Keep Your Freedom

5 Christ set us free ·so that we could live in freedom [to a place of freedom; or by means of freedom; 4:31]. So stand strong. Do not ·change and go back into the slavery of the law [^Lsubmit/be fastened to a yoke of slavery]. ² Listen, I Paul tell you that if you ·go back to the law by being [^Llet yourself be] circumcised, Christ does you no good. ³ Again, I warn every man: If you allow yourselves to be circumcised, you ·must follow [are obligated to obey] all the law. ⁴ If you try to be ·made right with God [justified] through the law, ·your life with Christ is over [^Lyou are alienated/separated/severed from Christ]—you have ·left [fallen away from] God’s grace. ⁵ For by the Spirit and through faith we wait eagerly for ·a right relationship with God [^Lrighteousness]—the object of our hope. ⁶ ·When we are [^LFor] in Christ Jesus, ·it is not important if we are circumcised or not [^Lneither circumcision nor uncircumcision accomplishes anything]. The important thing is faith—the kind of faith that works through love.

⁷ You were running a good race. Who ·stopped [hindered] you from ·following [or obeying; or your conviction about] the ·true way [truth]? ⁸ This ·change [persuasion; enticement] did not come from the One who ·chose [called] you. ⁹ Be careful! “Just a little ·yeast [leaven; 1 Cor. 5:6–7] makes the whole batch of dough rise [^Ca little error will spread through the whole community].” ¹⁰ But I ·trust [^Lhave confidence/am persuaded about you] in the Lord that you will ·not believe those different ideas [take no different view]. Whoever is ·confusing [troubling] you with such ideas will ·be punished [pay the penalty; ^Lbear the condemnation], ·no matter who he is [^Lwhoever he may be].

¹¹ My brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching ·that a man must be circumcised [^Lcircumcision; ^Csome were evidently accusing Paul of this], why am I still being ·attacked [persecuted]? If I still taught circumcision, ·my preaching about the cross would not be a problem [the scandal/offense of the cross has been removed/abolished]. ¹² I wish the people who are bothering you would ·castrate themselves [make themselves eunuchs; ^Lcut it off]! [^CPaul sarcastically says that if circumcision is so helpful, why not go even further?]