Chapter 1

Greetings

1 Paul, an apostle—not from men nor by man, but ^a by Jesus Christ and God the Father, ^b who raised Him from the dead—

2 and all the brethren who are with me, to the churches of Galatia.

3 Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ,

4 ^c who gave Himself for our sins so that He might deliver us ^d from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,

5 to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

The Other Gospel

6 I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away ^e from Him who called you into the grace of Christ to another gospel,

7 ^f which is not another, but there are some ^g who are disturbing you and want to ^h pervert the gospel of Christ.

8 But even if ⁱ we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.

9 As we said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you ^j than what you have received, let him be accursed.

10 For ^k do I now ^l persuade men or God? Or ^m do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be the bondservant of Christ.

Revelation from God

11 But ⁿ I want you to know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man.

12 For ^o I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it ^p through the revelation of Jesus Christ.

13 For you have heard of my behavior in the past in Judaism, how beyond measure ^q I persecuted the church of God and ^r tried to destroy it.

14 And I advanced in Judaism above many of my contemporaries in my own nation, ^s being more extremely zealous ^t for my ancestral traditions.

15 But when it pleased God, ^u who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace,

16 ^v to reveal His Son in me so that ^w I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with ^x flesh and blood,

17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me. But I went to Arabia and returned again to Damascus.

18 Then after three years ^y I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter. And I stayed with him fifteen days.

19 But ^z I saw none of the other apostles except ^a James, the Lord’s brother.

20 (Now the things that I write to you, I affirm before God that I do not lie.)

21 ^b Afterward, I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia.

22 I was still unknown by face to the assemblies of Judea that ^c were in Christ,

23 but they ^d only kept hearing that he who ^e persecuted us in the past now preaches the faith that he once tried to destroy.

24 So they ^f glorified God in me.

Chapter 2

Visit to Jerusalem

1 Then after fourteen years ^a I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus also with me.

2 And I went up by revelation and communicated to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles, but ^b privately to those who were of reputation, lest by any means ^c I run, or had run in vain.

3 But not even Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised.

4 But this happened because of ^d false brethren secretly brought in, who sneaked in to spy out our ^e freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, ^f that they might bring us into bondage.

5 To whom we did not yield in subjection even for an hour, so that ^g the truth of the gospel might continue with you.

6 But from those ^h who seemed to be important—whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; ⁱ God shows no partiality to man—for those who seemed to be important ^j contributed nothing to me.

7 But on the contrary, ^k when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision ^l was committed to me as the gospel of the circumcision was to Peter—

8 for He who effectively worked in Peter for the apostleship to the ^m circumcision, the same ⁿ effectively worked ^o also in me toward the Gentiles—

9 and when James, Cephas and John, who seemed to be ^p pillars, perceived ^q the grace that was given to me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship ^r so that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcision.

10 They only desired that we remember the poor, ^s which thing indeed I was eager to do.

Not Justified by Works of Law

11 But ^t when Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he stood condemned.

12 For before certain men came from James, ^u he ate with the Gentiles. But when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision.

13 And the other Jews likewise joined in his hypocrisy, to the point that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy.

14 But when I saw that they were not behaving according to ^v the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter ^w before them all, ^x “If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles, and not as the Jews, why do you compel the Gentiles to live as the Jews?

15 ^y “We who are Jews by nature and not ^z sinners among the Gentiles,

16 ^a “knowing that a man is not justified by works of law, but ^b by the faith of Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus so that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not ^c by works of law, for by works of law no flesh will be justified.

17 “But if while seeking to be justified by Christ, we ourselves are also found to be ^d sinners, is Christ therefore the minister of sin? Certainly not!

18 “For if I build again the things that I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.

19 “For I ^e through law ^f died to law, so that I might ^g live to God.

20 “I have been ^h crucified with Christ. And it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life that I now live in the flesh ⁱ I live by faith in the Son of God, ^j who loved me and gave Himself for me.

21 “I do not nullify the grace of God, for ^k if righteousness comes through law, then Christ died in vain.”

Chapter 3

Law and the Curse

1 O foolish Galatians. Who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ has been publicly portrayed as having been crucified?

2 This only I want to learn from you. Did you receive the Spirit by works of law ^a or by hearing of faith?

3 Are you so foolish, ^b having begun in the Spirit, you are now being completed in ^c the flesh?

4 ^d Have you suffered so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?

5 Therefore, He who provides to you the Spirit and works powerful deeds among you, does He do it by works of law or by hearing of faith?

6 Even so Abraham ^e believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness.

7 Therefore, know indeed that ^f those who are of faith, the same are the sons of Abraham.

8 And ^g the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached beforehand the gospel to Abraham, saying, ^h “In you will all nations be blessed.”

9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.

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

11 But that no one is justified by law in the sight of God is evident, for ^j “the just will live by faith.”

12 And ^k the law is not of faith, but ^l “the man who does them will live in them.”

13 ^m Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us, for it is written, ⁿ “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.”

14 ^o He redeemed us in order that the blessing of Abraham might come on the ^p Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that we might receive ^q the promise of the Spirit through faith.

Law and the Promise

15 Brethren, I speak in the manner of men. ^r Even though it is but a man’s covenant, yet when it is ratified, no one annuls or adds conditions to it.

16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of ^s one, ^t “And to your seed,” who is ^u Christ.

17 And this I say, that law, ^v which came four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul a covenant previously ratified by God, ^w that it should make the promise of no effect.

18 For if ^x the inheritance depends on law, ^y it no longer depends on promise. But God gave it to Abraham by promise.

19 Therefore, why then the law? ^z It was added because of transgressions until the ^a Seed should come to whom the promise was made. And it was ^b ordained through angels by the hand ^c of a mediator.

20 Now a mediator is not a mediator of only one, ^d but God is one.

21 So is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given that could have given life, certainly righteousness would have been by law.

22 But the Scripture has confined ^e all under sin so ^f that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

23 But before faith came, we were kept under guard by law, being shut up to the faith that would afterward be revealed.

24 Therefore, ^g the law was our headmaster to bring us to Christ ^h so that we might be justified by faith.

25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a headmaster.

Sons through Faith and Baptism

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

27 For ^j as many of you as were baptized into Christ ^k have put on Christ.

28 ^l There is neither Jew nor Greek. ^m There is neither bondservant nor free. There is neither male nor female. For you are all ⁿ one in Christ Jesus.

29 And ^o if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s ^p seed and ^q heirs according to the promise.

Chapter 4

Heirs through Christ

1 Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ from a bondservant, though he is lord of all.

2 But he is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father.

3 So we also, when we were children, we ^a were in bondage under the elements of the world.

4 But ^b when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, ^c born ^d of a woman, ^e born under law,

5 in order ^f to redeem those who were under law, ^g so that we might receive the adoption as sons.

6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth ^h the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father.”

7 Therefore, you are no longer a bondservant, but a son; ⁱ and if a son, then an heir through God.

Concern for the Galatians

8 Previously, ^j when you did not know God, ^k you served as bondservants those things that by nature are not gods.

9 But now ^l after you have known God, or rather are known by God, ^m how can you turn back again to ⁿ the weak and worthless elements to which you desire again to be in bondage?

10 ^o You observe days and months and times and years.

11 I fear for you, ^p lest I have labored over you in vain.

12 Brethren, I urge you to be as I am, for I am as you are. ^q You did me no wrong.

13 You know how ^r through physical weakness I preached the gospel to you at the first.

14 And my trial that was in my flesh, you did not despise nor reject, but you received me ^s as a messenger of God, ^t even as Christ Jesus.

15 Where then is the blessing you enjoyed? For I bear you witness that if it were possible, you would have plucked out your own eyes and given them to me.

16 Therefore, have I become your enemy because I tell you the truth?

17 They ^u zealously recruit you, but not for good. Yes, they want to exclude you so that you might be zealous for them.

18 But it is always good to be zealous in a good thing, and not only when I am present with you.

19 ^v My little children for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you,

20 I desire to be present with you now and to change my voice, for I am perplexed about you.

Hagar and Sarah

21 Tell me, you who desire to be under law, do you not hear the law?

22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, ^w the one by a bondwoman and ^x the other by a freewoman.

23 But he who was of the bondwoman ^y was born according to the flesh. But ^z he who was of the freewoman was born through the promise.

24 These things are an allegory. For these are two covenants, the one from Mount ^a Sinai, bringing forth children to bondage, which is Hagar.

25 For this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to Jerusalem that now is, and is in bondage with her children.

26 But the ^b Jerusalem that is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

27 For it is written, ^c “Rejoice barren woman who does not bear. Break forth and cry you who do not labor. For the desolate has many more children than she who has a husband.”

28 Now ^d we, brethren, as Isaac, are the ^e children of promise.

29 But as ^f he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, ^g even so it is now.

30 Nevertheless, what does ^h the Scripture say? ⁱ “Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for ^j the son of the bondwoman will not be heir with the son of the freewoman.”

31 So then, brethren, we are not children of a bondwoman, but of the free.

Chapter 5

Set Free, Stay Free

1 ^a Stand fast therefore in the freedom by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a ^b yoke of bondage.

2 Behold I, Paul, say to you that ^c if you are circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing.

3 For I testify again to every man who is circumcised, ^d that he is obligated to keep the whole law.

4 ^e You have been severed from Christ, you who seek to be justified by law. ^f You have fallen from grace.

5 For we through the Spirit eagerly ^g wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.

6 For ^h in Jesus Christ neither circumcision avails anything nor uncircumcision, but ⁱ faith working through love.

7 You ^j were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?

8 This persuasion did not come from the One who calls you.

9 ^k A little leaven leavens the whole lump.

10 I have confidence in you in the Lord, that you will be of no other mind. But the one troubling you will bear his judgment, whoever he is.

11 And I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, ^l why do I still suffer persecution? Then ^m the offense of the cross has ceased.

12 ⁿ I could wish that those ^o who are troubling you would cut themselves off from you.

13 For you, brethren, have been called to freedom, only ^p do not use your freedom as an ^q opportunity for the flesh. But ^r through love, serve one another.

14 For ^s all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this, ^t “You will love your neighbor as yourself.”

15 But if you bite and devour one another, take heed that you not be consumed by one another.

The Flesh and the Spirit

16 I say then, ^u walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

17 For ^v the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. And these are contrary to one another, ^w so that you cannot do the things that you desire.

18 But ^x if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.

19 Now ^y the works of the flesh are manifest, which are: fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,

20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,

21 envying, drunkenness, revelries, and such like, of which I tell you beforehand as I have also told you in the past, that ^z those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 But ^a the fruit of the Spirit is ^b love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, ^c goodness, ^d faithfulness,

23 gentleness, and self-control. ^e Against such there is no law.

24 Now those who are Christ’s ^f have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

25 ^g If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

26 ^h Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another or envying one another.

Chapter 6

Obedient Faith

1 Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of ^a gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.

2 ^b Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill ^c the law of Christ.

3 For ^d if anyone thinks himself to be something when ^e he is nothing, he deceives himself.

4 But ^f let each one prove his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting in himself alone and ^g not in another.

5 For ^h each one will bear his own load.

6 ⁱ Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with the one who teaches.

7 Be not deceived. God is not mocked, for ^j whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.

8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption. But he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap ^k eternal life.

9 And ^l let us not become weary in doing good, for in due time we will reap ^m if we do not give up.

10 ⁿ Therefore, as we have opportunity, ^o let us do good to all men, ^p especially to those who are of the household of the faith.

The New Creation

11 You see with what large letters I have written to you with my own hand.

12 As many as desire to make a good showing in the flesh, they compel you to be circumcised, ^q only that they might not suffer persecution for the cross of Christ.

13 For not even those who are circumcised keep the law, but desire to have you circumcised so that they may boast in your flesh.

14 But God forbid that I should boast, except in the ^r cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world has been crucified to me and ^s I to the world.

15 For ^t neither circumcision accomplishes anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.

16 And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.

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

18 Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.