Discovery BoxGalatians 5:1-9
Context5:1 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
5:7 You were running well; who prevented you from obeying 7 the truth? 5:8 This persuasion 8 does not come from the one who calls you! 5:9 A little yeast makes the whole batch of dough rise! 9
[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.”
[5:7] 7 tn Or “following.” BDAG 792 s.v. πείθω 3.b states, “obey, follow w. dat. of the pers. or thing…Gal 3:1 v.l.; 5:7.”
[5:8] 8 tn Grk “The persuasion,” referring to their being led away from the truth (v. 7). There is a play on words here that is not easily reproducible in the English translation: The words translated “obey” (πείθεσθαι, peiqesqai) in v. 7 and “persuasion” (πεισμονή, peismonh) in v. 8 come from the same root in Greek.
