Galatians 1:13-14

1:13 For you have heard of my former way of life ¹  in Judaism, how I was savagely persecuting the church of God and trying to destroy it. 1:14 I ²  was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my nation, ³  and was ⁴  extremely zealous for the traditions of my ancestors. ⁵ 

Galatians 1:16

1:16 to reveal his Son in ⁶  me so that I could preach him ⁷  among the Gentiles, I did not go to ask advice from ⁸  any human being, ⁹ 

Galatians 2:4

2:4 Now this matter arose ¹⁰  because of the false brothers with false pretenses ¹¹  who slipped in unnoticed to spy on ¹²  our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, to make us slaves. ¹³ 

[1:13]  ¹ tn Or “lifestyle,” “behavior.”

[1:14]  ² tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[1:14]  ³ tn Or “among my race.”

[1:14]  ⁴ tn Grk “was advancing beyond…nation, being.” The participle ὑπάρχων (Juparcwn) was translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[1:14]  ⁵ sn The traditions of my ancestors refers to both Pharisaic and popular teachings of this time which eventually were codified in Jewish literature such as the Mishnah, Midrashim, and Targums.

[1:16]  ³ tn Or “to me”; the Greek preposition ἐν (en) can mean either, depending on the context.

[1:16]  ⁴ tn This pronoun refers to “his Son,” mentioned earlier in the verse.

[1:16]  ⁵ tn Or “I did not consult with.” For the translation “I did not go to ask advice from” see L&N 33.175.

[1:16]  ⁶ tn Grk “from flesh and blood.”

[2:4]  ⁴ 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.

[2:4]  ⁵ 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.

[2:4]  ⁶ 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).

[2:4]  ⁷ 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.