Galatians 1:13--2:10

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  1:15 But when the one ⁶  who set me apart from birth ⁷  and called me by his grace was pleased 1:16 to reveal his Son in ⁸  me so that I could preach him ⁹  among the Gentiles, I did not go to ask advice from ¹⁰  any human being, ¹¹  1:17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem ¹²  to see those who were apostles before me, but right away I departed to Arabia, ¹³  and then returned to Damascus.

1:18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem ¹⁴  to visit Cephas ¹⁵  and get information from him, ¹⁶  and I stayed with him fifteen days. 1:19 But I saw none of the other apostles ¹⁷  except James the Lord’s brother. 1:20 I assure you ¹⁸  that, before God, I am not lying about what I am writing to you! ¹⁹  1:21 Afterward I went to the regions of Syria and Cilicia. 1:22 But I was personally ²⁰  unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 1:23 They were only hearing, “The one who once persecuted us is now proclaiming the good news ²¹  of the faith he once tried to destroy.” 1:24 So ²²  they glorified God because of me. ²³ 

Confirmation from the Jerusalem Apostles

2:1 Then after fourteen years I went up to Jerusalem ²⁴  again with Barnabas, taking Titus along too. 2:2 I went there ²⁵  because of ²⁶  a revelation and presented ²⁷  to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did so ²⁸  only in a private meeting with the influential people, ²⁹  to make sure that I was not running – or had not run ³⁰  – in vain. 2:3 Yet ³¹  not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, although he was a Greek. 2:4 Now this matter arose ³²  because of the false brothers with false pretenses ³³  who slipped in unnoticed to spy on ³⁴  our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, to make us slaves. ³⁵  2:5 But ³⁶  we did not surrender to them ³⁷  even for a moment, ³⁸  in order that the truth of the gospel would remain with you. ³⁹ 

2:6 But from those who were influential ⁴⁰  (whatever they were makes no difference to me; God shows no favoritism between people ⁴¹ ) – those influential leaders ⁴²  added ⁴³  nothing to my message. ⁴⁴  2:7 On the contrary, when they saw ⁴⁵  that I was entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised ⁴⁶  just as Peter was to the circumcised ⁴⁷  2:8 (for he who empowered ⁴⁸  Peter for his apostleship ⁴⁹  to the circumcised ⁵⁰  also empowered me for my apostleship to the Gentiles) ⁵¹  2:9 and when James, Cephas, ⁵²  and John, who had a reputation as ⁵³  pillars, ⁵⁴  recognized ⁵⁵  the grace that had been given to me, they gave to Barnabas and me ⁵⁶  the right hand of fellowship, agreeing ⁵⁷  that we would go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. ⁵⁸  2:10 They requested ⁵⁹  only that we remember the poor, the very thing I also was eager to do.

[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.

[1:15]  ³ tc ‡ Several important witnesses have ὁ θεός (Jo qeos) after εὐδόκησεν (eudokhsen; so א A D Ψ 0278 33 1739 1881 Ï co) while the shorter reading is supported by Ì⁴⁶ B F G 629 1505 pc lat. There is hardly any reason why scribes would omit the words (although the Beatty papyrus and the Western text do at times omit words and phrases), but several reasons why scribes would add the words (especially the need to clarify). The confluence of witnesses for the shorter reading (including a few fathers and versions) adds strong support for its authenticity. It is also in keeping with Paul’s style to refrain from mentioning God by name as a rhetorical device (cf. ExSyn 437 [although this section deals with passive constructions, the principle is the same]). NA²⁷ includes the words in brackets, indicating some doubts as to their authenticity.

[1:15]  ⁴ tn Grk “from my mother’s womb.”

[1:16]  ⁴ tn Or “to me”; the Greek preposition ἐν (en) can mean either, depending on the context.

[1:16]  ⁵ tn This pronoun refers to “his Son,” mentioned earlier in the verse.

[1:16]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Grk “from flesh and blood.”

[1:17]  ⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:17]  ⁶ 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.

[1:18]  ⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:18]  ⁷ sn Cephas. This individual is generally identified with the Apostle Peter (L&N 93.211).

[1:18]  ⁸ 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.

[1:19]  ⁷ 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.

[1:20]  ⁸ tn Grk “behold.”

[1:20]  ⁹ tn Grk “What things I am writing to you, behold, before God [that] I am not lying.”

[1:22]  ⁹ tn Or “by sight”; Grk “by face.”

[1:23]  ¹⁰ tn The Greek verb here is εὐαγγελίζεται (euangelizetai).

[1:24]  ¹¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the report about Paul’s conversion.

[1:24]  ¹² tn The prepositional phrase ἐν εμοί (en emoi) has been translated with a causal force.

[2:1]  ¹² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[2:2]  ¹³ tn Grk “I went up”; one always spoke idiomatically of going “up” to Jerusalem.

[2:2]  ¹⁴ tn Or “in accordance with.” According to BDAG 512 s.v. κατά B.5.a.δ, “Oft. the norm is at the same time the reason, so that in accordance with and because of are merged…Instead of ‘in accordance w.’ κ. can mean simply because of, as a result of, on the basis of…κ. ἀποκάλυψιν Gal 2:2.”

[2:2]  ¹⁵ tn Or “set before them.”

[2:2]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “Gentiles, but only privately…to make sure.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started with “But” and the words “I did so,” an implied repetition from the previous clause, were supplied to make a complete English sentence.

[2:2]  ¹⁷ tn L&N 87.42 has “important persons, influential persons, prominent persons” for οἱ δοκοῦντες and translates this phrase in Gal 2:2 as “in a private meeting with the prominent persons.” The “prominent people” referred to here are the leaders of the Jerusalem church.

[2:2]  ¹⁸ tn Here the first verb (τρέχω, trecw, “was not running”) is present subjunctive, while the second (ἔδραμον, edramon, “had not run”) is aorist indicative.

[2:3]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “But,” translated here as “Yet” for stylistic reasons (note the use of “but” in v. 2).

[2:4]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ 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.

[2:5]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “slaves, nor did we…” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, οὐδέ (oude) was translated as “But…even” and a new sentence started in the translation at the beginning of v. 5.

[2:5]  ¹⁷ tn Or “we did not cave in to their demands.”

[2:5]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “even for an hour” (an idiom for a very short period of time).

[2:5]  ¹⁹ sn In order that the truth of the gospel would remain with you. Paul evidently viewed the demands of the so-called “false brothers” as a departure from the truth contained in the gospel he preached. This was a very serious charge (see Gal 1:8).

[2:6]  ¹⁷ tn Or “influential leaders.” BDAG 255 s.v. δοκέω 2.a.β has “the influential men Gal 2:2, 6b. A fuller expr. w. the same mng., w. inf. added…vss. 6a, 9.” This refers to the leadership of the Jerusalem church.

[2:6]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “God does not receive the face of man,” an idiom for showing favoritism or partiality (BDAG 887-88 s.v. πρόσωπον 1.b.α; L&N 88.238).

[2:6]  ¹⁹ tn Or “influential people”; here “leaders” was used rather than “people” for stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy with the word “people” in the previous parenthetical remark. See also the note on the word “influential” at the beginning of this verse.

[2:6]  ²⁰ tn Or “contributed.” This is the same word translated “go to ask advice from” in 1:16, but it has a different meaning here; see L&N 59.72.

[2:6]  ²¹ tn Or “added nothing to my authority.” Grk “added nothing to me,” with what was added (“message,” etc.) implied.

[2:7]  ¹⁸ 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).

[2:7]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “to the uncircumcision,” that is, to the Gentiles.

[2:7]  ²⁰ tn Grk “to the circumcision,” a collective reference to the Jewish people.

[2:8]  ¹⁹ tn Or “worked through”; the same word is also used in relation to Paul later in this verse.

[2:8]  ²⁰ tn Or “his ministry as an apostle.”

[2:8]  ²¹ tn Grk “to the circumcision,” i.e., the Jewish people.

[2:8]  ²² tn Grk “also empowered me to the Gentiles.”

[2:9]  ²⁰ sn Cephas. This individual is generally identified with the Apostle Peter (L&N 93.211).

[2:9]  ²¹ tn Or “who were influential as,” or “who were reputed to be.” See also the note on the word “influential” in 2:6.

[2:9]  ²² sn Pillars is figurative here for those like James, Peter, and John who were leaders in the Jerusalem church.

[2:9]  ²³ tn The participle γνόντες (gnontes) has been taken temporally. It is structurally parallel to the participle translated “when they saw” in v. 7.

[2:9]  ²⁴ tn Grk “me and Barnabas.”

[2:9]  ²⁵ tn Grk “so,” with the ἵνα (Jina) indicating the result of the “pillars” extending the “right hand of fellowship,” but the translation “they gave…the right hand of fellowship so that we would go” could be misunderstood as purpose here. The implication of the scene is that an agreement, outlined at the end of v. 10, was reached between Paul and Barnabas on the one hand and the “pillars” of the Jerusalem church on the other.

[2:9]  ²⁶ tn Grk “to the circumcision,” a collective reference to the Jewish people.

[2:10]  ²¹ tn Grk “only that we remember the poor”; the words “They requested” have been supplied from the context to make a complete English sentence.