5:13 For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; 1 only do not use your freedom as an opportunity to indulge your flesh, 2 but through love serve one another. 3
6:11 See what big letters I make as I write to you with my own hand!
1:13 For you have heard of my former way of life 16 in Judaism, how I was savagely persecuting the church of God and trying to destroy it.
3:1 You 17 foolish Galatians! Who has cast a spell 18 on you? Before your eyes Jesus Christ was vividly portrayed 19 as crucified!
1 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:11.
2 tn Grk “as an opportunity for the flesh”; BDAG 915 s.v. σάρξ 2.c.α states: “In Paul’s thought esp., all parts of the body constitute a totality known as σ. or flesh, which is dominated by sin to such a degree that wherever flesh is, all forms of sin are likew. present, and no good thing can live in the σάρξ…Gal 5:13, 24;…Opp. τὸ πνεῦμα…Gal 3:3; 5:16, 17ab; 6:8ab.”
3 tn It is possible that the verb δουλεύετε (douleuete) should be translated “serve one another in a humble manner” here, referring to the way in which slaves serve their masters (see L&N 35.27).
4 tn The Greek verb here is εὐαγγελίζεται (euangelizetai).
7 tn The conjunction γάρ has not been translated here.
8 tn Grk “he drew back.” If ἑαυτόν (Jeauton) goes with both ὑπέστελλεν (Jupestellen) and ἀφώριζεν (afwrizen) rather than only the latter, the meaning would be “he drew himself back” (see BDAG 1041 s.v. ὑποστέλλω 1.a).
9 tn Or “and held himself aloof.”
10 tn Grk “the [ones] of the circumcision,” that is, the group of Jewish Christians who insisted on circumcision of Gentiles before they could become Christians.
10 tn See the note on the word “flesh” in Gal 5:13.
11 tn Or “clear,” “evident.”
13 tn Or “witchcraft.”
14 tn Or “enmities,” “[acts of] hatred.”
15 tn Or “discord” (L&N 39.22).
16 tn Or “discord(s)” (L&N 39.13).
16 tn Grk “voice” or “tone.” The contemporary English expression “tone of voice” is a good approximation to the meaning here.
19 tn Or “lifestyle,” “behavior.”
22 tn Grk “O” (an interjection used both in address and emotion). In context the following section is highly charged emotionally.
23 tn Or “deceived”; the verb βασκαίνω (baskainw) can be understood literally here in the sense of bewitching by black magic, but could also be understood figuratively to refer to an act of deception (see L&N 53.98 and 88.159).
24 tn Or “publicly placarded,” “set forth in a public proclamation” (BDAG 867 s.v. προγράφω 2).
25 tn There is a double connective here that cannot be easily preserved in English: “consequently therefore,” emphasizing the conclusion of what Paul has been arguing.
26 tn Grk “to those who are members of the family of [the] faith.”
28 tn Grk “of men”; but here ἀνθρώπους (anqrwpou") is used in a generic sense of both men and women.
29 tn Grk “men”; but here ἀνθρώποις (anqrwpoi") is used in a generic sense of both men and women.
30 tn The imperfect verb has been translated conatively (ExSyn 550).
31 tn Grk “men”; but here ἀνθρώποις (anqrwpoi") is used in a generic sense of both men and women.
32 tn Traditionally, “servant” or “bondservant.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.