15 “We who are Jews by birth(A) and not sinful Gentiles(B) 16 know that a person is not justified by the works of the law,(C) but by faith in Jesus Christ.(D) So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in[a] Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.(E)

17 “But if, in seeking to be justified in Christ, we Jews find ourselves also among the sinners,(F) doesn’t that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not!(G) 18 If I rebuild what I destroyed, then I really would be a lawbreaker.

19 “For through the law I died to the law(H) so that I might live for God.(I) 20 I have been crucified with Christ(J) and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.(K) The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God,(L) who loved me(M) and gave himself for me.(N) 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law,(O) Christ died for nothing!”[b]

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Footnotes

  1. Galatians 2:16 Or but through the faithfulness of … justified on the basis of the faithfulness of
  2. Galatians 2:21 Some interpreters end the quotation after verse 14.

Jews and Gentiles Are Saved by Faith

15 We ourselves are Jews by birth and not gentile sinners, 16 yet we know that a person is justified[a] not by the works of the law but through the faith of Jesus Christ.[b] And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by the faith of Christ[c] and not by doing the works of the law, because no one will be justified by the works of the law.(A) 17 But if, in our effort to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have been found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! 18 But if I build up again the very things that I once tore down, then I demonstrate that I am a transgressor. 19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ,(B) 20 and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God,[d] who loved me and gave himself for me.(C) 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness[e] comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.

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Footnotes

  1. 2.16 Or reckoned as righteous
  2. 2.16 Or faith in Jesus Christ
  3. 2.16 Or faith in Christ
  4. 2.20 Or by faith in the Son of God
  5. 2.21 Or justification