Galatians 1
New American Standard Bible
Introduction
1 Paul, (A)an apostle ((B)not sent from men nor through human agency, but (C)through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who (D)raised Him from the dead), 2 and all (E)the brothers who are with me,
To (F)the churches of Galatia:
3 (G)Grace to you and peace from [a]God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who (H)gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from (I)this present evil [b]age, according to the will of (J)our God and Father, 5 (K)to whom be the glory forevermore. Amen.
Distortion of the Gospel
6 I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting (L)Him who called you [c]by the grace of Christ, for a (M)different gospel, 7 which is not just another account; but there are some who are (N)disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or (O)an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be [d](P)accursed! 9 As we (Q)have said before, even now I say again: (R)if anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be [e](S)accursed!
10 For am I now (T)seeking the favor of people, or of God? Or am I striving to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a (U)bond-servant of Christ.
Paul Defends His Ministry
11 For (V)I would have you know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel which was preached by me is (W)not [f]of human invention. 12 For (X)I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a (Y)revelation of Jesus Christ.
13 For you have heard of (Z)my former way of life in Judaism, how I (AA)used to persecute (AB)the church of God beyond measure and (AC)tried to destroy it; 14 and I (AD)was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my [g]countrymen, being more extremely zealous for my (AE)ancestral traditions. 15 But when [h]He who had set me apart even from my mother’s womb and (AF)called me through His grace was pleased 16 to reveal His Son in me so that I might (AG)preach Him among the Gentiles, (AH)I did not immediately consult with [i](AI)flesh and blood, 17 (AJ)nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went away to Arabia, and returned once more to (AK)Damascus.
18 Then (AL)three years later I went up (AM)to Jerusalem to [j]become acquainted with [k](AN)Cephas, and stayed with him for fifteen days. 19 But I did not see another one of the apostles except [l](AO)James, the Lord’s brother. 20 (Now in what I am writing to you, [m]I assure you (AP)before God that I am not lying.) 21 Then (AQ)I went into the regions of (AR)Syria and (AS)Cilicia. 22 I was still unknown by [n]sight to (AT)the churches of Judea which are (AU)in Christ; 23 but they only kept hearing, “The man who once persecuted us is now preaching (AV)the faith which he once (AW)tried to destroy.” 24 And they (AX)were glorifying God [o]because of me.
Footnotes
- Galatians 1:3 One early ms God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ
- Galatians 1:4 Or world
- Galatians 1:6 Lit in
- Galatians 1:8 Gr anathema
- Galatians 1:9 Gr anathema
- Galatians 1:11 Lit according to man
- Galatians 1:14 Lit race
- Galatians 1:15 One early ms God who
- Galatians 1:16 I.e., people
- Galatians 1:18 Or visit
- Galatians 1:18 I.e., Peter
- Galatians 1:19 Or Jacob
- Galatians 1:20 Lit behold before God
- Galatians 1:22 Lit face
- Galatians 1:24 Lit in me
Galatians 1
The Voice
1 Paul, an emissary[a] commissioned directly by Jesus the Anointed One and God the Father (who raised Him from the dead)—not (as some claim) an agent of men or any person— 2 and all the brothers and sisters with me to you, the churches of Galatia.
3 May the grace and peace of God the Father and the Lord Jesus the Anointed live in you; 4 He is the very Savior who rescues us from this present, perverse age dominated by evil by giving His life according to our Father’s will to deal with our sins. 5 May God’s glorious name forever receive honor. Amen.
From the opening address, it is clear that Paul is angry with what is going on among the churches of Galatia. He feels compelled to defend himself from opponents who are attacking his call as Jesus’ emissary. Paul counters the attack by distancing himself from any human institution: he was not called by any church or committee. God the Father and the Lord Jesus commissioned Paul directly to be the emissary to the nations.
6 Frankly I am stunned. I cannot believe that you have abandoned God so quickly—even after He called you through the grace of the Anointed One—and have fallen for a different gospel. 7 Actually there is only one true gospel of the Anointed, and you—because of divisive prodding by others—are accepting a distorted version which is not the gospel at all!
People are being deceived with an imitation of the true gospel, and they have bought into it. The words are nothing but twisted lies.
8 No matter the source of the false gospel, even if it is preached by us or a heavenly messenger, ignore it. May those who add to or subtract from the gospel of Jesus be eternally cursed! 9 Listen again: if anyone preaches to you a gospel other than what you have accepted, may he find himself cursed!
10 Do you think I care about the approval of men or about the approval of God? Do you think I am on a mission to please people? If I am still spinning my wheels trying to please men, then there is no way I can be a servant of the Anointed One, the Liberating King.
11 Know this, dear brothers and sisters: the good news I brought to you isn’t the latest in fiction or the product of some creative mind. 12 It is not a legend I learned or one that has been passed down from person to person, ear to ear. I was gifted with this message as Jesus the Anointed revealed Himself miraculously to me. 13 Surely you are familiar with my personal history, with my dedication to the teachings and traditions of Judaism. I persecuted the church of God—in fact, I meant to destroy it. 14 I excelled in the teachings of Judaism far above other Jewish leaders, and I was zealous to practice the ways of our ancestors. 15 But God—who set me apart even before birth and called me by His grace—chose, to His great delight, 16 to reveal His Son in me so I could tell His story among the outsider nations. I didn’t confer with anyone right away, 17 nor did I go to those who were already emissaries[b] in Jerusalem. I went straight to Arabia and later returned to Damascus.
18 After living this adventurous mission for three years, I made my way to Jerusalem and spent 15 days with Cephas, whom you know as Peter. 19 But I didn’t see any emissary[c] other than James, our Lord’s brother. 20 (You can be certain that what I am offering you is an authentic account. Before God, it’s the whole truth—I wouldn’t lie.) 21 Later I journeyed to Syria and Cilicia; 22 and since I had spent so little time in Judea among the churches of the Anointed One, no one there could pick me out of a crowd. 23 But stories of my call and mission preceded me: “The very man who wanted to kill us all is now preaching the faith he once labored to destroy.” 24 And so they praised God for the miracle He did in my life.
Galatians 1
New Life Version
1 This letter is from Paul. I am a missionary sent by Jesus Christ and God the Father Who raised Jesus from the dead. I am not sent by men or by any one man. 2 All the Christians join me in writing to you who are in the churches in the country of Galatia. 3 May you have loving-favor and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. 4 He gave Him-self to die for our sins. He did this so we could be saved from this sinful world. This is what God wanted Him to do. 5 May He have all the honor forever. Let it be so.
Men Must Not Change the Good News
6 I am surprised you are leaving Christ so soon. You were chosen through His loving-favor. But now you are turning and listening to another kind of good news. 7 No! There is not another kind of good news. There are some who would like to lead you in the wrong way. They want to change the Good News about Christ. 8 Even if we or an angel from heaven should preach another kind of good news to you that is not the one we preached, let him be cursed. 9 As we said before, I will say it again. If any man is preaching another good news to you which is not the one you have received, let him be cursed.
This Good News Is from God
10 Do you think I am trying to get the favor of men, or of God? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant owned by Christ.
11 Christian brothers, I want you to know the Good News I preached to you was not made by man. 12 I did not receive it from man. No one taught it to me. I received it from Jesus Christ as He showed it to me.
13 You have heard of my old life when I followed the Jewish religion. I made it as hard as I could for the Christians and did everything I could to destroy the Christian church. 14 I had learned more about the Jewish religion than many of the Jews my age. I had a much stronger desire than they to follow the ways of our early fathers. 15 But God chose me before I was born. By His loving-favor He called me to work for Him. 16 His Son was to be seen in me. He did this so I could preach about Christ to the people who are not Jews. When this happened, I did not talk to men. 17 I did not even go to Jerusalem to talk to those who were missionaries before me. Instead, I went to the country of Arabia. Later I returned to the city of Damascus.
18 Three years later I went to Jerusalem to meet Peter. I stayed with him fifteen days. 19 I did not see any of the other missionaries except James, the Lord’s brother. 20 I am writing the truth. God knows I am not lying.
21 I went from Jerusalem to the countries of Syria and Cilicia. 22 None of the Christians in the churches in the country of Judea had ever seen me. 23 The only thing they heard was, “The one who tried to destroy the Christian church is now preaching the Good News!” 24 And they gave thanks to God because of me.
Gálatas 1
Nueva Biblia de las Américas
Saludo
1 Pablo, apóstol(A), no de parte de hombres(B) ni mediante hombre alguno, sino por medio de Jesucristo(C) y de Dios el Padre que lo resucitó de entre los muertos(D), 2 y todos los hermanos que están conmigo(E):
A las iglesias de Galacia(F): 3 Gracia y paz a ustedes de parte de Dios nuestro Padre y del Señor Jesucristo[a](G), 4 que Él mismo se dio por nuestros pecados(H) para librarnos[b] de este presente siglo[c](I) malo, conforme a la voluntad de nuestro Dios y Padre(J), 5 a quien sea la gloria por los siglos de los siglos(K). Amén.
No hay otro evangelio
6 Me maravillo de que tan pronto ustedes hayan abandonado a Aquel que los llamó(L) por[d] la gracia de Cristo[e], para seguir un evangelio diferente(M), 7 que en realidad no es otro evangelio, sino que hay algunos que los perturban(N) a ustedes y quieren pervertir el evangelio de Cristo. 8 Pero si aun nosotros, o un ángel del cielo(O), les anunciara otro evangelio contrario al[f] que les hemos anunciado, sea anatema[g](P).
9 Como hemos dicho antes(Q), también repito ahora: Si alguien les anuncia un evangelio contrario al[h] que recibieron(R), sea anatema[i](S). 10 Porque ¿busco ahora el favor de los hombres o el de Dios? ¿O me esfuerzo por agradar a los hombres(T)? Si yo todavía estuviera tratando de agradar a los hombres, no sería siervo de Cristo(U).
El evangelio predicado por Pablo
11 Pues quiero que sepan, hermanos, que el evangelio que fue anunciado por mí(V) no es según el hombre(W). 12 Pues ni lo recibí de hombre, ni me fue enseñado, sino que lo recibí por medio de una revelación(X) de Jesucristo(Y). 13 Porque ustedes han oído acerca de mi antigua manera de vivir en el judaísmo(Z), de cuán desmedidamente perseguía yo a la iglesia(AA) de Dios(AB) y trataba de destruirla(AC). 14 Yo aventajaba en el judaísmo a muchos de mis compatriotas contemporáneos[j], mostrando mucho más celo(AD) por las tradiciones de mis antepasados(AE).
15 Pero cuando Dios, que me apartó desde el vientre de mi madre y me llamó por Su gracia(AF), tuvo a bien(AG) 16 revelar a Su Hijo en mí para que yo lo anunciara entre los gentiles(AH), no consulté enseguida(AI) con carne y sangre[k](AJ), 17 ni subí a Jerusalén a los que eran apóstoles antes que yo, sino que fui a Arabia, y regresé otra vez a Damasco(AK).
Visita de Pablo a Jerusalén
18 Entonces, tres años después(AL), subí a Jerusalén(AM) para conocer a Pedro[l](AN), y estuve con él quince días. 19 Pero no vi a ningún otro de los apóstoles, sino a Jacobo[m], el hermano del Señor(AO). 20 En lo que les escribo, les aseguro[n] delante de Dios que no miento(AP).
21 Después fui a las regiones(AQ) de Siria(AR) y Cilicia(AS). 22 Pero todavía no era conocido en persona[o] en las iglesias de Judea(AT) que eran en Cristo(AU). 23 Ellos solo oían decir: «El que en otro tiempo nos perseguía, ahora predica[p] la fe(AV) que en un tiempo quería destruir(AW)». 24 Y glorificaban a Dios(AX) por causa de[q] mí.
Footnotes
- Gálatas 1:3 Algunos mss. antiguos dicen: Dios el Padre, y de nuestro Señor Jesucristo.
- Gálatas 1:4 O rescatarnos.
- Gálatas 1:4 O mundo.
- Gálatas 1:6 Lit. en.
- Gálatas 1:6 I.e. el Mesías.
- Gálatas 1:8 O aparte del, o distinto al.
- Gálatas 1:8 I.e. maldito.
- Gálatas 1:9 O aparte del, o distinto al.
- Gálatas 1:9 I.e. maldito.
- Gálatas 1:14 O de mi edad.
- Gálatas 1:16 I.e. seres humanos.
- Gálatas 1:18 Lit. Cefas.
- Gálatas 1:19 O Santiago.
- Gálatas 1:20 Lit. he aquí.
- Gálatas 1:22 O de vista; lit. de rostro.
- Gálatas 1:23 O anuncia.
- Gálatas 1:24 Lit. en.
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Nueva Biblia de las Américas™ NBLA™ Copyright © 2005 por The Lockman Foundation