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Galatians 2:11-18
New English Translation

Paul Rebukes Peter

11 But when Cephas[a] came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he had clearly done wrong.[b] 12 Until[c] certain people came from James, he had been eating with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he stopped doing this[d] and separated himself[e] because he was afraid of those who were pro-circumcision.[f] 13 And the rest of the Jews also joined with him in this hypocrisy, so that even Barnabas was led astray with them[g] by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that they were not behaving consistently with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “If you, although you are a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you try to force[h] the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

The Justification of Jews and Gentiles

15 We are Jews by birth[i] and not Gentile sinners,[j] 16 yet we know[k] that no one[l] is justified by the works of the law[m] but by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ.[n] And[o] we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by the faithfulness of Christ[p] and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one[q] will be justified. 17 But if while seeking to be justified in Christ we ourselves have also been found to be sinners, is Christ then one who encourages[r] sin? Absolutely not! 18 But if I build up again those things I once destroyed,[s] I demonstrate that I am one who breaks God’s law.[t]

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Footnotes

  1. Galatians 2:11 sn Cephas. This individual is generally identified with the Apostle Peter (L&N 93.211). Both the Aramaic name “Cephas” and the Greek name “Peter” are related to words in each language which mean “rock.”
  2. Galatians 2:11 tn Grk “because he stood condemned.”
  3. Galatians 2:12 tn The conjunction γάρ has not been translated here.
  4. Galatians 2:12 tn Grk “he drew back.” If ἑαυτόν (heauton) goes with both ὑπέστελλεν (hupestellen) and ἀφώριζεν (aphōrizen) rather than only the latter, the meaning would be “he drew himself back” (see BDAG 1041 s.v. ὑποστέλλω 1.a).
  5. Galatians 2:12 tn Or “and held himself aloof.”
  6. Galatians 2:12 tn Grk “the [ones] of the circumcision,” that is, the group of Jewish Christians who insisted on circumcision of Gentiles before they could become Christians.
  7. Galatians 2:13 tn The words “with them” are a reflection of the σύν- (sun-) prefix on the verb συναπήχθη (sunapēchthē; see L&N 31.76).
  8. Galatians 2:14 tn Here ἀναγκάζεις (anankazeis) has been translated as a conative present (see ExSyn 534).
  9. Galatians 2:15 tn Grk “by nature.”
  10. Galatians 2:15 tn Grk “and not sinners from among the Gentiles.”
  11. Galatians 2:16 tn Grk “yet knowing”; the participle εἰδότες (eidotes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
  12. Galatians 2:16 tn Grk “no man,” but ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos) is used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women.
  13. Galatians 2:16 sn The law is a reference to the law of Moses.
  14. Galatians 2:16 tn Or “faith in Jesus Christ.” A decision is difficult here. Though traditionally translated “faith in Jesus Christ,” an increasing number of NT scholars are arguing that πίστις Χριστοῦ (pistis Christou) and similar phrases in Paul (here and in v. 20; Rom 3:22, 26; Gal 3:22; Eph 3:12; Phil 3:9) involve a subjective genitive and mean “Christ’s faith” or “Christ’s faithfulness” (cf., e.g., G. Howard, “The ‘Faith of Christ’,” ExpTim 85 [1974]: 212-15; R. B. Hays, The Faith of Jesus Christ [SBLDS]; Morna D. Hooker, “Πίστις Χριστοῦ,” NTS 35 [1989]: 321-42). Noteworthy among the arguments for the subjective genitive view is that when πίστις takes a personal genitive it is almost never an objective genitive (cf. Matt 9:2, 22, 29; Mark 2:5; 5:34; 10:52; Luke 5:20; 7:50; 8:25, 48; 17:19; 18:42; 22:32; Rom 1:8; 12; 3:3; 4:5, 12, 16; 1 Cor 2:5; 15:14, 17; 2 Cor 10:15; Phil 2:17; Col 1:4; 2:5; 1 Thess 1:8; 3:2, 5, 10; 2 Thess 1:3; Titus 1:1; Phlm 6; 1 Pet 1:9, 21; 2 Pet 1:5). On the other hand, the objective genitive view has its adherents: A. Hultgren, “The Pistis Christou Formulations in Paul,” NovT 22 (1980): 248-63; J. D. G. Dunn, “Once More, ΠΙΣΤΙΣ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΥ,” SBL Seminar Papers, 1991, 730-44. Most commentaries on Romans and Galatians usually side with the objective view. sn On the phrase translated the faithfulness of Christ, ExSyn 116, which notes that the grammar is not decisive, nevertheless suggests that “the faith/faithfulness of Christ is not a denial of faith in Christ as a Pauline concept (for the idea is expressed in many of the same contexts, only with the verb πιστεύω rather than the noun), but implies that the object of faith is a worthy object, for he himself is faithful.” Though Paul elsewhere teaches justification by faith, this presupposes that the object of our faith is reliable and worthy of such faith.
  15. Galatians 2:16 tn In Greek this is a continuation of the preceding sentence, but the construction is too long and complex for contemporary English style, so a new sentence was started here in the translation.
  16. Galatians 2:16 tn Or “by faith in Christ.” See comment above on “the faithfulness of Jesus Christ.”
  17. Galatians 2:16 tn Or “no human being”; Grk “flesh.”
  18. Galatians 2:17 tn Or “does Christ serve the interests of sin?”; or “is Christ an agent for sin?” See BDAG 230-31 s.v. διάκονος 2.
  19. Galatians 2:18 tn Or “once tore down.”
  20. Galatians 2:18 tn Traditionally, “that I am a transgressor.”
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Ephesians 2:11-22
New English Translation

New Life Corporately

11 Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh—who are called “uncircumcision” by the so-called “circumcision” that is performed on the body[a] by human hands— 12 that you were at that time without the Messiah,[b] alienated from the citizenship of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise,[c] having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who used to be far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.[d] 14 For he is our peace, the one who made both groups into one[e] and who destroyed the middle wall of partition, the hostility, 15 when he nullified[f] in his flesh the law of commandments in decrees. He did this to create in himself one new man[g] out of two,[h] thus making peace, 16 and to reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by which the hostility has been killed.[i] 17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near, 18 so that[j] through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer foreigners and noncitizens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household, 20 because you have been built[k] on the foundation of the apostles and prophets,[l] with Christ Jesus himself as[m] the cornerstone.[n] 21 In him[o] the whole building,[p] being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

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Footnotes

  1. Ephesians 2:11 tn Grk “in the flesh.”
  2. Ephesians 2:12 tn Or “without Christ.” Both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.” Because the context refers to ancient Israel’s messianic expectation, “Messiah” was employed in the translation at this point rather than “Christ.”
  3. Ephesians 2:12 tn Or “covenants of the promise.”
  4. Ephesians 2:13 tn Or “have come near in the blood of Christ.”sn See the note on “his blood” in 1:7.
  5. Ephesians 2:14 tn Grk “who made the both one.”
  6. Ephesians 2:15 tn Or “rendered inoperative.” This is a difficult text to translate because it is not easy to find an English term which communicates well the essence of the author’s meaning, especially since legal terminology is involved. Many other translations use the term “abolish” (so NRSV, NASB, NIV), but this term implies complete destruction which is not the author’s meaning here. The verb καταργέω (katargeō) can readily have the meaning “to cause someth. to lose its power or effectiveness” (BDAG 525 s.v. 2, where this passage is listed), and this meaning fits quite naturally here within the author’s legal mindset. A proper English term which communicates this well is “nullify” since this word carries the denotation of “making something legally null and void.” This is not, however, a common English word. An alternate term like “rendered inoperative [or ineffective]” is also accurate but fairly inelegant. For this reason, the translation retains the term “nullify”; it is the best choice of the available options, despite its problems.
  7. Ephesians 2:15 tn In this context the author is not referring to a new individual, but instead to a new corporate entity united in Christ (cf. BDAG 497 s.v. καινός 3.b: “All the Christians together appear as κ. ἄνθρωπος Eph 2:15”). This is clear from the comparison made between the Gentiles and Israel in the immediately preceding verses and the assertion in v. 14 that Christ “made both groups into one.” This is a different metaphor than the “new man” of Eph 4:24; in that passage the “new man” refers to the new life a believer has through a relationship to Christ.
  8. Ephesians 2:15 tn Grk “in order to create the two into one new man.” Eph 2:14-16 is one sentence in Greek. A new sentence was started here in the translation for clarity since contemporary English is less tolerant of extended sentences.
  9. Ephesians 2:16 tn Grk “by killing the hostility in himself.”
  10. Ephesians 2:18 tn Or “for.” BDAG gives the consecutive ὅτι (hoti) as a possible category of NT usage (BDAG 732 s.v. 5.c).
  11. Ephesians 2:20 tn Grk “having been built.”
  12. Ephesians 2:20 sn Apostles and prophets. Because the prophets appear after the mention of the apostles and because they are linked together in 3:5 as recipients of revelation about the church, they are to be regarded not as Old Testament prophets, but as New Testament prophets.
  13. Ephesians 2:20 tn Grk “while Christ Jesus himself is” or “Christ Jesus himself being.”
  14. Ephesians 2:20 tn Or perhaps “capstone” (NAB). The meaning of ἀκρογωνιαῖος (akrogōniaios) is greatly debated. The meaning “capstone” is proposed by J. Jeremias (TDNT 1:792), but the most important text for this meaning (T. Sol. 22:7-23:4) is late and possibly not even an appropriate parallel. The only place ἀκρογωνιαῖος is used in the LXX is Isa 28:16, and there it clearly refers to a cornerstone that is part of a foundation. Furthermore, the imagery in this context has the building growing off the cornerstone upward, whereas if Christ were the capstone, he would not assume his position until the building was finished, which vv. 21-22 argue against.
  15. Ephesians 2:21 tn Grk “in whom” (v. 21 is a relative clause, subordinate to v. 20).
  16. Ephesians 2:21 tc Although several significant witnesses (א1 A C P 6 81 326 1739c 1881) have πᾶσα ἡ οἰκοδομή (pasa hē oikodomē), instead of πᾶσα οἰκοδομή (the reading of א* B D F G Ψ 33 1175 1505 1739* M), the article is almost surely a scribal addition intended to clarify the meaning of the text, for with the article the meaning is unambiguously “the whole building.”tn Or “every building.” Although “every building” is a more natural translation of the Greek, it does not fit as naturally into the context, which (with its emphasis on corporate unity) seems to stress the idea of one building.
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