Galatians 1:8-3:14

English Standard Version

⁸ But even if we or ^(A)an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, ^(B)let him be accursed. ⁹ As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, ^(C)let him be accursed.

¹⁰ For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying ^(D)to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a ^(E)servant^[a] of Christ.

Paul Called by God

¹¹ For ^(F)I would have you know, brothers, that ^(G)the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel.^{[b] 12 (H)}For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it ^(I)through a revelation of Jesus Christ. ¹³ For you have heard of ^(J)my former life in Judaism, how ^(K)I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. ¹⁴ And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely ^(L)zealous was I for ^(M)the traditions of my fathers. ¹⁵ But when he ^(N)who had set me apart ^(O)before I was born,^[c] and who ^(P)called me by his grace, ¹⁶ was pleased to reveal his Son to^[d] me, in order ^(Q)that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone;^{[e] 17} nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.

¹⁸ Then ^(R)after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days. ¹⁹ But I saw none of the other apostles except James ^(S)the Lord's brother. ²⁰ (In what I am writing to you, ^(T)before God, I do not lie!) ^21 (U)Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. ²² And I was still unknown in person to ^(V)the churches of Judea that are in Christ. ²³ They only were hearing it said, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” ²⁴ And they glorified God because of me.

Paul Accepted by the Apostles

2 Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. ² I went up because of a revelation and set before them (though privately before those ^(W)who seemed influential) the gospel that ^(X)I proclaim among the Gentiles, ^(Y)in order to make sure I was not running or had not ^(Z)run in vain. ³ But even Titus, who was with me, ^(AA)was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. ^4 (AB)Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who ^(AC)slipped in to spy out ^(AD)our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, ^(AE)so that they might bring us into slavery— ⁵ to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that ^(AF)the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you. ⁶ And from those ^(AG)who seemed to be influential (what they were makes no difference to me; ^(AH)God shows no partiality)—those, I say, who seemed influential ^(AI)added nothing to me. ⁷ On the contrary, when they saw that I had been ^(AJ)entrusted with ^(AK)the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised ⁸ (for he who worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles), ⁹ and when James and Cephas and John, ^(AL)who seemed to be ^(AM)pillars, perceived the ^(AN)grace that was given to me, they ^(AO)gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. ¹⁰ Only, they asked us to remember the poor, ^(AP)the very thing I was eager to do.

Paul Opposes Peter

¹¹ But ^(AQ)when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him ^(AR)to his face, because he stood condemned. ¹² For before certain men came from James, ^(AS)he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing ^(AT)the circumcision party.^{[f] 13} And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. ¹⁴ But when I saw that their ^(AU)conduct was not in step with ^(AV)the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas ^(AW)before them all, “If you, though a Jew, ^(AX)live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

Justified by Faith

¹⁵ We ourselves are Jews by birth and not ^(AY)Gentile sinners; ¹⁶ yet we know that ^(AZ)a person is not justified^[g] by works of the law ^(BA)but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, ^(BB)because by works of the law no one will be justified.

¹⁷ But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found ^(BC)to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! ¹⁸ For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. ¹⁹ For through the law I ^(BD)died to the law, so that I might ^(BE)live to God. ²⁰ I have been ^(BF)crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives ^(BG)in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, ^(BH)who loved me and ^(BI)gave himself for me. ²¹ I do not nullify the grace of God, for ^(BJ)if righteousness^[h] were through the law, ^(BK)then Christ died for no purpose.

By Faith, or by Works of the Law?

3 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? ^(BL)It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly ^(BM)portrayed as crucified. ² Let me ask you only this: ^(BN)Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by ^(BO)hearing with faith? ³ Are you so foolish? ^(BP)Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by^[i] the flesh? ^4 (BQ)Did you suffer^[j] so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? ⁵ Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and ^(BR)works miracles among you do so ^(BS)by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— ⁶ just as ^(BT)Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?

⁷ Know then that it is ^(BU)those of faith who are ^(BV)the sons of Abraham. ⁸ And the Scripture, foreseeing that ^(BW)God would justify^[k] the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ^(BX)“In you shall all the nations be blessed.” ⁹ So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

The Righteous Shall Live by Faith

¹⁰ For all who rely on works of the law are ^(BY)under a curse; for it is written, ^(BZ)“Cursed be everyone who does not ^(CA)abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” ¹¹ Now it is evident that ^(CB)no one is justified before God by the law, for ^(CC)“The righteous shall live by faith.”^{[l] 12} But the law is not of faith, rather ^(CD)“The one who does them shall live by them.” ¹³ Christ ^(CE)redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, ^(CF)“Cursed is everyone who is hanged ^(CG)on a tree”— ¹⁴ so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might ^(CH)come to the Gentiles, so that ^(CI)we might receive ^(CJ)the promised Spirit^[m] through faith.