Galatians 2:12

2:12 Until ¹  certain people came from James, he had been eating with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he stopped doing this ²  and separated himself ³  because he was afraid of those who were pro-circumcision. ⁴ 

Galatians 4:9

4:9 But now that you have come to know God (or rather to be known by God), how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless ⁵  basic forces? ⁶  Do you want to be enslaved to them all over again? ⁷ 

[2:12]  ¹ tn The conjunction γάρ has not been translated here.

[2:12]  ² tn Grk “he drew back.” If ἑαυτόν (Jeauton) goes with both ὑπέστελλεν (Jupestellen) and ἀφώριζεν (afwrizen) rather than only the latter, the meaning would be “he drew himself back” (see BDAG 1041 s.v. ὑποστέλλω 1.a).

[2:12]  ³ tn Or “and held himself aloof.”

[2:12]  ⁴ tn Grk “the [ones] of the circumcision,” that is, the group of Jewish Christians who insisted on circumcision of Gentiles before they could become Christians.

[4:9]  ⁵ tn Or “useless.” See L&N 65.16.

[4:9]  ⁶ tn See the note on the phrase “basic forces” in 4:3.

[4:9]  ⁷ tn Grk “basic forces, to which you want to be enslaved…” Verse 9 is a single sentence in the Greek text, but has been divided into two in the translation because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence.