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Galatians 3:11-21
New American Standard Bible
Galatians 3:11-21
New American Standard Bible
11 Now, that (A)no one is justified [a]by [b]the Law before God is evident; for, “[c](B)the righteous one will live by faith.” 12 [d]However, the Law is not [e]of faith; on the contrary, “(C)The person who performs [f]them will live by [g]them.” 13 Christ (D)redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written: “(E)Cursed is everyone who hangs on (F)a [h]tree”— 14 in order that (G)in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham would come to the Gentiles, so that we (H)would receive (I)the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Intent of the Law
15 (J)Brothers and sisters, (K)I speak [i]in terms of human relations: (L)even though it is only a man’s [j]covenant, yet when it has been ratified, no one sets it aside or adds [k]conditions to it. 16 Now the promises were spoken (M)to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as one would in referring to many, but rather as in referring to one, “(N)And to your seed,” that is, Christ. 17 What I am saying is this: the Law, which came (O)430 years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise. 18 For (P)if the inheritance is [l]based on law, it is no longer [m]based on a promise; but (Q)God has granted it to Abraham by means of a promise.
19 (R)Why the Law then? It was added on account of the [n]violations, having been (S)ordered through angels (T)at the hand of a [o]mediator, until (U)the Seed would come to whom the promise had been made. 20 Now (V)a mediator is not [p]for one party only; but God is only one. 21 Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God? [q](W)Far from it! For (X)if a law had been given that was able to impart life, then righteousness [r]would indeed have been [s]based on law.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Galatians 3:11 Or in
- Galatians 3:11 Or law
- Galatians 3:11 Or the one who is righteous by faith will live
- Galatians 3:12 Or And
- Galatians 3:12 Or based on
- Galatians 3:12 I.e., the statutes of the Law
- Galatians 3:12 I.e., the statutes of the Law
- Galatians 3:13 Or cross; lit wood; see Deut 21:23
- Galatians 3:15 Lit according to man
- Galatians 3:15 Or will; or testament
- Galatians 3:15 Or a codicil
- Galatians 3:18 Lit out of, from
- Galatians 3:18 Lit out of, from
- Galatians 3:19 I.e., of God’s commands
- Galatians 3:19 I.e., Moses
- Galatians 3:20 Lit of one
- Galatians 3:21 Lit May it never happen!
- Galatians 3:21 Or would indeed be
- Galatians 3:21 Lit out of, from
Galatians 3:11-21
New International Version
Galatians 3:11-21
New International Version
11 Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God,(A) because “the righteous will live by faith.”[a](B) 12 The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, “The person who does these things will live by them.”[b](C) 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law(D) by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.”[c](E) 14 He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus,(F) so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.(G)
The Law and the Promise
15 Brothers and sisters,(H) let me take an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case. 16 The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed.(I) Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,”[d](J) meaning one person, who is Christ. 17 What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years(K) later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. 18 For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on the promise;(L) but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise.
19 Why, then, was the law given at all? It was added because of transgressions(M) until the Seed(N) to whom the promise referred had come. The law was given through angels(O) and entrusted to a mediator.(P) 20 A mediator,(Q) however, implies more than one party; but God is one.
21 Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not!(R) For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law.(S)
Footnotes
- Galatians 3:11 Hab. 2:4
- Galatians 3:12 Lev. 18:5
- Galatians 3:13 Deut. 21:23
- Galatians 3:16 Gen. 12:7; 13:15; 24:7
New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.