Galatians 1:12

1:12 For I did not receive it or learn it from any human source; ¹  instead I received it ²  by a revelation of Jesus Christ. ³ 

Galatians 4:13

Personal Appeal of Paul

4:13 But you know it was because of a physical illness that I first proclaimed the gospel to you,

Galatians 3:18

3:18 For if the inheritance is based on the law, it is no longer based on the promise, but God graciously gave ⁴  it to Abraham through the promise.

Galatians 4:23

4:23 But one, the son by the slave woman, was born by natural descent, ⁵  while the other, the son by the free woman, was born through the promise.

Galatians 5:6

5:6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision carries any weight – the only thing that matters is faith working through love. ⁶ 

Galatians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ⁷  an apostle (not from men, nor by human agency, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead)

Galatians 3:19

3:19 Why then was the law given? ⁸  It was added ⁹  because of transgressions, ¹⁰  until the arrival of the descendant ¹¹  to whom the promise had been made. It was administered ¹²  through angels by an intermediary. ¹³ 

Galatians 6:14

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

[1:12]  ¹ tn Or “I did not receive it from a human source, nor was I taught it.”

[1:12]  ² tn The words “I received it” are not in the Greek text but are implied.

[1:12]  ³ tn It is difficult to determine what kind of genitive ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ (Ihsou Cristou) is. If it is a subjective genitive, the meaning is “a revelation from Jesus Christ” but if objective genitive, it is “a revelation about Jesus Christ.” Most likely this is objective since the explanation in vv. 15-16 mentions God revealing the Son to Paul so that he might preach, although the idea of a direct revelation to Paul at some point cannot be ruled out.

[3:18]  ⁴ tn On the translation “graciously gave” for χαρίζομαι (carizomai) see L&N 57.102.

[4:23]  ⁷ tn Grk “born according to the flesh”; BDAG 916 s.v. σάρξ 4 has “Of natural descent τὰ τέκνα τῆς σαρκός children by natural descent Ro 9:8 (opp. τὰ τέκνα τῆς ἐπαγγελίας). ὁ μὲν ἐκ τῆς παιδίσκης κατὰ σάρκα γεγέννηται Gal 4:23; cp. vs. 29.”

[5:6]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “but faith working through love.”

[1:1]  ¹³ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[3:19]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “Why then the law?”

[3:19]  ¹⁷ 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.

[3:19]  ¹⁸ 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.

[3:19]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “the seed.” See the note on the first occurrence of the word “descendant” in 3:16.

[3:19]  ²⁰ tn Or “was ordered.” L&N 31.22 has “was put into effect” here.

[3:19]  ²¹ 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.

[6:14]  ¹⁹ tn Or perhaps, “through whom,” referring to the Lord Jesus Christ rather than the cross.