Acts 15:1

The Jerusalem Council

15:1 Now some men came down from Judea ¹  and began to teach the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised ²  according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

Romans 2:19-21

2:19 and if you are convinced ³  that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 2:20 an educator of the senseless, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the essential features of knowledge and of the truth – 2:21 therefore ⁴  you who teach someone else, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal?

Galatians 3:2

3:2 The only thing I want to learn from you is this: Did you receive the Spirit by doing the works of the law ⁵  or by believing what you heard? ⁶ 

Galatians 3:5

3:5 Does God then give ⁷  you the Spirit and work miracles among you by your doing the works of the law ⁸  or by your believing what you heard? ⁹ 

Galatians 4:21

An Appeal from Allegory

4:21 Tell me, you who want to be under the law, do you not understand the law? ¹⁰ 

Galatians 5:3-4

5:3 And I testify again to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey ¹¹  the whole law. 5:4 You who are trying to be declared righteous ¹²  by the law have been alienated ¹³  from Christ; you have fallen away from grace!

Titus 1:10-11

1:10 For there are many ¹⁴  rebellious people, idle talkers, and deceivers, especially those with Jewish connections, ¹⁵  1:11 who must be silenced because they mislead whole families by teaching for dishonest gain what ought not to be taught.

¹ sn That is, they came down from Judea to Antioch in Syria.

² tc Codex Bezae (D) and a few other witnesses have “and walk” here (i.e., instead of τῷ ἔθει τῷ Μωϋσέως [tw eqei tw Mwu>sew"] they read καὶ τῷ ἔθει τῷ Μωϋσέως περιπατῆτε [kai tw eqei tw Mwu>sew" peripathte]). This is a decidedly stronger focus on obedience to the Law. As well, D expands vv. 1-5 in various places with the overall effect of being “more sympathetic to the local tradition of the church at Jerusalem” while the Alexandrian witnesses are more sympathetic to Paul (TCGNT 377). Codex D is well known for having a significantly longer text in Acts, but modern scholarship is generally of the opinion that the text of D expands on the original wording of Acts, with a theological viewpoint that especially puts Peter in a more authoritarian light. The expansion in these five verses is in keeping with that motif even though Peter is not explicitly in view.

³ tn This verb is parallel to the verbs in vv. 17-18a, so it shares the conditional meaning even though the word “if” is not repeated.

⁴ tn The structure of vv. 21-24 is difficult. Some take these verses as the apodosis of the conditional clauses (protases) in vv. 17-20; others see vv. 17-20 as an instance of anacoluthon (a broken off or incomplete construction).

⁵ tn Grk “by [the] works of [the] law,” a reference to observing the Mosaic law.

⁶ tn Grk “by [the] hearing of faith.”

⁷ tn Or “provide.”

⁸ tn Grk “by [the] works of [the] law” (the same phrase as in v. 2).

⁹ tn Grk “by [the] hearing of faith” (the same phrase as in v. 2).

¹⁰ tn Or “will you not hear what the law says?” The Greek verb ἀκούω (akouw) means “hear, listen to,” but by figurative extension it can also mean “obey.” It can also refer to the process of comprehension that follows hearing, and that sense fits the context well here.

¹¹ tn Or “keep”; or “carry out”; Grk “do.”

¹² tn Or “trying to be justified.” The verb δικαιοῦσθε (dikaiousqe) has been translated as a conative present (see ExSyn 534).

¹³ 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.”

¹⁴ tc ‡ The earliest and best mss lack καί (kai) after πολλοί (polloi; so א A C P 088 81 104 365 614 629 630 al sy co), though the conjunction is found in several significant witnesses, chiefly of the Western and Byzantine texts (D F G I Ψ 33 1739 1881 Ï lat). Although it is possible that some scribes omitted the word, thinking it was superfluous, it is also possible that others added the conjunction for clarification. Judging by the pedigree of the witnesses and the inconclusiveness of the internal evidence, the shorter reading is considered to be most likely original. NA²⁷ puts the conjunction in brackets, indicating some doubts as to its authenticity.

¹⁵ tn Grk “those of the circumcision.” Some translations take this to refer to Jewish converts to Christianity (cf. NAB “Jewish Christians”; TEV “converts from Judaism”; CEV “Jewish followers”) while others are less clear (cf. NLT “those who insist on circumcision for salvation”).