1

1 From Paul, an apostle, not from men, nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the father who raised him from the dead,

2 and all the brothers with me, to the churches of Galatia,

3 grace to you, and peace, from God the father and Lord of ours Jesus Christ,

4 who gave himself for our sins, in order to deliver us out of the present evil age, according to the will of our God and father,

5 to whom may there be glory throughout the durations of the ages. Amen.

6 I am astonished that you are so quickly switching from him who called you in the grace of Christ to another gospel,

7 while there is no other, except that there are some who are troubling you and wishing to distort the gospel of Christ.

8 But even if we or an angel from heaven preach a gospel to you contrary to that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed.

9 As we have said before, and I say again now, if anyone preaches a gospel to you contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed.

10 For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I aim to please men? Well, if I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

11 But I am making known to you, brothers, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man,

12 for I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through Jesus Christ's revelation.

13 For you have heard of my previous manner of life in Judaism, how I used to persecute the church of God wantonly and ravage it,

14 and how I progressed in Judaism beyond many contemporaries of my race, being exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers.

15 But when God, who set me apart from my mother's womb and called me through his grace, was pleased

16 to reveal his son within me, in order that I should preach him among the Gentiles, I immediately made a point of not consulting with flesh and blood,

17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to the apostles who were before me, but I went away into Arabia and returned again to Damascus.

18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to acquaint myself with Peter, and remained with him for fifteen days,

19 but I did not see any other of the apostles except James, the Lord's brother.

20 Now with respect to what I am writing to you, look, I swear before God that I am not lying.

21 Then I went to the districts of Syria and Cilicia,

22 and I was unknown by sight to the churches of Judaea which are in Christ,

23 except that they kept hearing, “He who persecuted us at one time is now preaching the faith which previously he ravaged.”

24 And they glorified God because of me.

2

1 Then after fourteen years I went up to Jerusalem again with Barnabas, taking Titus along too,

2 and I went up by revelation, and put the gospel which I proclaim among the Gentiles to them, privately to those who are held in regard, so that I might not run or have run in vain.

3 Moreover, Titus, who was with me, although he was a Greek, was not compelled to be circumcised at all,

4 but we watched out because of the false brothers who had been brought in surreptitiously, who had come in stealthily to spy out our freedom which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to enslave us to themselves,

5 to whom we did not yield in submission even for an hour, in order that the truth of the gospel might maintain its ground for you.

6 Then of those considered to be of importance – whatever they once were doesn't make any difference to me; God does not show partiality to anyone – for those who were held in high regard did not contribute anything as far as I'm concerned,

7 but on the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel of the uncircumcision, as Peter with that of the circumcision,

8 (for he who had been active in Peter for the apostleship of the circumcision had also been active in me for the Gentiles),

9 and when they knew the grace which had been given to me, of these people James and Cephas and John, who were considered to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, so that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcision,

10 only saying that we should remember the poor, just a thing which I indeed made a point of doing.

11 But when Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was at fault,

12 because prior to some others coming from James, he would eat with the Gentiles. But when they had come, he would draw away and separate himself, fearing those of the circumcision,

13 and the remaining Jews also joined him in the hypocrisy, so that even Barnabas was actually led away with them by their hypocrisy.

14 But when I saw that they were not progressing straight towards the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in the presence of them all, “If you, being a Jew, live in the Gentile way and not in the Jewish way, why do you compel the Gentiles to act in the Jewish way?”

15 We are Jews by nature and not sinners of Gentile stock,

16 and are aware that a man is not justified by works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, and we have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified through faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because no flesh will be justified by works of the law.

17 But if while we seek to be justified in Christ, we ourselves are for our part identified as sinners, is then Christ a minister of sin? Far from it!

18 For if I rebuild those things which I demolished, I countenance myself as a transgressor.

19 For I through the law have died to the law in order that I might live to God.

20 I have been crucified with Christ. I live, but no longer I, but Christ lives in me. The life I now lead in the flesh, I lead in faith in the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.

21 I am not setting aside the grace of God, for if righteousness is through the law, then Christ died in vain.

3

1 O foolish Galatians, who has spellbound you into not obeying the truth, you before whose eyes Jesus Christ was exhibited, crucified among you?

2 I just want to learn this from you: did you receive the spirit by works of the law or by heeding the principle of faith?

3 Are you so foolish? Having started in the spirit are you now going to finish in the flesh?

4 Have you suffered so much in vain? – if it was in vain, at least.

5 So he who provides you with the spirit and who works deeds of power among you, is it all by works of the law or by heeding the principle of faith?

6 Just as Abraham believed God, and it was imputed to him as righteousness,

7 so know that it is those who are of faith who are the sons of Abraham,

8 and the scripture, having foreseen that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, proclaimed the gospel beforehand to Abraham and said, “All the Gentiles will be blessed through you,”

9 so that those who are of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.

10 For all who are of works of the law are under a curse, for it stands written, “Cursed is everyone who does not remain in all the things written in the book of the law, to do them.”

11 But that no-one is justified with God by the law is clear, because the righteous shall live by faith.

12 However, the law is not by faith, but the man who does them will live by them.

13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for our sakes. For it stands written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on wood,”

14 this being in order that the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles by Christ Jesus, so that we might receive the promise of the spirit through faith.

15 Brothers, I speak humanly: it is just like the way no-one annuls or adds to a man's covenant which has been confirmed.

16 Now the promises were made to Abraham and his seed. It does not say, “And to seeds,” as speaking of many, but as speaking of one, “And to your seed,” which is Christ.

17 And I say this: the law, which came four hundred and thirty years afterwards, does not annul a covenant confirmed beforehand by God until Christ, which would break the promise.

18 For if the inheritance is by the law, it is no longer by a promise. But God has bestowed a gift on Abraham through a promise.

19 What about the law, then? It was added on account of transgressions, until the seed should come to him to whom the promise was made, the law having been ratified by angels through the agency of a mediator.

20 Now the mediator is not of one party or the other, but God is one of the parties.

21 Is then the law contrary to the promises of God? Far from it. For if a law had been given which was able to give life, then righteousness really would have been by the law.

22 But the scripture has concluded everything under sin, in order that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe,

23 whereas before faith had come we were kept under the law, confined until the coming principle of faith should be revealed.

24 So as a result, the law became our educator to Christ, in order that we should be justified by faith.

25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under an educator.

26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

27 For any of you who have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

29 And if you are of Christ, then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise.

4

1 Now I say that as long as the heir is a child, he is in no way different to a slave, although he may be lord of all,

2 but he is under guardians and custodians until the day appointed beforehand by the father,

3 so we too, when we were children, were enslaved under the rudiments of the world.

4 But when the fulness of time had come, God sent out his son, born of a woman, born under the law,

5 to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive the adoption,

6 and in that you are sons, God has sent the spirit of his son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, father,”

7 so that you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God's through Christ.

8 But at that time, when you did not know God, you served gods who by nature do not exist.

9 But now that you do know God, or rather are known by God, how can you turn again to the powerless and weak rudiments which you wish to serve all over again?

10 You wrongly observe days and months and seasons and years.

11 I fear for you, that I may have toiled for you in vain.

12 Be like me, for I was also as you are, brothers, I beseech you. You haven't wronged me in any way.

13 And you know that I preached the gospel to you the first time on account of a physical ailment.

14 And you did not disdain my physical trial, nor did you eject me, but you received me like an angel of God, as Christ Jesus even.

15 What then was your blessing? For I bear witness that if it had been possible you would have plucked out your eyes and given them to me.

16 Have I as a result become your enemy by telling you the truth?

17 There are those who are zealous for you in a way which is not good. Rather, they wish to exclude you so that you should be zealous for them.

18 But it is good to be impelled by zeal for a good thing at all times, and not only while I am present with you,

19 my little children, you with whom I am again in labour, until Christ takes shape in you.

20 And I could wish to be present with you now, and to change my tone, because I am at a loss with you.

21 Tell me, you who wish to be under the law, do you not hear what the law says?

22 For it stands written that Abraham had two sons, one from the maidservant and one from the free woman.

23 But while he who was from the maidservant was born according to the flesh, he who was from the free woman, was born through the promise.

24 Now these things are allegorical. For these two women represent two covenants, one from Mount Sinai, giving birth into bondage, and she is Hagar.

25 For Hagar represents Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem of the present, and she is in bondage with her children.

26 But Jerusalem of above is free, and she is the mother of us all.

27 For it stands written, “Rejoice, you who are barren and cannot give birth; break out and cry out, you who cannot go into labour, because the children of the desolate will be many more than those of her who has a husband.”

28 And we, brothers, are children of the promise, consistently with Isaac.

29 But as at that time the one born according to the flesh persecuted the one according to the spirit, so it is now too.

30 But what does the scripture say? “Cast out the maidservant and her son. For the son of the maidservant will certainly not inherit anything with the son of the free woman.”

31 So then, brothers, we are not children of a maidservant, but of the free woman.

5

1 Stand, therefore, in the freedom in which Christ has made us free, and do not be held again by the yoke of bondage.

2 Look, I Paul say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will not benefit you in any way.

3 And I testify again to every man who undergoes circumcision that he is a debtor to carry out the whole law.

4 You who are justified by the law have become disengaged from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.

5 For we by the spirit await the hope of righteousness from faith.

6 For in Christ Jesus neither does circumcision effect anything, nor uncircumcision, but faith put in action through love does.

7 You were running well. Who has undermined you in obeying the truth?

8 That persuasion is not from the one who called you.

9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump.

10 I trust in you through the Lord that you have no other frame of mind, but he who is subverting you will bear his judgment, whoever he is.

11 And as for me, brothers, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offensiveness of the cross would have been made inapplicable.

12 If only those who are unsettling you would dismember themselves!

13 For you were called on the basis of freedom, brothers – only do not use freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another with love.

14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one saying, in, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.”

15 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not destroyed by one another.

16 And I say, walk in the spirit and do not fulfil a desire of the flesh at all.

17 For the flesh has desires against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh; these are in opposition to each other, so that it is not what you want to do that you do.

18 But if you are led by the spirit, you are not under the law.

19 And the works of the flesh are evident; they are adultery, fornication, uncleanness, licentiousness,

20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strifes, rivalries, rage, contentions, dissensions, factions,

21 envyings, murders, drunkenness, orgies and similar things to these, which I am telling you about beforehand as I have also told you before, namely that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faith,

23 meekness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.

24 And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

25 If we live in the spirit, let us also march in line with the spirit.

26 Let us not become vainglorious, challenging one another, envying one another.

6

1 Brothers, if, even so, a man is caught up in some transgression, you who are spiritual restore such a person in a spirit of meekness, watching yourself, in case you too are tempted.

2 Bear each other's burdens, and fulfil in this way the law of Christ.

3 For if anyone thinks he is something important when he is nothing, he is deluding himself,

4 but let each one test his own work, and then he will have something to be proud of on his own account only and not on that of another.

5 For every person will bear responsibility for his own workload.

6 And let him who has the word imparted to him share with him who imparts it in all good things.

7 Do not be led astray; God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows, that he will by the same token reap.

8 For he who sows in his own flesh will reap corruption from his flesh, but he who sows in the spirit will reap age-abiding life from the spirit.

9 And let us not be weary as we do good. For in our own time we will reap, providing we do not flag.

10 So then, when we have an opportunity, let us do good work towards all, especially to those of the household of the faith.

11 See with what large letters I have written to you in my own hand!

12 Those who wish to make a good showing in the flesh are the ones who are compelling you to be circumcised, but only so as not to be persecuted for the cross of Christ.

13 For those who have been circumcised themselves do not even keep the law, yet they want you to be circumcised so that they may boast about your flesh.

14 But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world was crucified to me and I to the world.

15 For in Christ Jesus neither does circumcision effect anything nor does uncircumcision, but a new creation does.

16 And for all who march by this rule, may there be peace and mercy on them and on the Israel of God.

17 From now on let no-one cause me trouble, for I bear the marks of the Lord Jesus on my body.

18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.