Galatians 1:7

1:7 not that there really is another gospel, ¹  but ²  there are some who are disturbing you and wanting ³  to distort the gospel of Christ.

Galatians 2:4

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

Galatians 3:1

Justification by Law or by Faith?

3:1 You ⁸  foolish Galatians! Who has cast a spell ⁹  on you? Before your eyes Jesus Christ was vividly portrayed ¹⁰  as crucified!

Galatians 4:17

4:17 They court you eagerly, ¹¹  but for no good purpose; ¹²  they want to exclude you, so that you would seek them eagerly. ¹³ 

Galatians 6:12-13

6:12 Those who want to make a good showing in external matters ¹⁴  are trying to force you to be circumcised. They do so ¹⁵  only to avoid being persecuted ¹⁶  for the cross of Christ. 6:13 For those who are circumcised do not obey the law themselves, but they want you to be circumcised so that they can boast about your flesh. ¹⁷ 

Galatians 6:17

6:17 From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear the marks of Jesus on my body. ¹⁸ 

Acts 15:1-2

The Jerusalem Council

15:1 Now some men came down from Judea ¹⁹  and began to teach the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised ²⁰  according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 15:2 When Paul and Barnabas had a major argument and debate ²¹  with them, the church ²²  appointed Paul and Barnabas and some others from among them to go up to meet with ²³  the apostles and elders in Jerusalem ²⁴  about this point of disagreement. ²⁵ 

Acts 15:24

15:24 Since we have heard that some have gone out from among us with no orders from us and have confused ²⁶  you, upsetting ²⁷  your minds ²⁸  by what they said, ²⁹ 

Acts 15:1

The Jerusalem Council

15:1 Now some men came down from Judea ³⁰  and began to teach the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised ³¹  according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

Acts 2:18-26

2:18 Even on my servants, ³²  both men and women,

I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. ³³ 

2:19 And I will perform wonders in the sky ³⁴  above

and miraculous signs ³⁵  on the earth below,

blood and fire and clouds of smoke.

2:20 The sun will be changed to darkness

and the moon to blood

before the great and glorious ³⁶  day of the Lord comes.

2:21 And then ³⁷  everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ ³⁸ 

2:22 “Men of Israel, ³⁹  listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man clearly attested to you by God with powerful deeds, ⁴⁰  wonders, and miraculous signs ⁴¹  that God performed among you through him, just as you yourselves know – 2:23 this man, who was handed over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you executed ⁴²  by nailing him to a cross at the hands of Gentiles. ⁴³  2:24 But God raised him up, ⁴⁴  having released ⁴⁵  him from the pains ⁴⁶  of death, because it was not possible for him to be held in its power. ⁴⁷  2:25 For David says about him,

‘I saw the Lord always in front of me, ⁴⁸ 

for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken.

2:26 Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue rejoiced;

my body ⁴⁹  also will live in hope,

[1:7]  ¹ tn Grk “which is not another,” but this could be misunderstood to mean “which is not really different.” In fact, as Paul goes on to make clear, there is no other gospel than the one he preaches.

[1:7]  ² tn Grk “except.”

[1:7]  ³ tn Or “trying.”

[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.

[3:1]  ⁸ tn Grk “O” (an interjection used both in address and emotion). In context the following section is highly charged emotionally.

[3:1]  ⁹ tn Or “deceived”; the verb βασκαίνω (baskainw) can be understood literally here in the sense of bewitching by black magic, but could also be understood figuratively to refer to an act of deception (see L&N 53.98 and 88.159).

[3:1]  ¹⁰ tn Or “publicly placarded,” “set forth in a public proclamation” (BDAG 867 s.v. προγράφω 2).

[4:17]  ¹¹ tn Or “They are zealous for you.”

[4:17]  ¹² tn Or “but not commendably” (BDAG 505 s.v. καλῶς 2).

[4:17]  ¹³ tn Or “so that you would be zealous.”

[6:12]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “in the flesh.” L&N 88.236 translates the phrase “those who force you to be circumcised are those who wish to make a good showing in external matters.”

[6:12]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “to be circumcised, only.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started with the words “They do so,” which were supplied to make a complete English sentence.

[6:12]  ¹⁶ tc ‡ Grk “so that they will not be persecuted.” The indicative after ἵνα μή (Jina mh) is unusual (though not unexampled elsewhere in the NT), making it the harder reading. The evidence is fairly evenly split between the indicative διώκονται (diwkontai; Ì⁴⁶ A C F G K L P 0278 6 81 104 326 629 1175 1505 pm) and the subjunctive διώκωνται (diwkwntai; א B D Ψ 33 365 1739 pm), with a slight preference for the subjunctive. However, since scribes would tend to change the indicative to a subjunctive due to syntactical requirements, the internal evidence is decidedly on the side of the indicative, suggesting that it is original.

[6:13]  ¹⁷ tn Or “boast about you in external matters,” “in the outward rite” (cf. v. 12).

[6:17]  ¹⁸ tn Paul is probably referring to scars from wounds received in the service of Jesus, although the term στίγμα (stigma) may imply ownership and suggest these scars served as brands (L&N 8.55; 33.481; 90.84).

[15:1]  ¹⁹ sn That is, they came down from Judea to Antioch in Syria.

[15:1]  ²⁰ tc Codex Bezae (D) and a few other witnesses have “and walk” here (i.e., instead of τῷ ἔθει τῷ Μωϋσέως [tw eqei tw Mwu>sew"] they read καὶ τῷ ἔθει τῷ Μωϋσέως περιπατῆτε [kai tw eqei tw Mwu>sew" peripathte]). This is a decidedly stronger focus on obedience to the Law. As well, D expands vv. 1-5 in various places with the overall effect of being “more sympathetic to the local tradition of the church at Jerusalem” while the Alexandrian witnesses are more sympathetic to Paul (TCGNT 377). Codex D is well known for having a significantly longer text in Acts, but modern scholarship is generally of the opinion that the text of D expands on the original wording of Acts, with a theological viewpoint that especially puts Peter in a more authoritarian light. The expansion in these five verses is in keeping with that motif even though Peter is not explicitly in view.

[15:2]  ²¹ tn Grk “no little argument and debate” (an idiom).

[15:2]  ²² tn Grk “they”; the referent (the church, or the rest of the believers at Antioch) has been specified to avoid confusion with the Judaizers mentioned in the preceding clause.

[15:2]  ²³ tn Grk “go up to,” but in this context a meeting is implied.

[15:2]  ²⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[15:2]  ²⁵ tn Or “point of controversy.” It is unclear whether this event parallels Gal 2:1-10 or that Gal 2 fits with Acts 11:30. More than likely Gal 2:1-10 is to be related to Acts 11:30.

[15:24]  ²⁶ tn Here BDAG 990-91 s.v. ταράσσω 2 states, “Of mental confusion caused by false teachings ταρ. τινά Ac 15:24 (w. λόγοις foll.).”

[15:24]  ²⁷ tn BDAG 71 s.v. ἀνασκευάζω describes this verb with a figurative meaning: “to cause inward distress, upset, unsettle.”

[15:24]  ²⁸ tn Grk “souls.”

[15:24]  ²⁹ tn Grk “by words”; L&N 25.231 translates the phrase “they troubled and upset you by what they said.”

[15:1]  ³⁰ sn That is, they came down from Judea to Antioch in Syria.

[15:1]  ³¹ tc Codex Bezae (D) and a few other witnesses have “and walk” here (i.e., instead of τῷ ἔθει τῷ Μωϋσέως [tw eqei tw Mwu>sew"] they read καὶ τῷ ἔθει τῷ Μωϋσέως περιπατῆτε [kai tw eqei tw Mwu>sew" peripathte]). This is a decidedly stronger focus on obedience to the Law. As well, D expands vv. 1-5 in various places with the overall effect of being “more sympathetic to the local tradition of the church at Jerusalem” while the Alexandrian witnesses are more sympathetic to Paul (TCGNT 377). Codex D is well known for having a significantly longer text in Acts, but modern scholarship is generally of the opinion that the text of D expands on the original wording of Acts, with a theological viewpoint that especially puts Peter in a more authoritarian light. The expansion in these five verses is in keeping with that motif even though Peter is not explicitly in view.

[2:18]  ³² tn Grk “slaves.” Although this translation frequently renders δοῦλος (doulos) as “slave,” the connotation is often of one who has sold himself into slavery; in a spiritual sense, the idea is that of becoming a slave of God or of Jesus Christ voluntarily. The voluntary notion is not conspicuous here; hence, the translation “servants.” In any case, the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

[2:18]  ³³ sn The words and they will prophesy in Acts 2:18 are not quoted from Joel 2:29 at this point but are repeated from earlier in the quotation (Acts 2:17) for emphasis. Tongues speaking is described as prophecy, just like intelligible tongues are described in 1 Cor 14:26-33.

[2:19]  ³⁴ tn Or “in the heaven.” The Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated “sky” or “heaven” depending on the context. Here, in contrast to “the earth below,” a reference to the sky is more likely.

[2:19]  ³⁵ tn Here the context indicates the miraculous nature of the signs mentioned; this is made explicit in the translation.

[2:20]  ³⁶ tn Or “and wonderful.”

[2:21]  ³⁷ tn Grk “And it will be that.”

[2:21]  ³⁸ sn A quotation from Joel 2:28-32.

[2:22]  ³⁹ tn Or “Israelite men,” although this is less natural English. The Greek term here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which only exceptionally is used in a generic sense of both males and females. In this context, it is conceivable that this is a generic usage, although it can also be argued that Peter’s remarks were addressed primarily to the men present, even if women were there.

[2:22]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “miraculous deeds.”

[2:22]  ⁴¹ tn Again, the context indicates the miraculous nature of these signs, and this is specified in the translation.

[2:23]  ⁴² tn Or “you killed.”

[2:23]  ⁴³ tn Grk “at the hands of lawless men.” At this point the term ἄνομος (anomo") refers to non-Jews who live outside the Jewish (Mosaic) law, rather than people who broke any or all laws including secular laws. Specifically it is a reference to the Roman soldiers who carried out Jesus’ crucifixion.

[2:24]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “Whom God raised up.”

[2:24]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “having freed.”

[2:24]  ⁴⁶ sn The term translated pains is frequently used to describe pains associated with giving birth (see Rev 12:2). So there is irony here in the mixed metaphor.

[2:24]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “for him to be held by it” (in either case, “it” refers to death’s power).

[2:25]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “always before me.”

[2:26]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “my flesh.”