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Greetings and Grace

Paul, (A)an apostle—(B)not sent from men nor through man, but (C)through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who (D)raised Him from the dead— and all (E)the brothers who are with me,

To (F)the churches of Galatia:

(G)Grace to you and peace from [a]God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who (H)gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from (I)this present evil [b]age, according to the will of (J)our God and Father, (K)to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Distorting the Gospel

I marvel that you are so quickly deserting (L)Him who called you [c]by the grace of Christ for a (M)different gospel, which is really not another, only there are some who are (N)disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or (O)an angel from heaven, should proclaim to you a gospel [d]contrary to the gospel we have proclaimed to you, let him be [e](P)accursed! As we (Q)have said before, so I say again now, (R)if any man is proclaiming to you a gospel [f]contrary to what you received, let him be [g](S)accursed!

10 For am I now (T)seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a (U)slave of Christ.

Paul Called by God

11 For (V)I make known to you, brothers, that the gospel which I am proclaiming as good news is (W)not according to man. 12 For (X)I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a (Y)revelation of Jesus Christ.

13 For you have heard of (Z)my former conduct in Judaism, how I (AA)used to persecute (AB)the church of God beyond measure and (AC)tried to destroy it. 14 And I (AD)was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my countrymen, being far more zealous for the traditions of my (AE)fathers. 15 But when God, who had set me apart from my mother’s womb and (AF)called me through His grace, was pleased 16 to reveal His Son in me so that I might (AG)proclaim Him as good news among the Gentiles, (AH)I did not immediately consult with [h](AI)flesh and blood, 17 (AJ)nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away to Arabia, and returned once more to (AK)Damascus.

18 Then (AL)three years later I went up (AM)to Jerusalem to [i]become acquainted with (AN)Cephas, and stayed with him fifteen days. 19 But I did not see any other of the apostles except [j](AO)James, the Lord’s brother. 20 (Now in what I am writing to you, [k]I assure you (AP)before God that I am not lying!) 21 Then (AQ)I went into the regions of (AR)Syria and (AS)Cilicia. 22 And I was still unknown by [l]sight to (AT)the churches of Judea which are (AU)in Christ; 23 but only, they kept hearing, “He who once persecuted us is now proclaiming the good news of (AV)the faith which he once (AW)tried to destroy.” 24 And they (AX)were glorifying God [m]because of me.

Footnotes

  1. Galatians 1:3 Two early mss God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ
  2. Galatians 1:4 Or world
  3. Galatians 1:6 Lit in
  4. Galatians 1:8 Or other than, more than
  5. Galatians 1:8 Gr anathema
  6. Galatians 1:9 Or other than, more than
  7. Galatians 1:9 Gr anathema
  8. Galatians 1:16 Human beings
  9. Galatians 1:18 Or visit Cephas
  10. Galatians 1:19 Or Jacob; James is the Eng form of Jacob; so in Gal
  11. Galatians 1:20 Lit behold before God
  12. Galatians 1:22 Lit face
  13. Galatians 1:24 Lit in me

Greeting

From Paul, an apostle who is not sent from human authority or commissioned through human agency, but sent through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead; and from all the brothers and sisters with me.

To the churches in Galatia.

Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. He gave himself for our sins, so he could deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father. To God be the glory forever and always! Amen.

The gospel challenged in Galatia

I’m amazed that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ to follow another gospel. It’s not really another gospel, but certain people are confusing you and they want to change the gospel of Christ. However, even if we ourselves or a heavenly angel should ever preach anything different from what we preached to you, they should be under a curse. I’m repeating what we’ve said before: if anyone preaches something different from what you received, they should be under a curse!

Paul’s leadership

10 Am I trying to win over human beings or God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I wouldn’t be Christ’s slave. 11 Brothers and sisters, I want you to know that the gospel I preached isn’t human in origin. 12 I didn’t receive it or learn it from a human. It came through a revelation from Jesus Christ.

13 You heard about my previous life in Judaism, how severely I harassed God’s church and tried to destroy it. 14 I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my peers, because I was much more militant about the traditions of my ancestors. 15 But God had set me apart from birth and called me through his grace. He was pleased 16 to reveal his Son to me, so that I might preach about him to the Gentiles. I didn’t immediately consult with any human being. 17 I didn’t go up to Jerusalem to see the men who were apostles before me either, but I went away into Arabia and I returned again to Damascus. 18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days. 19 But I didn’t see any other of the apostles except James the brother of the Lord. 20 Before God, I’m not lying about the things that I’m writing to you! 21 Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia, 22 but I wasn’t known personally by the Christian churches in Judea. 23 They only heard a report about me: “The man who used to harass us now preaches the faith that he once tried to destroy.” 24 So they were glorifying God because of me.