⁴ And this occurred because of ^(A)false brethren secretly brought in (who came in by stealth to spy out our ^(B)liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, ^(C)that they might bring us into bondage),

⁴ For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord ^[a]God and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Christian Liberty

5 ^(A)Stand^[a] fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a ^(B)yoke of bondage.

²⁶ in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, ^(A)in perils of my own countrymen, ^(B)in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;

²⁰ For you put up with it ^(A)if one brings you into bondage, if one devours you, if one takes from you, if one exalts himself, if one strikes you on the face.

Conflict over Circumcision

15 And ^(A)certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, ^(B)“Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

^12 (A)I could wish that those ^(B)who trouble you would even ^[a]cut themselves off!

¹³ For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only ^(C)do not use liberty as an ^(D)opportunity for the flesh, but ^(E)through love serve one another.

²⁵ for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children—