Beginning

Introduction

1 Paul, ^(A)an apostle (^(B)not sent from men nor through the agency of man, but ^(C)through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who ^(D)raised Him from the dead), ² and all ^(E)the brethren who are with me,

To ^(F)the churches of Galatia:

^3 (G)Grace to you and peace from ^[a]God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, ⁴ 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, ^5 (K)to whom be the glory forevermore. Amen.

Perversion of the Gospel

⁶ I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting ^(L)Him who called you ^[c]by the grace of Christ, for a ^(M)different gospel; ⁷ which is really not another; only there are some who are ^(N)disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. ⁸ But even if we, or ^(O)an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel ^[d]contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be ^[e](P)accursed! ⁹ As we ^(Q)have said before, so I say again now, ^(R)if any man is preaching to you a gospel ^[f]contrary to what you received, he is to 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)bond-servant of Christ.

Paul Defends His Ministry

¹¹ For ^(V)I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me 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 manner of life 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 ^[h]countrymen, being more extremely zealous for my ^(AE)ancestral traditions. ¹⁵ But when God, who had set me apart even 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)preach Him among the Gentiles, ^(AH)I did not immediately consult with ^[i](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 ^[j]become acquainted with ^(AN)Cephas, and stayed with him fifteen days. ¹⁹ But I did not see any other of the apostles except ^[k](AO)James, the Lord’s brother. ²⁰ (Now in what I am writing to you, ^[l]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 I was still unknown by ^[m]sight to ^(AT)the churches of Judea which were ^(AU)in Christ; ²³ but only, they kept hearing, “He who once persecuted us is now preaching ^(AV)the faith which he once ^(AW)tried to destroy.” ²⁴ And they ^(AX)were glorifying God ^[n]because of me.

The Council at Jerusalem

2 Then after an interval of fourteen years I ^(AY)went up again to Jerusalem with ^(AZ)Barnabas, taking ^(BA)Titus along also. ^2 [o]It was because of a ^(BB)revelation that I went up; and I submitted to them the ^(BC)gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but I did so in private to those who were of reputation, for fear that I might be ^(BD)running, or had run, in vain. ³ But not even ^(BE)Titus, who was with me, though he was a Greek, was ^(BF)compelled to be circumcised. ⁴ But it was because of the ^(BG)false brethren secretly brought in, who ^(BH)had sneaked in to spy out our ^(BI)liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to ^(BJ)bring us into bondage. ⁵ But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that ^(BK)the truth of the gospel would remain with you. ⁶ But from those who ^[p]were of high ^(BL)reputation (what they were makes no difference to me; ^(BM)God ^[q]shows no partiality)—well, those who were of reputation contributed nothing to me. ⁷ But on the contrary, seeing that I had been ^(BN)entrusted with the ^(BO)gospel ^[r]to the uncircumcised, just as ^(BP)Peter had been ^[s]to the circumcised ⁸ (for He who effectually worked for Peter in his ^(BQ)apostleship ^[t]to the circumcised effectually worked for me also to the Gentiles), ⁹ and recognizing ^(BR)the grace that had been given to me, ^[u](BS)James and ^(BT)Cephas and John, who were ^(BU)reputed to be ^(BV)pillars, gave to me and ^(BW)Barnabas the ^(BX)right ^[v]hand of fellowship, so that we might ^(BY)go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. ¹⁰ They only asked us to remember the poor—^(BZ)the very thing I also was eager to do.

Peter (Cephas) Opposed by Paul

¹¹ But when ^(CA)Cephas came to ^(CB)Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he ^[w]stood condemned. ¹² For prior to the coming of certain men from ^[x](CC)James, he used to ^(CD)eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, ^(CE)fearing ^[y]the party of the circumcision. ¹³ The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even ^(CF)Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. ¹⁴ But when I saw that they ^(CG)were not ^[z]straightforward about ^(CH)the truth of the gospel, I said to ^(CI)Cephas in the presence of all, “If you, being a Jew, ^(CJ)live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews? ^[aa]

¹⁵ “We are ^(CK)Jews by nature and not ^(CL)sinners from among the Gentiles; ¹⁶ nevertheless knowing that ^(CM)a man is not justified by the works of ^[ab]the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by ^(CN)faith in Christ and not by the works of ^[ac]the Law; since ^(CO)by the works of ^[ad]the Law no ^[ae]flesh will be justified. ¹⁷ But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found ^(CP)sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? ^(CQ)May it never be! ¹⁸ For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I ^(CR)prove myself to be a transgressor. ¹⁹ For through ^[af]the Law I ^(CS)died to ^[ag]the Law, so that I might live to God. ²⁰ I have been ^(CT)crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but ^(CU)Christ lives in me; and ^[ah]the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in ^(CV)the Son of God, who ^(CW)loved me and ^(CX)gave Himself up for me. ²¹ I do not nullify the grace of God, for ^(CY)if righteousness comes through ^[ai]the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”

Faith Brings Righteousness

3 ^[aj]You foolish ^(CZ)Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ ^(DA)was publicly portrayed as crucified? ² This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of ^[ak]the Law, or by ^[al](DB)hearing with faith? ³ Are you so foolish? Having begun ^[am]by the Spirit, are you now ^[an]being perfected by the flesh? ⁴ Did you ^[ao]suffer so many things in vain—^(DC)if indeed it was in vain? ⁵ So then, does He who ^(DD)provides you with the Spirit and ^(DE)works ^[ap]miracles among you, do it by the works of ^[aq]the Law, or by ^[ar](DF)hearing with faith?

^6 [as]Even so ^(DG)Abraham ^(DH)believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. ⁷ Therefore, ^[at]be sure that ^(DI)it is those who are of faith who are ^(DJ)sons of Abraham. ⁸ The Scripture, foreseeing that God ^[au]would justify the ^[av]Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “^(DK)All the nations will be blessed in you.” ⁹ So then ^(DL)those who are of faith are blessed with ^[aw]Abraham, the believer.

¹⁰ For as many as are of the works of ^[ax]the Law are under a curse; for it is written, “^(DM)Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them.” ¹¹ Now that ^(DN)no one is justified ^[ay]by ^[az]the Law before God is evident; for, “^[ba](DO)The righteous man shall live by faith.” ^12 [bb]However, the Law is not ^[bc]of faith; on the contrary, “^(DP)He who practices them shall live ^[bd]by them.” ¹³ Christ ^(DQ)redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “^(DR)Cursed is everyone who hangs on ^(DS)a ^[be]tree”— ¹⁴ in order that ^(DT)in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might ^[bf]come to the Gentiles, so that we ^(DU)would receive ^(DV)the promise of the Spirit through faith.

Intent of the Law

^15 (DW)Brethren, ^(DX)I speak ^[bg]in terms of human relations: ^(DY)even though it is only a man’s ^[bh]covenant, yet when it has been ratified, no one sets it aside or adds ^[bi]conditions to it. ¹⁶ Now the promises were spoken ^(DZ)to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as referring to many, but rather to one, “^(EA)And to your seed,” that is, Christ. ¹⁷ What I am saying is this: the Law, which came ^(EB)four hundred and thirty years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise. ¹⁸ For ^(EC)if the inheritance is ^[bj]based on law, it is no longer ^[bk]based on a promise; but ^(ED)God has granted it to Abraham by means of a promise.

^19 (EE)Why the Law then? It was added ^[bl]because of transgressions, having been ^(EF)ordained through angels ^(EG)by the ^[bm]agency of a mediator, until ^(EH)the seed would come to whom the promise had been made. ²⁰ Now ^(EI)a mediator is not ^[bn]for one party only; whereas God is only one. ²¹ Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God? ^(EJ)May it never be! For ^(EK)if a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness ^[bo]would indeed have been ^[bp]based on law. ²² But the Scripture has ^(EL)shut up ^[bq]everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

²³ But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, ^(EM)being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. ²⁴ Therefore the Law has become our ^(EN)tutor to lead us to Christ, so that ^(EO)we may be justified by faith. ²⁵ But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a ^[br](EP)tutor. ²⁶ For you are all ^(EQ)sons of God through faith in ^(ER)Christ Jesus. ²⁷ For all of you who were ^(ES)baptized into Christ have ^(ET)clothed yourselves with Christ. ^28 (EU)There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is ^[bs]neither male nor female; for ^(EV)you are all one in ^(EW)Christ Jesus. ²⁹ And if ^(EX)you ^[bt]belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s ^[bu]descendants, heirs according to ^(EY)promise.