Gal 1-3 | ESV | STEP | Paul , an apostle — not from men nor through man , but through Jesus Christ and God the Father , who raised him from the dead

1 Paul, an ^aapostle— ^bnot from men nor through man, but ^cthrough Jesus Christ and God the Father, ^dwho raised him from the dead— 2 and all ^ethe brothers ^{▼▼Or brothers and sisters. The plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) refers to siblings in a family. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, adelphoi may refer either to men or to both men and women who are siblings (brothers and sisters) in God’s family, the church; also verse 11} who are with me,

To ^gthe churches of Galatia:

3 ^hGrace to you and peace ⁱfrom God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 ^jwho gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present ^kevil age, according to the will of ^lour God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

No Other Gospel

6 I am astonished that you are ^mso quickly deserting ⁿhim who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to ^oa different gospel— 7 ^pnot that there is another one, but ^qthere are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or ^ran angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, ^slet him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, ^tlet him be accursed.

10 For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying ^uto please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a ^vservant ^{▼▼Or slave; Greek bondservant} of Christ.

Paul Called by God

11 For ^xI would have you know, brothers, that ^ythe gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. ^{▼▼Greek not according to man} 12 ^aaFor I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it ^abthrough a revelation of Jesus Christ. 13 For you have heard of ^acmy former life in Judaism, how ^adI persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. 14 And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely ^aezealous was I for ^afthe traditions of my fathers. 15 But when he ^agwho had set me apart ^ahbefore I was born, ^{▼▼Greek set me apart from my mother’s womb} and who ^ajcalled me by his grace, 16 was pleased to reveal his Son to ^{▼▼Greek in} me, in order ^althat I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; ^{▼▼Greek with flesh and blood} 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.

18 Then ^anafter three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days. 19 But I saw none of the other apostles except James ^aothe Lord’s brother. 20 (In what I am writing to you, ^apbefore God, I do not lie!) 21 ^aqThen I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. 22 And I was still unknown in person to ^arthe churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23 They only were hearing it said, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they glorified God because of me.

Galatians 2

Paul Accepted by the Apostles

1 Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. 2 I went up because of a revelation and set before them (though privately before those ^aswho seemed influential) the gospel that ^atI proclaim among the Gentiles, ^auin order to make sure I was not running or had not ^avrun in vain. 3 But even Titus, who was with me, ^awwas not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. 4 ^axYet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who ^ayslipped in to spy out ^azour freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, ^baso that they might bring us into slavery— 5 to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that ^bbthe truth of the gospel might be preserved for you. 6 And from those ^bcwho seemed to be influential (what they were makes no difference to me; ^bdGod shows no partiality)—those, I say, who seemed influential ^beadded nothing to me. 7 On the contrary, when they saw that I had been ^bfentrusted with ^bgthe gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised 8 (for he who worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles), 9 and when James and Cephas and John, ^bhwho seemed to be ^bipillars, perceived the ^bjgrace that was given to me, they ^bkgave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. 10 Only, they asked us to remember the poor, ^blthe very thing I was eager to do.

Paul Opposes Peter

11 But ^bmwhen Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him ^bnto his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For before certain men came from James, ^bohe was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing ^bpthe circumcision party. ^{▼▼Or fearing those of the circumcision} 13 And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that their ^brconduct was not in step with ^bsthe truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas ^btbefore them all, “If you, though a Jew, ^bulive like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

Justified by Faith

15 We ourselves are Jews by birth and not ^bvGentile sinners; 16 yet we know that ^bwa person is not justified ^{▼▼Or counted righteous (three times in verse 16); also verse 17} by works of the law ^bybut through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, ^bzbecause by works of the law no one will be justified.

17 But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found ^cato be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! 18 For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. 19 For through the law I ^cbdied to the law, so that I might ^cclive to God. 20 I have been ^cdcrucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives ^cein me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, ^cfwho loved me and ^cggave himself for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for ^chif righteousness ^{▼▼Or justification} were through the law, ^cjthen Christ died for no purpose.

Galatians 3

By Faith, or by Works of the Law?

1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? ^ckIt was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly ^clportrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: ^cmDid you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by ^cnhearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? ^coHaving begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by ^{▼▼Or now ending with} the flesh? 4 ^cqDid you suffer ^{▼▼Or experience} so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and ^csworks miracles among you do so ^ctby works of the law, or by hearing with faith— 6 just as ^cuAbraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?

7 Know then that it is ^cvthose of faith who are ^cwthe sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that ^cxGod would justify ^{▼▼Or count righteous; also verses 11, 24} the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ^cz“In you shall all the nations be blessed.” 9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

The Righteous Shall Live by Faith

10 For all who rely on works of the law are ^daunder a curse; for it is written, ^db“Cursed be everyone who does not ^dcabide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” 11 Now it is evident that ^ddno one is justified before God by the law, for ^de“The righteous shall live by faith.” ^{▼▼Or The one who by faith is righteous will live} 12 But the law is not of faith, rather ^dg“The one who does them shall live by them.” 13 Christ ^dhredeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, ^di“Cursed is everyone who is hanged ^djon a tree”— 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might ^dkcome to the Gentiles, so that ^dlwe might receive ^dmthe promised Spirit ^{▼▼Greek receive the promise of the Spirit} through faith.

The Law and the Promise

15 ^doTo give a human example, brothers: ^{▼▼Or brothers and sisters} ^dqeven with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. 16 Now ^drthe promises were made ^dsto Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, ^dt“And to your offspring,” who is Christ. 17 This is what I mean: the law, which came ^du430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as ^dvto make the promise void. 18 For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but ^dwGod gave it to Abraham by a promise.

19 Why then the law? ^dxIt was added because of transgressions, ^dyuntil the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was ^dzput in place through angels ^eaby an intermediary. 20 Now ^eban intermediary implies more than one, but ^ecGod is one.

21 Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For ^edif a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. 22 But the Scripture ^eeimprisoned everything under sin, so that ^efthe promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given ^egto those who believe.

23 Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, ^ehimprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. 24 So then, ^eithe law was our ^ejguardian until Christ came, ^ekin order that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26 for in Christ Jesus ^elyou are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as ^emwere baptized ^eninto Christ have ^eoput on Christ. 28 ^epThere is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave ^{▼▼Greek bondservant} nor free, ^erthere is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And ^esif you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, ^etheirs according to promise.