost (see Acts 2:1). It is celebrated today as Shavuot (or Shabuoth).
- 16:13 Or Festival of Booths, or Festival of Tabernacles; also in 16:16. This was earlier called the Festival of the Final Harvest or Festival of Ingathering (see Exod 23:16b). It is celebrated today as Sukkot (or Succoth).
- 18:10 Or never make your son or daughter pass through the fire.
- 18:16 Hebrew Horeb, another name for Sinai.
Deuteronomy 16-18
New American Standard Bible
The Feasts of Passover, of Weeks, and of Booths
16 “Observe (A)the month of Abib and [a](B)celebrate the Passover to the Lord your God, for in the month of Abib the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night. 2 You shall sacrifice the Passover to the Lord your God from the flock and the herd, in the place where the Lord chooses to establish His name. 3 (C)You shall not eat leavened bread with it; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread with it, the bread of affliction (for you came out of the land of Egypt in a hurry), so that you will remember the day when you came out of the land of Egypt (D)all the days of your life. 4 For seven days no leaven shall be seen with you in your entire territory, and (E)none of the meat which you sacrifice on the evening of the first day shall be left overnight until the morning. 5 You are not allowed to sacrifice the Passover in any of your [b]towns which the Lord your God is giving you; 6 but only (F)at the place where the Lord your God chooses to establish His name, you shall sacrifice the Passover in the evening at sunset, at the time that you came out of Egypt. 7 You shall (G)cook and eat it in the place which the Lord your God chooses. In the morning you are to return to your tents. 8 For six days you shall eat unleavened bread, and (H)on the seventh day there shall be (I)a festive assembly to the Lord your God; you shall do no work on it.
9 “(J)You shall count seven weeks for yourself; you shall begin to count seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the standing grain. 10 Then you shall [c]celebrate the Feast of Weeks to the Lord your God with a [d]voluntary offering of your hand in a proportional amount, which you shall give just as the Lord your God blesses you; 11 and you shall (K)rejoice before the Lord your God, you, your son and your daughter, and your male and female slaves, and (L)the Levite who is in your [e]town, and (M)the stranger, the [f]orphan, and the widow who are in your midst, at the place where the Lord your God chooses to establish His name. 12 (N)You shall also remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and you shall be careful and [g]comply with these statutes.
13 “(O)You shall [h]celebrate the Feast of [i]Booths for seven days when you have gathered in from your threshing floor and your wine vat; 14 and you shall (P)rejoice in your feast, you, your son and your daughter, and your male and female slaves, and the Levite, the stranger, the [j]orphan, and the widow who are in your [k]towns. 15 For seven days you shall celebrate a feast to the Lord your God in the place which the Lord chooses, because the Lord your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you will be altogether joyful.
16 “(Q)Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God at the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Booths; and (R)they are not to appear before the Lord empty-handed. 17 Everyone [l]shall give as he is able, in accordance with the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you.
18 “You shall appoint for yourself judges and officers in all your [m]towns which the Lord your God is giving you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment. 19 (S)You shall not distort justice, (T)you shall not [n]show partiality; and (U)you shall not accept a bribe, because a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and distorts the words of the righteous. 20 Justice, and only justice, you shall pursue, so that (V)you may live and possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
21 “(W)You shall not plant for yourself an [o]Asherah of any kind of tree beside the altar of the Lord your God, which you shall make for yourself. 22 And (X)you shall not set up for yourself a memorial stone, which the Lord your God hates.
Administration of Justice
17 “(Y)You shall not sacrifice to the Lord your God an ox or a sheep which has a blemish or any [p]defect, for that is a detestable thing to the Lord your God.
2 “(Z)If there is found in your midst, in any of your [q]towns which the Lord your God is giving you, a man or a woman who does what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God, by violating His covenant, 3 and that person has gone and (AA)served other gods and worshiped them, (AB)or the sun, the moon, or any of the heavenly [r]lights, (AC)which I have commanded not to do, 4 and if it is reported to you and you have heard about it, then you shall investigate thoroughly. And [s]if it is true and the report is trustworthy that this detestable thing has been done in Israel, 5 then you are to bring out to your gates that man or woman who has done this evil deed, that is, the man or the woman, and (AD)you shall stone them to [t]death. 6 (AE)On the [u]testimony of two witnesses or three witnesses, the [v]condemned shall be put to death; he shall not be put to death on the [w]testimony of only one witness. 7 (AF)The hands of the witnesses shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. (AG)So you shall eliminate the evil from your midst.
8 “(AH)If a case is too difficult for you to decide, between [x]one kind of homicide or another, between [y]one kind of lawsuit or another, and between [z]one kind of assault or another, that are cases of dispute in your [aa]courts, then you shall arise and go up to (AI)the place which the Lord your God chooses. 9 So you shall come to (AJ)the Levitical priests or the judge who is in office in those days, and you shall inquire of them and they will declare to you the [ab]verdict. 10 Then you shall act in accordance with the [ac]terms of the verdict which they declare to you from that place which the Lord chooses; and you shall be careful to act in accordance with everything that they instruct you to do. 11 (AK)In accordance with the [ad]terms of the law about which they instruct you, and in accordance with the verdict which they tell you, you shall act; you shall not turn aside from the word which they declare to you, to the right or the left. 12 But the person who acts (AL)insolently by not listening to the priest who stands there to serve the Lord your God, nor to the judge, that person shall die; so you shall eliminate the evil from Israel. 13 Then all the people will hear and be afraid, and will not act (AM)insolently again.
14 “When you enter the land which the Lord your God is giving you, and you (AN)take possession of it and live in it, and you say, ‘(AO)I will appoint a king over me like all the nations who are around me,’ 15 you shall in fact appoint a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses. One (AP)from among your countrymen you shall appoint as king over yourselves; you may not put a foreigner over yourselves, anyone who is not your countryman. 16 (AQ)In any case, he is not to acquire many horses for himself, nor shall he (AR)make the people return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since (AS)the Lord has said to you, ‘You shall never again return that way.’ 17 And (AT)he shall not acquire many wives for himself, so that his heart does not turn away; nor shall he greatly increase silver and gold for himself.
18 “Now it shall come about, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this Law on a scroll [ae](AU)in the presence of the Levitical priests. 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read it (AV)all the days of his life, so that he will learn to fear the Lord his God, [af]by carefully following all the words of this Law and these statutes, 20 so that his heart will not be haughty toward his countrymen, (AW)and that he will not turn away from the commandment to the right or the left, so that he and his sons may [ag]live long in his kingdom in the midst of Israel.
Portion for the Levites
18 “(AX)The Levitical priests, the whole tribe of Levi, shall not have a portion or inheritance with Israel; they shall eat the Lord’s offerings by fire and His [ah]property. 2 (AY)They shall not have an inheritance among their countrymen; the Lord is their inheritance, as He [ai]promised them.
3 “(AZ)Now this shall be the priests’ portion from the people, from those who offer a sacrifice, either an ox or a sheep: they shall give the priest the shoulder, the two cheeks, and the stomach. 4 You shall give him the (BA)first fruits of your grain, your new wine, and your oil, and the first fleece of your sheep. 5 (BB)For the Lord your God has chosen him and his sons from all your tribes, to (BC)stand to serve in the name of the Lord always.
6 “Now if a Levite comes from any of your [aj]towns throughout Israel where he (BD)resides, and he comes [ak]whenever he desires to the place which the Lord chooses, 7 then he shall serve in the name of the Lord his God, like all his fellow Levites who stand there before the Lord. 8 (BE)They shall eat [al]equal portions, except for what they receive from the sale of their fathers’ estates.
Spiritism Forbidden
9 “When you enter the land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to [am](BF)imitate the detestable things of those nations. 10 There shall not be found among you anyone (BG)who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, a (BH)soothsayer, one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, 11 or one who casts a spell, (BI)or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who consults the dead. 12 For whoever does these things is detestable to the Lord; and (BJ)because of these detestable things the Lord your God is going to drive them out before you. 13 (BK)You are to be blameless before the Lord your God. 14 For these nations, which you are going to dispossess, listen to (BL)soothsayers and diviners, but as for you, the Lord your God has not allowed you to do so.
15 “(BM)The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen; to him you shall listen. 16 This is (BN)in accordance with everything that you asked of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, saying, ‘Do not let me hear the voice of the Lord my God again, and do not let me see this great fire anymore, or I will die!’ 17 And (BO)the Lord said to me, ‘They have [an]spoken well. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and (BP)I will put My words in his mouth, and (BQ)he shall speak to them everything that I command him. 19 (BR)And it shall come about that whoever does not listen to My words which he speaks in My name, I Myself will [ao]require it of him. 20 But the prophet who speaks a word (BS)presumptuously in My name, a word which I have not commanded him to speak, or (BT)which he speaks in the name of other gods, [ap]that prophet shall die.’ 21 And if you say in your heart, ‘How will we recognize the word which the Lord has not spoken?’ 22 (BU)When the prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, and the thing does not happen or come true, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it (BV)presumptuously; you are not to be afraid of him.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 16:1 Lit perform
- Deuteronomy 16:5 Lit gates
- Deuteronomy 16:10 Lit perform
- Deuteronomy 16:10 Or freewill offering
- Deuteronomy 16:11 Lit gates
- Deuteronomy 16:11 Or fatherless
- Deuteronomy 16:12 Lit perform these
- Deuteronomy 16:13 Lit perform
- Deuteronomy 16:13 Or Tabernacles
- Deuteronomy 16:14 Or fatherless
- Deuteronomy 16:14 Lit gates
- Deuteronomy 16:17 Lit according to the gift of his hand
- Deuteronomy 16:18 Lit gates
- Deuteronomy 16:19 Lit recognize faces
- Deuteronomy 16:21 I.e., wooden symbol of a female deity
- Deuteronomy 17:1 Lit bad thing
- Deuteronomy 17:2 Lit gates
- Deuteronomy 17:3 Lit host
- Deuteronomy 17:4 Lit behold, true
- Deuteronomy 17:5 Lit death with stones
- Deuteronomy 17:6 Lit mouth
- Deuteronomy 17:6 Lit one dying
- Deuteronomy 17:6 Lit mouth
- Deuteronomy 17:8 Lit blood to blood
- Deuteronomy 17:8 Lit lawsuit to lawsuit
- Deuteronomy 17:8 Lit blow to blow
- Deuteronomy 17:8 Lit gates
- Deuteronomy 17:9 Lit word of decision
- Deuteronomy 17:10 Lit mouth
- Deuteronomy 17:11 Lit mouth
- Deuteronomy 17:18 Lit from before
- Deuteronomy 17:19 Lit to keep all...to do them,
- Deuteronomy 17:20 Lit prolong days
- Deuteronomy 18:1 Or inheritance
- Deuteronomy 18:2 Lit spoke to
- Deuteronomy 18:6 Lit gates
- Deuteronomy 18:6 Lit with all the desire of his soul
- Deuteronomy 18:8 Lit portion like portion
- Deuteronomy 18:9 Lit do as
- Deuteronomy 18:17 Lit done well what they have spoken
- Deuteronomy 18:19 I.e., hold him responsible
- Deuteronomy 18:20 Lit then that
Psalm 38
New Living Translation
Psalm 38
A psalm of David, asking God to remember him.
1 O Lord, don’t rebuke me in your anger
or discipline me in your rage!
2 Your arrows have struck deep,
and your blows are crushing me.
3 Because of your anger, my whole body is sick;
my health is broken because of my sins.
4 My guilt overwhelms me—
it is a burden too heavy to bear.
5 My wounds fester and stink
because of my foolish sins.
6 I am bent over and racked with pain.
All day long I walk around filled with grief.
7 A raging fever burns within me,
and my health is broken.
8 I am exhausted and completely crushed.
My groans come from an anguished heart.
9 You know what I long for, Lord;
you hear my every sigh.
10 My heart beats wildly, my strength fails,
and I am going blind.
11 My loved ones and friends stay away, fearing my disease.
Even my own family stands at a distance.
12 Meanwhile, my enemies lay traps to kill me.
Those who wish me harm make plans to ruin me.
All day long they plan their treachery.
13 But I am deaf to all their threats.
I am silent before them as one who cannot speak.
14 I choose to hear nothing,
and I make no reply.
15 For I am waiting for you, O Lord.
You must answer for me, O Lord my God.
16 I prayed, “Don’t let my enemies gloat over me
or rejoice at my downfall.”
17 I am on the verge of collapse,
facing constant pain.
18 But I confess my sins;
I am deeply sorry for what I have done.
19 I have many aggressive enemies;
they hate me without reason.
20 They repay me evil for good
and oppose me for pursuing good.
21 Do not abandon me, O Lord.
Do not stand at a distance, my God.
22 Come quickly to help me,
O Lord my savior.
Psalm 38
New American Standard Bible
Prayer of a Suffering Penitent.
A Psalm of David, for a memorial.
38 Lord, (A)do not rebuke me in Your wrath,
And do not punish me in Your burning anger.
2 For Your (B)arrows have sunk deep into me,
And (C)Your hand has pressed down on me.
3 There is (D)no healthy part in my flesh (E)because of Your indignation;
There is no health (F)in my bones because of my sin.
4 For my (G)guilty deeds have gone over my head;
Like a heavy burden they weigh too much for me.
5 My [a]wounds grow foul and fester
Because of (H)my foolishness.
6 I am bent over and (I)greatly bowed down;
I (J)go in mourning all day long.
7 For my [b]sides are filled with (K)burning,
And there is (L)no healthy part in my flesh.
8 I feel (M)faint and [c]badly crushed;
I [d](N)groan because of the [e]agitation of my heart.
9 Lord, all (O)my desire is [f]before You;
And my (P)sighing is not hidden from You.
10 My heart throbs, (Q)my strength fails me;
And the (R)light of my eyes, even [g]that [h]has gone from me.
11 My [i](S)loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague;
And my kinsmen (T)stand far away.
12 Those who (U)seek my life (V)lay snares for me;
And those who (W)seek to injure me have [j]threatened destruction,
And they (X)plot deception all day long.
13 But I, like a person who is deaf, do not hear;
And I am like a (Y)person who cannot speak, who does not open his mouth.
14 Yes, I am like a person who does not hear,
And in whose mouth are no arguments.
15 For (Z)I wait for You, Lord;
You (AA)will answer, Lord my God.
16 For I said, “May they not rejoice over me,
Who, when my foot slips, (AB)would exalt themselves over me.”
17 For I am (AC)ready to fall,
And (AD)my [k]sorrow is continually before me.
18 For I (AE)admit my guilt;
I am full of (AF)anxiety because of my sin.
19 But my (AG)enemies are vigorous and [l]strong,
And those who wrongfully (AH)hate me are many.
20 And those who (AI)repay evil for good,
They (AJ)become my enemies, because I follow what is good.
21 Do not abandon me, Lord;
My God, (AK)do not be far from me!
22 (AL)Hurry to help me,
Lord, (AM)my salvation!
Footnotes
- Psalm 38:5 Or stripes
- Psalm 38:7 Lit loins
- Psalm 38:8 Or greatly
- Psalm 38:8 Lit roar
- Psalm 38:8 Lit growling
- Psalm 38:9 Or known to You
- Psalm 38:10 Lit they have
- Psalm 38:10 Lit is not with me
- Psalm 38:11 Or lovers
- Psalm 38:12 Lit spoken
- Psalm 38:17 Lit pain
- Psalm 38:19 Or numerous
Galatians 2
New Living Translation
The Apostles Accept Paul
2 Then fourteen years later I went back to Jerusalem again, this time with Barnabas; and Titus came along, too. 2 I went there because God revealed to me that I should go. While I was there I met privately with those considered to be leaders of the church and shared with them the message I had been preaching to the Gentiles. I wanted to make sure that we were in agreement, for fear that all my efforts had been wasted and I was running the race for nothing. 3 And they supported me and did not even demand that my companion Titus be circumcised, though he was a Gentile.[a]
4 Even that question came up only because of some so-called believers there—false ones, really[b]—who were secretly brought in. They sneaked in to spy on us and take away the freedom we have in Christ Jesus. They wanted to enslave us and force us to follow their Jewish regulations. 5 But we refused to give in to them for a single moment. We wanted to preserve the truth of the gospel message for you.
6 And the leaders of the church had nothing to add to what I was preaching. (By the way, their reputation as great leaders made no difference to me, for God has no favorites.) 7 Instead, they saw that God had given me the responsibility of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as he had given Peter the responsibility of preaching to the Jews. 8 For the same God who worked through Peter as the apostle to the Jews also worked through me as the apostle to the Gentiles.
9 In fact, James, Peter,[c] and John, who were known as pillars of the church, recognized the gift God had given me, and they accepted Barnabas and me as their co-workers. They encouraged us to keep preaching to the Gentiles, while they continued their work with the Jews. 10 Their only suggestion was that we keep on helping the poor, which I have always been eager to do.
Paul Confronts Peter
11 But when Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him to his face, for what he did was very wrong. 12 When he first arrived, he ate with the Gentile believers, who were not circumcised. But afterward, when some friends of James came, Peter wouldn’t eat with the Gentiles anymore. He was afraid of criticism from these people who insisted on the necessity of circumcision. 13 As a result, other Jewish believers followed Peter’s hypocrisy, and even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.
14 When I saw that they were not following the truth of the gospel message, I said to Peter in front of all the others, “Since you, a Jew by birth, have discarded the Jewish laws and are living like a Gentile, why are you now trying to make these Gentiles follow the Jewish traditions?
15 “You and I are Jews by birth, not ‘sinners’ like the Gentiles. 16 Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law.”[d]
17 But suppose we seek to be made right with God through faith in Christ and then we are found guilty because we have abandoned the law. Would that mean Christ has led us into sin? Absolutely not! 18 Rather, I am a sinner if I rebuild the old system of law I already tore down. 19 For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me. So I died to the law—I stopped trying to meet all its requirements—so that I might live for God. 20 My old self has been crucified with Christ.[e] It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.
Galatians 2
New American Standard Bible
The Council at Jerusalem
2 Then after an interval of fourteen years I (A)went up again to Jerusalem with (B)Barnabas, taking (C)Titus along also. 2 [a]It was because of a (D)revelation that I went up; and I submitted to them the (E)gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but I did so in private to those who were of reputation, for fear that somehow I might be (F)running, or had run, in vain. 3 But not even (G)Titus, who was with me, though he was a Greek, was (H)compelled to be circumcised. 4 Yet it was a concern because of the (I)false brothers secretly brought in, who (J)had sneaked in to spy on our (K)freedom which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to (L)enslave us. 5 But we did not yield in subjection to them, even for an hour, so that (M)the truth of the gospel would remain with you. 6 But from those who [b]were of considerable (N)repute (what they were makes no difference to me; (O)God shows no favoritism)—well, those who were of repute contributed nothing to me. 7 But on the contrary, seeing that I had been (P)entrusted with the (Q)gospel [c]to the uncircumcised, just as (R)Peter had been [d]to the circumcised 8 (for He who was at work for Peter in his (S)apostleship [e]to the circumcised was at work for me also to the Gentiles), 9 and recognizing (T)the grace that had been given to me, [f](U)James and [g](V)Cephas and John, who were (W)reputed to be (X)pillars, gave to me and (Y)Barnabas the (Z)right [h]hand of fellowship, so that we might (AA)go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised. 10 They only asked us to remember the poor—(AB)the very thing I also was eager to do.
Peter (Cephas) Opposed by Paul
11 But when (AC)Cephas came to (AD)Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he [i]stood condemned. 12 For prior to the coming of some men from [j](AE)James, he used to (AF)eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and separate himself, (AG)fearing those from the circumcision. 13 The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even (AH)Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that they (AI)were not [k]straightforward about (AJ)the truth of the gospel, I said to (AK)Cephas in the presence of all, “If you, being a Jew, (AL)live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?[l]
15 “We are (AM)Jews by nature and not (AN)sinners from the Gentiles; 16 nevertheless, knowing that (AO)a person is not justified by works of [m]the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by (AP)faith in Christ and not by works of [n]the Law; since (AQ)by works of [o]the Law no [p]flesh will be justified. 17 But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found (AR)sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? [q](AS)Far from it! 18 For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I (AT)prove myself to be a wrongdoer. 19 For through [r]the Law I (AU)died to [s]the Law, so that I might live for God. 20 I have been (AV)crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but (AW)Christ lives in me; and [t]the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in (AX)the Son of God, who (AY)loved me and (AZ)gave Himself up for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for (BA)if righteousness comes through [u]the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”
Footnotes
- Galatians 2:2 Lit according to revelation I went up
- Galatians 2:6 Lit reputed as being something
- Galatians 2:7 Lit of the uncircumcision; i.e., to Gentiles
- Galatians 2:7 Lit of the circumcision; i.e., to Jews
- Galatians 2:8 See note 2 v 7
- Galatians 2:9 Or Jacob
- Galatians 2:9 I.e., Peter
- Galatians 2:9 Lit hands
- Galatians 2:11 Or was to be condemned; lit was one who was condemned; or was self-condemned
- Galatians 2:12 Or Jacob
- Galatians 2:14 Or progressing toward; lit walking straightly
- Galatians 2:14 Some close the direct quotation here, others extend it through v 21
- Galatians 2:16 Or law
- Galatians 2:16 Or law
- Galatians 2:16 Or law
- Galatians 2:16 Or mortal man
- Galatians 2:17 Lit May it never happen!
- Galatians 2:19 Or law
- Galatians 2:19 Or law
- Galatians 2:20 Or insofar as I
- Galatians 2:21 Or law
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
