Galatians 6
New American Standard Bible
Bear One Another’s Burdens
6 (A)Brothers and sisters, even if a person is caught in any wrongdoing, you who are (B)spiritual are to (C)restore such a person (D)in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you are not tempted as well. 2 (E)Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill (F)the law of Christ. 3 For (G)if anyone thinks that he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But each one must (H)examine his own work, and then he will have reason for (I)boasting, but [a]to himself alone, and not [b]to another. 5 For (J)each one will bear his own load.
6 (K)The one who is taught (L)the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him. 7 (M)Do not be deceived, (N)God is not mocked; for (O)whatever a person sows, this he will also reap. 8 (P)For the one who sows to his own flesh will reap (Q)destruction from the flesh, but (R)the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit. 9 (S)Let’s not become discouraged in doing good, for in due time we will reap, if we (T)do not become weary. 10 So then, [c](U)while we have opportunity, let’s do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the (V)household of (W)the faith.
11 See with what large letters I have written to you (X)with my own hand! 12 All who want (Y)to make a good showing in the flesh try to (Z)compel you to be circumcised, simply so that they (AA)will not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 For those who [d]are circumcised do not even (AB)keep [e]the Law themselves, but they want to have you circumcised so that they may (AC)boast in your flesh. 14 But (AD)[f]far be it from me to boast, (AE)except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, (AF)through [g]which the world has been crucified to me, and (AG)I to the world. 15 For (AH)neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a (AI)new [h]creation. 16 And all who will follow this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the (AJ)Israel of God.
17 From now on let no one cause trouble for me, for I bear on my body the [i](AK)marks of Jesus.
18 (AL)The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be (AM)with your spirit, (AN)brothers and sisters. Amen.
Footnotes
- Galatians 6:4 Or in regard to
- Galatians 6:4 Or in regard to
- Galatians 6:10 Or as
- Galatians 6:13 Two early mss have been
- Galatians 6:13 Or law
- Galatians 6:14 Lit may it never be for
- Galatians 6:14 Or whom
- Galatians 6:15 Or creature
- Galatians 6:17 I.e., scars and other evidence of persecution
Galatians 6
New Living Translation
We Harvest What We Plant
6 Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer[a] is overcome by some sin, you who are godly[b] should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. 2 Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. 3 If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.
4 Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. 5 For we are each responsible for our own conduct.
6 Those who are taught the word of God should provide for their teachers, sharing all good things with them.
7 Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. 8 Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. 9 So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. 10 Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.
Paul’s Final Advice
11 Notice what large letters i use as i write these closing words in my own handwriting.
12 Those who are trying to force you to be circumcised want to look good to others. They don’t want to be persecuted for teaching that the cross of Christ alone can save. 13 And even those who advocate circumcision don’t keep the whole law themselves. They only want you to be circumcised so they can boast about it and claim you as their disciples.
14 As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross,[c] my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died. 15 It doesn’t matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation. 16 May God’s peace and mercy be upon all who live by this principle; they are the new people of God.[d]
17 From now on, don’t let anyone trouble me with these things. For I bear on my body the scars that show I belong to Jesus.
18 Dear brothers and sisters,[e] may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.
Galatians 6
Contemporary English Version
Help Each Other
6 My friends, you are spiritual. So if someone is trapped in sin, you should gently lead that person back to the right path. But watch out, and don't be tempted yourself. 2 You obey the law of Christ when you offer each other a helping hand.
3 If you think you are better than others, when you really aren't, you are wrong. 4 Do your own work well, and then you will have something to be proud of. But don't compare yourself with others. 5 We each must carry our own load.
6 Share every good thing you have with anyone who teaches you what God has said.
7 You cannot fool God, so don't make a fool of yourself! You will harvest what you plant. 8 If you follow your selfish desires, you will harvest destruction, but if you follow the Spirit, you will harvest eternal life. 9 Don't get tired of helping others. You will be rewarded when the time is right, if you don't give up. 10 We should help people whenever we can, especially if they are followers of the Lord.
Final Warnings
11 You can see what big letters I make when I write with my own hand.
12 Those people who are telling you to get circumcised are only trying to show how important they are. And they don't want to get into trouble for preaching about the cross of Christ. 13 They are circumcised, but they don't obey the Law of Moses. All they want is to brag about having you circumcised. 14 But I will never brag about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his cross, the world is dead as far as I am concerned, and I am dead as far as the world is concerned.
15 It doesn't matter if you are circumcised or not. All that matters is that you are a new person.
16 If you follow this rule, you will belong to God's true people. God will treat you with undeserved kindness and will bless you with peace.
17 (A) On my own body are scars that prove I belong to Christ Jesus. So I don't want anyone to bother me anymore.
18 My friends, I pray that the Lord Jesus Christ will be kind to you! Amen.
Galatians 6
Easy-to-Read Version
Help Each Other
6 Brothers and sisters, someone in your group might do something wrong. You who are following the Spirit should go to the one who is sinning. Help make that person right again, and do it in a gentle way. But be careful, because you might be tempted to sin too. 2 Help each other with your troubles. When you do this, you are obeying the law of Christ. 3 If you think you are too important to do this, you are only fooling yourself. 4 Don’t compare yourself with others. Just look at your own work to see if you have done anything to be proud of. 5 You must each accept the responsibilities that are yours.
Never Stop Doing Good
6 Whoever is being taught God’s word should share the good things they have with the one who is teaching them.
7 If you think you can fool God, you are only fooling yourselves. You will harvest what you plant. 8 If you live to satisfy your sinful self, the harvest you will get from that will be eternal death. But if you live to please the Spirit, your harvest from the Spirit will be eternal life. 9 We must not get tired of doing good. We will receive our harvest of eternal life at the right time. We must not give up. 10 When we have the opportunity to do good to anyone, we should do it. But we should give special attention to those who are in the family of believers.
Paul Ends His Letter
11 This is my own handwriting. You can see how big the letters are. 12 Those men who are trying to force you to be circumcised are only doing it so that their people will accept them. They are afraid they will be persecuted if they follow only the cross[a] of Christ. 13 They are circumcised, but they don’t obey the law themselves. They want you to be circumcised so that they can boast about what they did to you.
14 I hope I will never boast about things like that. The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ is my only reason for boasting. Through Jesus’ death on the cross the world is dead[b] to me, and I am dead to the world. 15 It doesn’t matter if anyone is circumcised or not. The only thing that matters is this new life we have from God.[c] 16 Peace and mercy to those who follow this rule—to all God’s people.[d]
17 So don’t give me any more trouble. I have scars on my body that show[e] I belong to Jesus.
18 My brothers and sisters, I pray that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ will be with your spirits. Amen.
Footnotes
- Galatians 6:12 cross Paul uses the cross as a picture of the Good News, the story of Christ’s death to pay for people’s sins. The cross (Christ’s death) was God’s way to save people. Also in verse 14.
- Galatians 6:14 is dead Literally, “has been crucified.”
- Galatians 6:15 this new life … God Or “being the new people God has made.”
- Galatians 6:16 all God’s people Literally, “the Israel of God.”
- Galatians 6:17 scars … show Many times Paul was beaten by people who tried to stop him from teaching about Christ. The scars were from these beatings.
Galatians 6
Living Bible
6 Dear brothers, if a Christian is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help him back onto the right path, remembering that next time it might be one of you who is in the wrong. 2 Share each other’s troubles and problems, and so obey our Lord’s command. 3 If anyone thinks he is too great to stoop to this, he is fooling himself. He is really a nobody.
4 Let everyone be sure that he is doing his very best, for then he will have the personal satisfaction of work well done and won’t need to compare himself with someone else. 5 Each of us must bear some faults and burdens of his own. For none of us is perfect!
6 Those who are taught the Word of God should help their teachers by paying them.
7 Don’t be misled; remember that you can’t ignore God and get away with it: a man will always reap just the kind of crop he sows! 8 If he sows to please his own wrong desires, he will be planting seeds of evil and he will surely reap a harvest of spiritual decay and death; but if he plants the good things of the Spirit, he will reap the everlasting life that the Holy Spirit gives him. 9 And let us not get tired of doing what is right, for after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t get discouraged and give up. 10 That’s why whenever we can we should always be kind to everyone, and especially to our Christian brothers.
11 I will write these closing words in my own handwriting. See how large I have to make the letters! 12 Those teachers of yours who are trying to convince you to be circumcised are doing it for just one reason: so that they can be popular and avoid the persecution they would get if they admitted that the cross of Christ alone can save. 13 And even those teachers who submit to circumcision don’t try to keep the other Jewish laws; but they want you to be circumcised in order that they can boast that you are their disciples.
14 As for me, God forbid that I should boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in all the attractive things of the world was killed long ago, and the world’s interest in me is also long dead. 15 It doesn’t make any difference now whether we have been circumcised or not; what counts is whether we really have been changed into new and different people.
16 May God’s mercy and peace be upon all of you who live by this principle and upon those everywhere who are really God’s own.
17 From now on please don’t argue with me about these things, for I carry on my body the scars of the whippings and wounds from Jesus’ enemies that mark me as his slave.
18 Dear brothers, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
Sincerely, Paul
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