Galatians 1:19

1:19 But I saw none of the other apostles ¹  except James the Lord’s brother.

Galatians 3:20

3:20 Now an intermediary is not for one party alone, but God is one. ² 

Galatians 4:8

Heirs of Promise Are Not to Return to Law

4:8 Formerly when you did not know God, you were enslaved to beings that by nature are not gods at all. ³ 

Galatians 4:21

An Appeal from Allegory

4:21 Tell me, you who want to be under the law, do you not understand the law? ⁴ 

Galatians 4:31

4:31 Therefore, brothers and sisters, ⁵  we are not children of the slave woman but of the free woman.

Galatians 5:23

5:23 gentleness, and ⁶  self-control. Against such things there is no law.

[1:19]  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.

[3:20]  ² tn The meaning of this verse is disputed. According to BDAG 634 s.v. μεσίτης, “It prob. means that the activity of an intermediary implies the existence of more than one party, and hence may be unsatisfactory because it must result in a compromise. The presence of an intermediary would prevent attainment, without any impediment, of the purpose of the εἶς θεός in giving the law.” See also A. Oepke, TDNT 4:598-624, esp. 618-19.

[4:8]  ³ tn Grk “those that by nature…” with the word “beings” implied. BDAG 1070 s.v. φύσις 2 sees this as referring to pagan worship: “Polytheists worship…beings that are by nature no gods at all Gal 4:8.”

[4:21]  ⁴ tn Or “will you not hear what the law says?” The Greek verb ἀκούω (akouw) means “hear, listen to,” but by figurative extension it can also mean “obey.” It can also refer to the process of comprehension that follows hearing, and that sense fits the context well here.

[4:31]  ⁵ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:11.

[5:23]  ⁶ tn “And” is supplied here as a matter of English style, which normally inserts “and” between the last two elements of a list or series.