Galatians 5:13-26

Context

Practice Love

5:13 For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters;¹ only do not use your freedom as an opportunity to indulge your flesh,² but through love serve one another.³ 5:14 For the whole law can be summed up in a single commandment,⁴ namely, “You must love your neighbor as yourself.”⁵ 5:15 However, if you continually bite and devour one another,⁶ beware that you are not consumed⁷ by one another. 5:16 But I say, live⁸ by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh.⁹ 5:17 For the flesh has desires that are opposed to the Spirit, and the Spirit has desires¹⁰ that are opposed to the flesh, for these are in opposition to¹¹ each other, so that you cannot do what you want. 5:18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 5:19 Now the works of the flesh¹² are obvious:¹³ sexual immorality, impurity, depravity, 5:20 idolatry, sorcery,¹⁴ hostilities,¹⁵ strife,¹⁶ jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish rivalries, dissensions,¹⁷ factions, 5:21 envying,¹⁸ murder,¹⁹ drunkenness, carousing,²⁰ and similar things. I am warning you, as I had warned you before: Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God!

5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit²¹ is love,²² joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,²³ 5:23 gentleness, and²⁴ self-control. Against such things there is no law. 5:24 Now those who belong to Christ²⁵ have crucified the flesh²⁶ with its passions²⁷ and desires. 5:25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also behave in accordance with²⁸ the Spirit. 5:26 Let us not become conceited,²⁹ provoking³⁰ one another, being jealous³¹ of one another.

[5:13] ¹tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:11.

[5:13] ²tn Grk “as an opportunity for the flesh”; BDAG 915 s.v. σάρξ 2.c.α states: “In Paul’s thought esp., all parts of the body constitute a totality known as σ. or flesh, which is dominated by sin to such a degree that wherever flesh is, all forms of sin are likew. present, and no good thing can live in the σάρξ…Gal 5:13, 24;…Opp. τὸ πνεῦμα…Gal 3:3; 5:16, 17ab; 6:8ab.”

[5:13] ³tn It is possible that the verb δουλεύετε (douleuete) should be translated “serve one another in a humble manner” here, referring to the way in which slaves serve their masters (see L&N 35.27).

[5:14] ⁴tn Or “can be fulfilled in one commandment.”

[5:14] ⁵sn A quotation from Lev 19:18.

[5:15] ⁶tn That is, “if you are harming and exploiting one another.” Paul’s metaphors are retained in most modern translations, but it is possible to see the meanings of δάκνω and κατεσθίω (daknw and katesqiw, L&N 20.26 and 88.145) as figurative extensions of the literal meanings of these terms and to translate them accordingly. The present tenses here are translated as customary presents (“continually…”).

[5:15] ⁷tn Or “destroyed.”

[5:16] ⁸tn Grk “walk” (a common NT idiom for how one conducts one’s life or how one behaves).

[5:16] ⁹tn On the term “flesh” (once in this verse and twice in v. 17) see the note on the same word in Gal 5:13.

[5:17] ¹⁰tn The words “has desires” do not occur in the Greek text a second time, but are repeated in the translation for clarity.

[5:17] ¹¹tn Or “are hostile toward” (L&N 39.1).

[5:19] ¹²tn See the note on the word “flesh” in Gal 5:13.

[5:19] ¹³tn Or “clear,” “evident.”

[5:20] ¹⁴tn Or “witchcraft.”

[5:20] ¹⁵tn Or “enmities,” “[acts of] hatred.”

[5:20] ¹⁶tn Or “discord” (L&N 39.22).

[5:20] ¹⁷tn Or “discord(s)” (L&N 39.13).

[5:21] ¹⁸tn This term is plural in Greek (as is “murder” and “carousing”), but for clarity these abstract nouns have been translated as singular.

[5:21] ¹⁹tc ‡ φόνοι (fonoi, “murders”) is absent in such important mss as Ì⁴⁶ א B 33 81 323 945 pc sa, while the majority of mss (A C D F G Ψ 0122 0278 1739 1881 Ï lat) have the word. Although the pedigree of the mss which lack the term is of the highest degree, homoioteleuton may well explain the shorter reading. The preceding word has merely one letter difference, making it quite possible to overlook this term (φθόνοι φόνοι, fqonoi fonoi).

[5:21] ²⁰tn Or “revelings,” “orgies” (L&N 88.287).

[5:22] ²¹tn That is, the fruit the Spirit produces.

[5:22] ²²sn Another way to punctuate this is “love” followed by a colon (love: joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control). It is thus possible to read the eight characteristics following “love” as defining love.

[5:22] ²³tn Or “reliability”; see BDAG 818 s.v. πίστις 1.a.

[5:23] ²⁴tn “And” is supplied here as a matter of English style, which normally inserts “and” between the last two elements of a list or series.

[5:24] ²⁵tc ‡ Some mss (א A B C P Ψ 0122¹ 0278 33 1175 1739 pc co) read “Christ Jesus” here, while many significant ones (Ì⁴⁶ D F G 0122*^,2 latt sy), as well as the Byzantine text, lack “Jesus.” The Byzantine text is especially not prone to omit the name “Jesus”; that it does so here argues for the authenticity of the shorter reading (for similar instances of probably authentic Byzantine shorter readings, see Matt 24:36 and Phil 1:14; cf. also W.-H. J. Wu, “A Systematic Analysis of the Shorter Readings in the Byzantine Text of the Synoptic Gospels” [Ph.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 2002]). On the strength of the alignment of Ì⁴⁶ with the Western and Byzantine texttypes, the shorter reading is preferred. NA²⁷ includes the word in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

[5:24] ²⁶tn See the note on the word “flesh” in Gal 5:13.

[5:24] ²⁷tn The Greek term παθήμασιν (paqhmasin, translated “passions”) refers to strong physical desires, especially of a sexual nature (L&N 25.30).

[5:25] ²⁸tn Or “let us also follow,” “let us also walk by.”

[5:26] ²⁹tn Or “falsely proud.”

[5:26] ³⁰tn Or “irritating.” BDAG 871 s.v. προκαλέω has “provoke, challenge τινά someone.”

[5:26] ³¹tn Or “another, envying one another.”