Galatians 6:11

Final Instructions and Benediction

6:11 See what big letters I make as I write to you with my own hand!

Galatians 1:18-19

1:18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem ¹  to visit Cephas ²  and get information from him, ³  and I stayed with him fifteen days. 1:19 But I saw none of the other apostles ⁴  except James the Lord’s brother.

Galatians 3:7

3:7 so then, understand ⁵  that those who believe are the sons of Abraham. ⁶ 

Galatians 1:17

1:17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem ⁷  to see those who were apostles before me, but right away I departed to Arabia, ⁸  and then returned to Damascus.

Galatians 5:2

5:2 Listen! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you at all!

Galatians 2:7

2:7 On the contrary, when they saw ⁹  that I was entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised ¹⁰  just as Peter was to the circumcised ¹¹ 

Galatians 3:1

Justification by Law or by Faith?

3:1 You ¹²  foolish Galatians! Who has cast a spell ¹³  on you? Before your eyes Jesus Christ was vividly portrayed ¹⁴  as crucified!

Galatians 2:4

2:4 Now this matter arose ¹⁵  because of the false brothers with false pretenses ¹⁶  who slipped in unnoticed to spy on ¹⁷  our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, to make us slaves. ¹⁸ 

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, ¹⁹  saying, “All the nations ²⁰  will be blessed in you.” ²¹ 

¹ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

² sn Cephas. This individual is generally identified with the Apostle Peter (L&N 93.211).

³ tn Although often translated “to get acquainted with Cephas,” this could give the impression of merely a social call. L&N 34.52 has “to visit, with the purpose of obtaining information” for the meaning of ἱστορέω (Jistorew), particularly in this verse.

¹ tn Grk “But another of the apostles I did not see, except…” with “another” in emphatic position in the Greek text. Paul is determined to make the point that his contacts with the original twelve apostles and other leaders of the Jerusalem church were limited, thus asserting his independence from them.

¹ tn Grk “know.”

² tn The phrase “sons of Abraham” is used here in a figurative sense to describe people who are connected to a personality, Abraham, by close nonmaterial ties. It is this personality that has defined the relationship and its characteristics (BDAG 1024-25 s.v. υἱός 2.c.α).

¹ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

² sn As a geographical region Arabia included the territory west of Mesopotamia, east and south of Syria and Palestine, extending to the isthmus of Suez. During the Roman occupation, some independent kingdoms arose like that of the Nabateans south of Damascus, and these could be called simply Arabia. In light of the proximity to Damascus, this may well be the territory Paul says he visited here. See also C. W. Briggs, “The Apostle Paul in Arabia,” Biblical World 41 (1913): 255-59.

¹ tn The participle ἰδόντες (idontes) has been taken temporally to retain the structure of the passage. Many modern translations, because of the length of the sentence here, translate this participle as a finite verb and break the Greek sentences into several English sentences (NIV, for example, begins new sentences at the beginning of both vv. 8 and 9).

² tn Grk “to the uncircumcision,” that is, to the Gentiles.

³ tn Grk “to the circumcision,” a collective reference to the Jewish people.

¹ tn Grk “O” (an interjection used both in address and emotion). In context the following section is highly charged emotionally.

² 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).

³ tn Or “publicly placarded,” “set forth in a public proclamation” (BDAG 867 s.v. προγράφω 2).

¹ tn No subject and verb are expressed in vv. 4-5, but the phrase “Now this matter arose,” implied from v. 3, was supplied to make a complete English sentence.

² tn The adjective παρεισάκτους (pareisaktou"), which relates to someone joining a group with false motives or false pretenses, applies to the “false brothers.” Although the expression “false brothers with false pretenses” is somewhat redundant, it captures the emphatic force of Paul’s expression, which labels both these “brothers” as false (ψευδαδέλφους, yeudadelfou") as well as their motives. See L&N 34.29 for more information.

³ tn The verb translated here as “spy on” (κατασκοπέω, kataskopew) can have a neutral nuance, but here the connotation is certainly negative (so F. F. Bruce, Galatians [NIGTC], 112-13, and E. Burton, Galatians [ICC], 83).

⁴ tn Grk “in order that they might enslave us.” The ἵνα (Jina) clause with the subjunctive verb καταδουλώσουσιν (katadoulwsousin) has been translated as an English infinitival clause.

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.