Galatians 5
5
1Christ set us free so we could have real freedom. So stand firm and don't get burdened down again by a yoke of slavery. 2Let me, Paul, tell you bluntly: if you rely on the way of circumcision, Christ will be of absolutely no benefit to you. 3Let me repeat: every man who is circumcised has to keep the whole of the law. 4Those of you who think you can be made right by the law are cut off from Christ—you have abandoned grace.
5For through the Spirit we trust and wait in hope to be made right. 6For in Christ Jesus being circumcised or uncircumcised doesn't achieve anything; it's only trust working through love that matters. 7You were doing so well! Who got in the way and prevented you from being convinced by the truth? 8This “persuasion” certainly isn't from the one who calls you. 9You only need a little bit of yeast to raise the whole batch of dough. 10I'm confident in the Lord that you won't change the way you think, and that the one who is confusing you will face the consequences,#5:10. Or “judgment.” whoever he is.
11As for me, brothers and sisters, if I were still advocating circumcision—why am I still persecuted? If that was true, it would remove the issue of the cross that offends people so much. 12If only those who are causing you trouble would go even further than circumcision and castrate themselves!#5:12. Not to be taken literally, of course, but symbolically, pushing the circumcision philosophy to the extreme.
13You, my brothers and sisters, were called to freedom! Just don't use your freedom as an excuse to indulge your sinful human nature—instead serve one another in love. 14For the whole law is summed up in this one command, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”#5:14. Quoting Leviticus 19:18. 15But if you attack and tear into one another, watch out that you don't completely destroy yourselves! 16My advice is to walk by the Spirit. Don't satisfy the desires of your sinful human nature. 17For the desires of the sinful nature are opposed to the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are opposed to the sinful nature. They fight one another, so you don't do what you want to do. 18But if the Spirit leads you, you're not under the law.
19It's clear what the sinful human nature produces: sexual immorality, indecency, sensuality, 20idolatry, sorcery, hatred, rivalry, jealousy, anger, selfish ambition, dissension, heresy, 21envy, drunkenness, feasting, and similar things. As I warned you before so I warn you again: nobody who behaves like this will inherit the kingdom of God.
22But the Spirit produces fruit such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trust, 23gentleness, self-control—and there's no law against these kinds of things! 24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed to the cross their sinful human nature, together with all their sinful passions and desires. 25If we live in the Spirit we should also walk in the Spirit. 26Let's not become boastful, or irritate and envy one another.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
Galatians 5
5
Freedom of the Believer
1 For freedom#tn Translating the dative as “For freedom” shows the purpose for Christ setting us free; however, it is also possible to take the phrase in the sense of means or instrument (“with [or by] freedom”), referring to the freedom mentioned in 4:31 and implied throughout the letter. Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be subject again to the yoke#sn Here the yoke figuratively represents the burdensome nature of slavery. of slavery. 2 Listen! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you at all! 3 And I testify again to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey#tn Or “keep”; or “carry out”; Grk “do.” the whole law. 4 You who are trying to be declared righteous#tn Or “trying to be justified.” The verb δικαιοῦσθε (dikaiousqe) has been translated as a conative present (see ExSyn 534). by the law have been alienated#tn Or “estranged”; BDAG 526 s.v. καταργέω 4 states, “Of those who aspire to righteousness through the law κ. ἀπὸ Χριστοῦ be estranged from Christ Gal 5:4.” from Christ; you have fallen away from grace! 5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we wait expectantly for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision carries any weight – the only thing that matters is faith working through love.#tn Grk “but faith working through love.”
7 You were running well; who prevented you from obeying#tn Or “following.” BDAG 792 s.v. πείθω 3.b states, “obey, follow w. dat. of the pers. or thing…Gal 3:1 v.l.; 5:7.” the truth? 8 This persuasion#tn Grk “The persuasion,” referring to their being led away from the truth (v. 7). There is a play on words here that is not easily reproducible in the English translation: The words translated “obey” (πείθεσθαι, peiqesqai) in v. 7 and “persuasion” (πεισμονή, peismonh) in v. 8 come from the same root in Greek. does not come from the one who calls you! 9 A little yeast makes the whole batch of dough rise!#tn Grk “A little leaven leavens the whole lump.” 10 I am confident#tn The verb translated “I am confident” (πέποιθα, pepoiqa) comes from the same root in Greek as the words translated “obey” (πείθεσθαι, peiqesqai) in v. 7 and “persuasion” (πεισμονή, peismonh) in v. 8. in the Lord that you will accept no other view.#tn Grk “that you will think nothing otherwise.” But the one who is confusing#tn Or “is stirring you up”; Grk “is troubling you.” In context Paul is referring to the confusion and turmoil caused by those who insist that Gentile converts to Christianity must observe the Mosaic law. you will pay the penalty,#tn Or “will suffer condemnation” (L&N 90.80); Grk “will bear his judgment.” The translation “must pay the penalty” is given as an explanatory gloss on the phrase by BDAG 171 s.v. βαστάζω 2.b.β. whoever he may be. 11 Now, brothers and sisters,#tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:11. if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted?#sn That is, if Paul still teaches observance of the Mosaic law (preaches circumcision), why is he still being persecuted by his opponents, who insist that Gentile converts to Christianity must observe the Mosaic law? In that case the offense of the cross#sn The offense of the cross refers to the offense to Jews caused by preaching Christ crucified. has been removed.#tn Or “nullified.” 12 I wish those agitators#tn Grk “the ones who are upsetting you.” The same verb is used in Acts 21:38 to refer to a person who incited a revolt. Paul could be alluding indirectly to the fact that his opponents are inciting the Galatians to rebel against his teaching with regard to circumcision and the law. would go so far as to#tn Grk “would even.” castrate themselves!#tn Or “make eunuchs of themselves”; Grk “cut themselves off.” This statement is rhetorical hyperbole on Paul’s part. It does strongly suggest, however, that Paul’s adversaries in this case (“those agitators”) were men. Some interpreters (notably Erasmus and the Reformers) have attempted to soften the meaning to a figurative “separate themselves” (meaning the opponents would withdraw from fellowship) but such an understanding dramatically weakens the rhetorical force of Paul’s argument. Although it has been argued that such an act of emasculation would be unthinkable for Paul, it must be noted that Paul’s statement is one of biting sarcasm, obviously not meant to be taken literally. See further G. Stählin, TDNT 3:853-55.
Practice Love
13 For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters;#tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:11. only do not use your freedom as an opportunity to indulge your flesh,#tn Grk “as an opportunity for the flesh”; BDAG 915 s.v. σάρξ 2.c.α states: “In Paul’s thought esp., all parts of the body constitute a totality known as σ. or flesh, which is dominated by sin to such a degree that wherever flesh is, all forms of sin are likew. present, and no good thing can live in the σάρξ…Gal 5:13, 24;…Opp. τὸ πνεῦμα…Gal 3:3; 5:16, 17ab; 6:8ab.” but through love serve one another.#tn It is possible that the verb δουλεύετε (douleuete) should be translated “serve one another in a humble manner” here, referring to the way in which slaves serve their masters (see L&N 35.27). 14 For the whole law can be summed up in a single commandment,#tn Or “can be fulfilled in one commandment.” namely, “You must love your neighbor as yourself.”#sn A quotation from Lev 19:18. 15 However, if you continually bite and devour one another,#tn That is, “if you are harming and exploiting one another.” Paul’s metaphors are retained in most modern translations, but it is possible to see the meanings of δάκνω and κατεσθίω (daknw and katesqiw, L&N 20.26 and 88.145) as figurative extensions of the literal meanings of these terms and to translate them accordingly. The present tenses here are translated as customary presents (“continually…”). beware that you are not consumed#tn Or “destroyed.” by one another. 16 But I say, live#tn Grk “walk” (a common NT idiom for how one conducts one’s life or how one behaves). by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh.#tn On the term “flesh” (once in this verse and twice in v. 17) see the note on the same word in Gal 5:13. 17 For the flesh has desires that are opposed to the Spirit, and the Spirit has desires#tn The words “has desires” do not occur in the Greek text a second time, but are repeated in the translation for clarity. that are opposed to the flesh, for these are in opposition to#tn Or “are hostile toward” (L&N 39.1). each other, so that you cannot do what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh#tn See the note on the word “flesh” in Gal 5:13. are obvious:#tn Or “clear,” “evident.” sexual immorality, impurity, depravity, 20 idolatry, sorcery,#tn Or “witchcraft.” hostilities,#tn Or “enmities,” “[acts of] hatred.” strife,#tn Or “discord” (L&N 39.22). jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish rivalries, dissensions,#tn Or “discord(s)” (L&N 39.13). factions, 21 envying,#tn This term is plural in Greek (as is “murder” and “carousing”), but for clarity these abstract nouns have been translated as singular. murder,#tc ‡ φόνοι (fonoi, “murders”) is absent in such important mss as Ì46 א B 33 81 323 945 pc sa, while the majority of mss (A C D F G Ψ 0122 0278 1739 1881 Ï lat) have the word. Although the pedigree of the mss which lack the term is of the highest degree, homoioteleuton may well explain the shorter reading. The preceding word has merely one letter difference, making it quite possible to overlook this term (φθόνοι φόνοι, fqonoi fonoi). drunkenness, carousing,#tn Or “revelings,” “orgies” (L&N 88.287). and similar things. I am warning you, as I had warned you before: Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God!
22 But the fruit of the Spirit#tn That is, the fruit the Spirit produces. is love,#sn Another way to punctuate this is “love” followed by a colon (love: joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control). It is thus possible to read the eight characteristics following “love” as defining love. joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,#tn Or “reliability”; see BDAG 818 s.v. πίστις 1.a. 23 gentleness, and#tn “And” is supplied here as a matter of English style, which normally inserts “and” between the last two elements of a list or series. self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Now those who belong to Christ#tc ‡ Some mss (א A B C P Ψ 01221 0278 33 1175 1739 pc co) read “Christ Jesus” here, while many significant ones (Ì46 D F G 0122*,2 latt sy), as well as the Byzantine text, lack “Jesus.” The Byzantine text is especially not prone to omit the name “Jesus”; that it does so here argues for the authenticity of the shorter reading (for similar instances of probably authentic Byzantine shorter readings, see Matt 24:36 and Phil 1:14; cf. also W.-H. J. Wu, “A Systematic Analysis of the Shorter Readings in the Byzantine Text of the Synoptic Gospels” [Ph.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 2002]). On the strength of the alignment of Ì46 with the Western and Byzantine texttypes, the shorter reading is preferred. NA27 includes the word in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity. have crucified the flesh#tn See the note on the word “flesh” in Gal 5:13. with its passions#tn The Greek term παθήμασιν (paqhmasin, translated “passions”) refers to strong physical desires, especially of a sexual nature (L&N 25.30). and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also behave in accordance with#tn Or “let us also follow,” “let us also walk by.” the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited,#tn Or “falsely proud.” provoking#tn Or “irritating.” BDAG 871 s.v. προκαλέω has “provoke, challenge τινά someone.” one another, being jealous#tn Or “another, envying one another.” of one another.
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