Galatians 5:1-6

Freedom of the Believer

5:1 For freedom ¹  Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be subject again to the yoke ²  of slavery. 5:2 Listen! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you at all! 5:3 And I testify again to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey ³  the whole law. 5:4 You who are trying to be declared righteous ⁴  by the law have been alienated ⁵  from Christ; you have fallen away from grace! 5:5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we wait expectantly for the hope of righteousness. 5:6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision carries any weight – the only thing that matters is faith working through love. ⁶ 

[5:1]  ¹ tn Translating the dative as “For freedom” shows the purpose for Christ setting us free; however, it is also possible to take the phrase in the sense of means or instrument (“with [or by] freedom”), referring to the freedom mentioned in 4:31 and implied throughout the letter.

[5:1]  ² sn Here the yoke figuratively represents the burdensome nature of slavery.

[5:3]  ³ tn Or “keep”; or “carry out”; Grk “do.”

[5:4]  ⁴ tn Or “trying to be justified.” The verb δικαιοῦσθε (dikaiousqe) has been translated as a conative present (see ExSyn 534).

[5:4]  ⁵ tn Or “estranged”; BDAG 526 s.v. καταργέω 4 states, “Of those who aspire to righteousness through the law κ. ἀπὸ Χριστοῦ be estranged from Christ Gal 5:4.”

[5:6]  ⁶ tn Grk “but faith working through love.”