Galatians 1:23

1:23 They were only hearing, “The one who once persecuted us is now proclaiming the good news ¹  of the faith he once tried to destroy.”

Galatians 2:11

Paul Rebukes Peter

2:11 But when Cephas ²  came to Antioch, ³  I opposed him to his face, because he had clearly done wrong. ⁴ 

Galatians 2:4

2:4 Now this matter arose ⁵  because of the false brothers with false pretenses ⁶  who slipped in unnoticed to spy on ⁷  our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, to make us slaves. ⁸ 

Galatians 3:21

3:21 Is the law therefore opposed to the promises of God? ⁹  Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that was able to give life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. ¹⁰ 

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

[2:11]  ² sn Cephas. This individual is generally identified with the Apostle Peter (L&N 93.211).

[2:11]  ³ map For location see JP1 F2; JP2 F2; JP3 F2; JP4 F2.

[2:11]  ⁴ tn Grk “because he stood condemned.”

[2:4]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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.

[3:21]  ⁴ tc The reading τοῦ θεοῦ (tou qeou, “of God”) is well attested in א A C D (F G read θεοῦ without the article) Ψ 0278 33 1739 1881 Ï lat sy co. However, Ì⁴⁶ B d Ambst lack the words. Ì⁴⁶ and B perhaps should not to be given as much weight as they normally are, since the combination of these two witnesses often produces a secondary shorter reading against all others. In addition, one might expect that if the shorter reading were original other variants would have crept into the textual tradition early on. But 104 (a.d. 1087) virtually stands alone with the variant τοῦ Χριστοῦ (tou Cristou, “of Christ”). Nevertheless, if τοῦ θεοῦ were not part of the original text, it is the kind of variant that would be expected to show up early and often, especially in light of Paul’s usage elsewhere (Rom 4:20; 2 Cor 1:20). A slight preference should be given to the τοῦ θεοῦ over the omission. NA²⁷ rightly places the words in brackets, indicating doubts as to their authenticity.

[3:21]  ⁵ tn Or “have been based on the law.”