Galatians 2:1-21

Confirmation from the Jerusalem Apostles

2:1 Then after fourteen years I went up to Jerusalem ¹  again with Barnabas, taking Titus along too. 2:2 I went there ²  because of ³  a revelation and presented ⁴  to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did so ⁵  only in a private meeting with the influential people, ⁶  to make sure that I was not running – or had not run ⁷  – in vain. 2:3 Yet ⁸  not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, although he was a Greek. 2:4 Now this matter arose ⁹  because of the false brothers with false pretenses ¹⁰  who slipped in unnoticed to spy on ¹¹  our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, to make us slaves. ¹²  2:5 But ¹³  we did not surrender to them ¹⁴  even for a moment, ¹⁵  in order that the truth of the gospel would remain with you. ¹⁶ 

2:6 But from those who were influential ¹⁷  (whatever they were makes no difference to me; God shows no favoritism between people ¹⁸ ) – those influential leaders ¹⁹  added ²⁰  nothing to my message. ²¹  2:7 On the contrary, when they saw ²²  that I was entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised ²³  just as Peter was to the circumcised ²⁴  2:8 (for he who empowered ²⁵  Peter for his apostleship ²⁶  to the circumcised ²⁷  also empowered me for my apostleship to the Gentiles) ²⁸  2:9 and when James, Cephas, ²⁹  and John, who had a reputation as ³⁰  pillars, ³¹  recognized ³²  the grace that had been given to me, they gave to Barnabas and me ³³  the right hand of fellowship, agreeing ³⁴  that we would go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. ³⁵  2:10 They requested ³⁶  only that we remember the poor, the very thing I also was eager to do.

Paul Rebukes Peter

2:11 But when Cephas ³⁷  came to Antioch, ³⁸  I opposed him to his face, because he had clearly done wrong. ³⁹  2:12 Until ⁴⁰  certain people came from James, he had been eating with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he stopped doing this ⁴¹  and separated himself ⁴²  because he was afraid of those who were pro-circumcision. ⁴³  2:13 And the rest of the Jews also joined with him in this hypocrisy, so that even Barnabas was led astray with them ⁴⁴  by their hypocrisy. 2:14 But when I saw that they were not behaving consistently with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas ⁴⁵  in front of them all, “If you, although you are a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you try to force ⁴⁶  the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

Jews and Gentiles are Justified by Faith

2:15 We are Jews by birth ⁴⁷  and not Gentile sinners, ⁴⁸  2:16 yet we know ⁴⁹  that no one ⁵⁰  is justified by the works of the law ⁵¹  but by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. ⁵²  And ⁵³  we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by the faithfulness of Christ ⁵⁴  and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one ⁵⁵  will be justified. 2:17 But if while seeking to be justified in Christ we ourselves have also been found to be sinners, is Christ then one who encourages ⁵⁶  sin? Absolutely not! 2:18 But if I build up again those things I once destroyed, ⁵⁷  I demonstrate that I am one who breaks God’s law. ⁵⁸  2:19 For through the law I died to the law so that I may live to God. 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ, ⁵⁹  and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So ⁶⁰  the life I now live in the body, ⁶¹  I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, ⁶²  who loved me and gave himself for me. 2:21 I do not set aside ⁶³  God’s grace, because if righteousness ⁶⁴  could come through the law, then Christ died for nothing! ⁶⁵ 

[2:1]  ¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[2:2]  ² tn Grk “I went up”; one always spoke idiomatically of going “up” to Jerusalem.

[2:2]  ³ tn Or “in accordance with.” According to BDAG 512 s.v. κατά B.5.a.δ, “Oft. the norm is at the same time the reason, so that in accordance with and because of are merged…Instead of ‘in accordance w.’ κ. can mean simply because of, as a result of, on the basis of…κ. ἀποκάλυψιν Gal 2:2.”

[2:2]  ⁴ tn Or “set before them.”

[2:2]  ⁵ tn Grk “Gentiles, but only privately…to make sure.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started with “But” and the words “I did so,” an implied repetition from the previous clause, were supplied to make a complete English sentence.

[2:2]  ⁶ tn L&N 87.42 has “important persons, influential persons, prominent persons” for οἱ δοκοῦντες and translates this phrase in Gal 2:2 as “in a private meeting with the prominent persons.” The “prominent people” referred to here are the leaders of the Jerusalem church.

[2:2]  ⁷ tn Here the first verb (τρέχω, trecw, “was not running”) is present subjunctive, while the second (ἔδραμον, edramon, “had not run”) is aorist indicative.

[2:3]  ⁸ tn Grk “But,” translated here as “Yet” for stylistic reasons (note the use of “but” in v. 2).

[2:4]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ tn Or “we did not cave in to their demands.”

[2:5]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “even for an hour” (an idiom for a very short period of time).

[2:5]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ tn Or “added nothing to my authority.” Grk “added nothing to me,” with what was added (“message,” etc.) implied.

[2:7]  ²² 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]  ²³ tn Grk “to the uncircumcision,” that is, to the Gentiles.

[2:7]  ²⁴ tn Grk “to the circumcision,” a collective reference to the Jewish people.

[2:8]  ²⁵ tn Or “worked through”; the same word is also used in relation to Paul later in this verse.

[2:8]  ²⁶ tn Or “his ministry as an apostle.”

[2:8]  ²⁷ tn Grk “to the circumcision,” i.e., the Jewish people.

[2:8]  ²⁸ tn Grk “also empowered me to the Gentiles.”

[2:9]  ²⁹ sn Cephas. This individual is generally identified with the Apostle Peter (L&N 93.211).

[2:9]  ³⁰ 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]  ³¹ sn Pillars is figurative here for those like James, Peter, and John who were leaders in the Jerusalem church.

[2:9]  ³² 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]  ³³ tn Grk “me and Barnabas.”

[2:9]  ³⁴ 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]  ³⁵ tn Grk “to the circumcision,” a collective reference to the Jewish people.

[2:10]  ³⁶ tn Grk “only that we remember the poor”; the words “They requested” have been supplied from the context to make a complete English sentence.

[2:11]  ³⁷ sn Cephas. This individual is generally identified with the Apostle Peter (L&N 93.211).

[2:11]  ³⁸ map For location see JP1 F2; JP2 F2; JP3 F2; JP4 F2.

[2:11]  ³⁹ tn Grk “because he stood condemned.”

[2:12]  ⁴⁰ tn The conjunction γάρ has not been translated here.

[2:12]  ⁴¹ 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]  ⁴² tn Or “and held himself aloof.”

[2:12]  ⁴³ 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.

[2:13]  ⁴⁴ tn The words “with them” are a reflection of the σύν- (sun-) prefix on the verb συναπήχθη (sunaphcqh; see L&N 31.76).

[2:14]  ⁴⁵ sn Cephas. This individual is generally identified with the Apostle Peter (L&N 93.211).

[2:14]  ⁴⁶ tn Here ἀναγκάζεις (anankazei") has been translated as a conative present (see ExSyn 534).

[2:15]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “by nature.”

[2:15]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “and not sinners from among the Gentiles.”

[2:16]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “yet knowing”; the participle εἰδότες (eidotes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[2:16]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “no man,” but ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women.

[2:16]  ⁵¹ sn The law is a reference to the law of Moses.

[2:16]  ⁵² tn Or “faith in Jesus Christ.” A decision is difficult here. Though traditionally translated “faith in Jesus Christ,” an increasing number of NT scholars are arguing that πίστις Χριστοῦ (pisti" Cristou) and similar phrases in Paul (here and in v. 20; Rom 3:22, 26; Gal 3:22; Eph 3:12; Phil 3:9) involve a subjective genitive and mean “Christ’s faith” or “Christ’s faithfulness” (cf., e.g., G. Howard, “The ‘Faith of Christ’,” ExpTim 85 [1974]: 212-15; R. B. Hays, The Faith of Jesus Christ [SBLDS]; Morna D. Hooker, “Πίστις Χριστοῦ,” NTS 35 [1989]: 321-42). Noteworthy among the arguments for the subjective genitive view is that when πίστις takes a personal genitive it is almost never an objective genitive (cf. Matt 9:2, 22, 29; Mark 2:5; 5:34; 10:52; Luke 5:20; 7:50; 8:25, 48; 17:19; 18:42; 22:32; Rom 1:8; 12; 3:3; 4:5, 12, 16; 1 Cor 2:5; 15:14, 17; 2 Cor 10:15; Phil 2:17; Col 1:4; 2:5; 1 Thess 1:8; 3:2, 5, 10; 2 Thess 1:3; Titus 1:1; Phlm 6; 1 Pet 1:9, 21; 2 Pet 1:5). On the other hand, the objective genitive view has its adherents: A. Hultgren, “The Pistis Christou Formulations in Paul,” NovT 22 (1980): 248-63; J. D. G. Dunn, “Once More, ΠΙΣΤΙΣ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΥ,” SBL Seminar Papers, 1991, 730-44. Most commentaries on Romans and Galatians usually side with the objective view.

[2:16]  ⁵³ tn In Greek this is a continuation of the preceding sentence, but the construction is too long and complex for contemporary English style, so a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[2:16]  ⁵⁴ tn Or “by faith in Christ.” See comment above on “the faithfulness of Jesus Christ.”

[2:16]  ⁵⁵ tn Or “no human being”; Grk “flesh.”

[2:17]  ⁵⁶ tn Or “does Christ serve the interests of sin?”; or “is Christ an agent for sin?” See BDAG 230-31 s.v. διάκονος 2.

[2:18]  ⁵⁷ tn Or “once tore down.”

[2:18]  ⁵⁸ tn Traditionally, “that I am a transgressor.”

[2:20]  ⁵⁹ tn Both the NA²⁷/UBS⁴ Greek text and the NRSV place the phrase “I have been crucified with Christ” at the end of v. 19, but most English translations place these words at the beginning of v. 20.

[2:20]  ⁶⁰ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “So” to bring out the connection of the following clauses with the preceding ones. What Paul says here amounts to a result or inference drawn from his co-crucifixion with Christ and the fact that Christ now lives in him. In Greek this is a continuation of the preceding sentence, but the construction is too long and complex for contemporary English style, so a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[2:20]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “flesh.”

[2:20]  ⁶² tc A number of important witnesses (Ì⁴⁶ B D* F G) have θεοῦ καὶ Χριστοῦ (qeou kai Cristou, “of God and Christ”) instead of υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ (Juiou tou qeou, “the Son of God”), found in the majority of mss, including several important ones (א A C D¹ Ψ 0278 33 1739 1881 Ï lat sy co). The construction “of God and Christ” appears to be motivated as a more explicit affirmation of the deity of Christ (following as it apparently does the Granville Sharp rule). Although Paul certainly has an elevated Christology, explicit “God-talk” with reference to Jesus does not normally appear until the later books (cf., e.g., Titus 2:13, Phil 2:10-11, and probably Rom 9:5). For different arguments but the same textual conclusions, see TCGNT 524.

[2:21]  ⁶³ tn Or “I do not declare invalid,” “I do not nullify.”

[2:21]  ⁶⁴ tn Or “justification.”

[2:21]  ⁶⁵ tn Or “without cause,” “for no purpose.”