Galatians 1:7

1:7 not that there really is another gospel, ¹  but ²  there are some who are disturbing you and wanting ³  to distort the gospel of Christ.

Galatians 3:8

3:8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, proclaimed the gospel to Abraham ahead of time, ⁴  saying, “All the nations ⁵  will be blessed in you.” ⁶ 

Galatians 3:13

3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming ⁷  a curse for us (because it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”) ⁸ 

Galatians 3:19

3:19 Why then was the law given? ⁹  It was added ¹⁰  because of transgressions, ¹¹  until the arrival of the descendant ¹²  to whom the promise had been made. It was administered ¹³  through angels by an intermediary. ¹⁴ 

Galatians 4:4

4:4 But when the appropriate time ¹⁵  had come, God sent out his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,

Galatians 4:15

4:15 Where then is your sense of happiness ¹⁶  now? For I testify about you that if it were possible, you would have pulled out your eyes and given them to me!

Galatians 5:10

5:10 I am confident ¹⁷  in the Lord that you will accept no other view. ¹⁸  But the one who is confusing ¹⁹  you will pay the penalty, ²⁰  whoever he may be.

¹ tn Grk “which is not another,” but this could be misunderstood to mean “which is not really different.” In fact, as Paul goes on to make clear, there is no other gospel than the one he preaches.

² tn Grk “except.”

³ tn Or “trying.”

⁴ tn For the Greek verb προευαγγελίζομαι (proeuangelizomai) translated as “proclaim the gospel ahead of time,” compare L&N 33.216.

⁵ tn The same plural Greek word, τὰ ἔθνη (ta eqnh), can be translated as “nations” or “Gentiles.”

⁶ sn A quotation from Gen 12:3; 18:18.

⁷ tn Grk “having become”; the participle γενόμενος (genomenos) has been taken instrumentally.

⁸ sn A quotation from Deut 21:23. By figurative extension the Greek word translated tree (ζύλον, zulon) can also be used to refer to a cross (L&N 6.28), the Roman instrument of execution.

¹⁰ tn Grk “Why then the law?”

¹¹ tc For προσετέθη (proseteqh) several Western mss have ἐτέθη (eteqh, “it was established”; so D* F G it Ir^lat Ambst Spec). The net effect of this reading, in conjunction with the largely Western reading of πράξεων (praxewn) for παραβάσεων (parabasewn), seems to be a very positive assessment of the law. But there are compelling reasons for rejecting this reading: (1) externally, it is provincial and relatively late; (2) internally: (a) transcriptionally, there seems to be a much higher transcriptional probability that a scribe would try to smooth over Paul’s harsh saying here about the law than vice versa; (b) intrinsically: [1] Paul has already argued that the law came after the promise (vv. 15-18), indicating, more than likely, its temporary nature; [2] the verb “was added” in v. 19 (προσετέθη) is different from the verb in v. 15 (ἐπιδιατάσσεται, epidiatassetai); virtually all exegetes recognize this as an intentional linguistic shift on Paul’s part in order not to contradict his statement in v. 15; [3] the temper of 3:1–4:7 is decidedly against a positive statement about the Torah’s role in Heilsgeschichte.

¹² tc παραδόσεων (paradosewn; “traditions, commandments”) is read by D*, while the vast majority of witnesses read παραβάσεων (parabasewn, “transgressions”). D’s reading makes little sense in this context. πράξεων (praxewn, “of deeds”) replaces παραβάσεων in Ì⁴⁶ F G it Ir^lat Ambst Spec. The wording is best taken as going with νόμος (nomo"; “Why then the law of deeds?”), as is evident by the consistent punctuation in the later witnesses. But such an expression is unpauline and superfluous; it was almost certainly added by some early scribe(s) to soften the blow of Paul’s statement.

¹³ tn Grk “the seed.” See the note on the first occurrence of the word “descendant” in 3:16.

¹⁴ tn Or “was ordered.” L&N 31.22 has “was put into effect” here.

¹⁵ tn Many modern translations (NASB, NIV, NRSV) render this word (μεσίτης, mesith"; here and in v. 20) as “mediator,” but this conveys a wrong impression in contemporary English. If this is referring to Moses, he certainly did not “mediate” between God and Israel but was an intermediary on God’s behalf. Moses was not a mediator, for example, who worked for compromise between opposing parties. He instead was God’s representative to his people who enabled them to have a relationship, but entirely on God’s terms.

¹³ tn Grk “the fullness of time” (an idiom for the totality of a period of time, with the implication of proper completion; see L&N 67.69).

¹⁶ tn Or “blessedness.”

¹⁹ 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.

²⁰ tn Grk “that you will think nothing otherwise.”

²¹ 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.

²² 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.