Galatians 2:4-9

2:4 Now this matter arose ¹  because of the false brothers with false pretenses ²  who slipped in unnoticed to spy on ³  our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, to make us slaves. ⁴  2:5 But ⁵  we did not surrender to them ⁶  even for a moment, ⁷  in order that the truth of the gospel would remain with you. ⁸ 

2:6 But from those who were influential ⁹  (whatever they were makes no difference to me; God shows no favoritism between people ¹⁰ ) – those influential leaders ¹¹  added ¹²  nothing to my message. ¹³  2:7 On the contrary, when they saw ¹⁴  that I was entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised ¹⁵  just as Peter was to the circumcised ¹⁶  2:8 (for he who empowered ¹⁷  Peter for his apostleship ¹⁸  to the circumcised ¹⁹  also empowered me for my apostleship to the Gentiles) ²⁰  2:9 and when James, Cephas, ²¹  and John, who had a reputation as ²²  pillars, ²³  recognized ²⁴  the grace that had been given to me, they gave to Barnabas and me ²⁵  the right hand of fellowship, agreeing ²⁶  that we would go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. ²⁷ 

[2:4]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Or “we did not cave in to their demands.”

[2:5]  ⁷ tn Grk “even for an hour” (an idiom for a very short period of time).

[2:5]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn Or “added nothing to my authority.” Grk “added nothing to me,” with what was added (“message,” etc.) implied.

[2:7]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “to the uncircumcision,” that is, to the Gentiles.

[2:7]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “to the circumcision,” a collective reference to the Jewish people.

[2:8]  ¹⁷ tn Or “worked through”; the same word is also used in relation to Paul later in this verse.

[2:8]  ¹⁸ tn Or “his ministry as an apostle.”

[2:8]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “to the circumcision,” i.e., the Jewish people.

[2:8]  ²⁰ tn Grk “also empowered me to the Gentiles.”

[2:9]  ²¹ sn Cephas. This individual is generally identified with the Apostle Peter (L&N 93.211).

[2:9]  ²² 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]  ²³ sn Pillars is figurative here for those like James, Peter, and John who were leaders in the Jerusalem church.

[2:9]  ²⁴ 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]  ²⁵ tn Grk “me and Barnabas.”

[2:9]  ²⁶ 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]  ²⁷ tn Grk “to the circumcision,” a collective reference to the Jewish people.