No Return to the Law

11 (A)Now when [a]Peter had come to Antioch, I [b]withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed; 12 for before certain men came from James, (B)he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing [c]those who were of the circumcision. 13 And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy.

14 But when I saw that they were not straightforward about (C)the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter (D)before them all, (E)“If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, [d]why do you compel Gentiles to live as [e]Jews? 15 (F)We who are Jews by nature, and not (G)sinners of the Gentiles, 16 (H)knowing that a man is not [f]justified by the works of the law but (I)by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not (J)by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.

17 “But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found (K)sinners, is Christ therefore a minister of sin? Certainly not! 18 For if I build again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. 19 For I (L)through the law (M)died to the law that I might (N)live to God. 20 I have been (O)crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh (P)I live by faith in the Son of God, (Q)who loved me and gave Himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God; for (R)if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died [g]in vain.”

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Footnotes

  1. Galatians 2:11 NU Cephas
  2. Galatians 2:11 opposed
  3. Galatians 2:12 Jewish Christians
  4. Galatians 2:14 NU how can you
  5. Galatians 2:14 Some interpreters stop the quotation here.
  6. Galatians 2:16 declared righteous
  7. Galatians 2:21 for nothing

Paul Opposes Cephas

11 When Cephas(A) came to Antioch,(B) I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For before certain men came from James,(C) he used to eat with the Gentiles.(D) But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group.(E) 13 The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas(F) was led astray.

14 When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel,(G) I said to Cephas(H) in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew.(I) How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?(J)

15 “We who are Jews by birth(K) and not sinful Gentiles(L) 16 know that a person is not justified by the works of the law,(M) but by faith in Jesus Christ.(N) So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in[a] Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.(O)

17 “But if, in seeking to be justified in Christ, we Jews find ourselves also among the sinners,(P) doesn’t that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not!(Q) 18 If I rebuild what I destroyed, then I really would be a lawbreaker.

19 “For through the law I died to the law(R) so that I might live for God.(S) 20 I have been crucified with Christ(T) and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.(U) The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God,(V) who loved me(W) and gave himself for me.(X) 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law,(Y) Christ died for nothing!”[b]

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Footnotes

  1. Galatians 2:16 Or but through the faithfulness of … justified on the basis of the faithfulness of
  2. Galatians 2:21 Some interpreters end the quotation after verse 14.