Galatians 2:5

2:5 But ¹  we did not surrender to them ²  even for a moment, ³  in order that the truth of the gospel would remain with you. ⁴ 

Galatians 3:1

Justification by Law or by Faith?

3:1 You ⁵  foolish Galatians! Who has cast a spell ⁶  on you? Before your eyes Jesus Christ was vividly portrayed ⁷  as crucified!

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 ⁸  basic forces? ⁹  Do you want to be enslaved to them all over again? ¹⁰ 

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

[2:5]  ³ tn Grk “even for an hour” (an idiom for a very short period of time).

[2:5]  ⁴ 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).

[3:1]  ⁵ tn Grk “O” (an interjection used both in address and emotion). In context the following section is highly charged emotionally.

[3:1]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Or “publicly placarded,” “set forth in a public proclamation” (BDAG 867 s.v. προγράφω 2).

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

[4:9]  ¹⁰ tn See the note on the phrase “basic forces” in 4:3.

[4:9]  ¹¹ 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.