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, ¹  saying, “All the nations ²  will be blessed in you.” ³ 

Galatians 3:15

Inheritance Comes from Promises and not Law

3:15 Brothers and sisters, ⁴  I offer an example from everyday life: ⁵  When a covenant ⁶  has been ratified, ⁷  even though it is only a human contract, no one can set it aside or add anything to it.

Galatians 3:21

3:21 Is the law therefore opposed to the promises of God? ⁸  Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that was able to give life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. ⁹ 

Galatians 4:14

4:14 and though my physical condition put you to the test, you did not despise or reject me. ¹⁰  Instead, you welcomed me as though I were an angel of God, ¹¹  as though I were Christ Jesus himself! ¹² 

Galatians 6:12

6:12 Those who want to make a good showing in external matters ¹³  are trying to force you to be circumcised. They do so ¹⁴  only to avoid being persecuted ¹⁵  for the cross of Christ.

Galatians 6:14

6:14 But may I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which ¹⁶  the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

¹ tn For the Greek verb προευαγγελίζομαι (proeuangelizomai) translated as “proclaim the gospel ahead of time,” compare L&N 33.216.

² tn The same plural Greek word, τὰ ἔθνη (ta eqnh), can be translated as “nations” or “Gentiles.”

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

⁴ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:11.

⁵ tn Grk “I speak according to man,” referring to the illustration that follows.

⁶ tn The same Greek word, διαθήκη (diaqhkh), can mean either “covenant” or “will,” but in this context the former is preferred here because Paul is discussing in vv. 16-18 the Abrahamic covenant.

⁷ tn Or “has been put into effect.”

⁷ tc The reading τοῦ θεοῦ (tou qeou, “of God”) is well attested in א A C D (F G read θεοῦ without the article) Ψ 0278 33 1739 1881 Ï lat sy co. However, Ì⁴⁶ B d Ambst lack the words. Ì⁴⁶ and B perhaps should not to be given as much weight as they normally are, since the combination of these two witnesses often produces a secondary shorter reading against all others. In addition, one might expect that if the shorter reading were original other variants would have crept into the textual tradition early on. But 104 (a.d. 1087) virtually stands alone with the variant τοῦ Χριστοῦ (tou Cristou, “of Christ”). Nevertheless, if τοῦ θεοῦ were not part of the original text, it is the kind of variant that would be expected to show up early and often, especially in light of Paul’s usage elsewhere (Rom 4:20; 2 Cor 1:20). A slight preference should be given to the τοῦ θεοῦ over the omission. NA²⁷ rightly places the words in brackets, indicating doubts as to their authenticity.

⁸ tn Or “have been based on the law.”

¹⁰ tn Grk “your trial in my flesh you did not despise or reject.”

¹¹ tn Or “the angel of God.” Linguistically, “angel of God” is the same in both testaments (and thus, he is either “an angel of God” or “the angel of God” in both testaments). For arguments and implications, see ExSyn 252; M. J. Davidson, “Angels,” DJG, 9; W. G. MacDonald argues for “an angel” in both testaments: “Christology and ‘The Angel of the Lord’,” Current Issues in Biblical and Patristic Interpretation, 324-35.

¹² tn Grk “as an angel of God…as Christ Jesus.” This could be understood to mean either “you welcomed me like an angel of God would,” or “you welcomed me as though I were an angel of God.” In context only the second is accurate, so the translation has been phrased to indicate this.

¹³ tn Grk “in the flesh.” L&N 88.236 translates the phrase “those who force you to be circumcised are those who wish to make a good showing in external matters.”

¹⁴ tn Grk “to be circumcised, only.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started with the words “They do so,” which were supplied to make a complete English sentence.

¹⁵ tc ‡ Grk “so that they will not be persecuted.” The indicative after ἵνα μή (Jina mh) is unusual (though not unexampled elsewhere in the NT), making it the harder reading. The evidence is fairly evenly split between the indicative διώκονται (diwkontai; Ì⁴⁶ A C F G K L P 0278 6 81 104 326 629 1175 1505 pm) and the subjunctive διώκωνται (diwkwntai; א B D Ψ 33 365 1739 pm), with a slight preference for the subjunctive. However, since scribes would tend to change the indicative to a subjunctive due to syntactical requirements, the internal evidence is decidedly on the side of the indicative, suggesting that it is original.

¹⁶ tn Or perhaps, “through whom,” referring to the Lord Jesus Christ rather than the cross.