Galatians 5:4

5:4 You who are trying to be declared righteous ¹  by the law have been alienated ²  from Christ; you have fallen away from grace!

Galatians 5:6

5:6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision carries any weight – the only thing that matters is faith working through love. ³ 

Galatians 2:3-5

2:3 Yet ⁴  not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, although he was a Greek. 2:4 Now this matter arose ⁵  because of the false brothers with false pretenses ⁶  who slipped in unnoticed to spy on ⁷  our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, to make us slaves. ⁸  2:5 But ⁹  we did not surrender to them ¹⁰  even for a moment, ¹¹  in order that the truth of the gospel would remain with you. ¹² 

Acts 15:1

The Jerusalem Council

15:1 Now some men came down from Judea ¹³  and began to teach the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised ¹⁴  according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

Acts 15:24

15:24 Since we have heard that some have gone out from among us with no orders from us and have confused ¹⁵  you, upsetting ¹⁶  your minds ¹⁷  by what they said, ¹⁸ 

Acts 16:3-4

16:3 Paul wanted Timothy ¹⁹  to accompany him, and he took ²⁰  him and circumcised ²¹  him because of the Jews who were in those places, ²²  for they all knew that his father was Greek. ²³  16:4 As they went through the towns, ²⁴  they passed on ²⁵  the decrees that had been decided on by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem ²⁶  for the Gentile believers ²⁷  to obey. ²⁸ 

Romans 9:31-32

9:31 but Israel even though pursuing ²⁹  a law of righteousness ³⁰  did not attain it. ³¹  9:32 Why not? Because they pursued ³²  it not by faith but (as if it were possible) by works. ³³  They stumbled over the stumbling stone, ³⁴ 

Romans 10:2-3

10:2 For I can testify that they are zealous for God, ³⁵  but their zeal is not in line with the truth. ³⁶  10:3 For ignoring the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking instead to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.

Hebrews 4:2

4:2 For we had good news proclaimed to us just as they did. But the message they heard did them no good, since they did not join in ³⁷  with those who heard it in faith. ³⁸ 

[5:4]  ¹ tn Or “trying to be justified.” The verb δικαιοῦσθε (dikaiousqe) has been translated as a conative present (see ExSyn 534).

[5:4]  ² 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]  ³ tn Grk “but faith working through love.”

[2:3]  ⁴ tn Grk “But,” translated here as “Yet” for stylistic reasons (note the use of “but” in v. 2).

[2:4]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn Or “we did not cave in to their demands.”

[2:5]  ¹¹ tn Grk “even for an hour” (an idiom for a very short period of time).

[2:5]  ¹² 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).

[15:1]  ¹³ sn That is, they came down from Judea to Antioch in Syria.

[15:1]  ¹⁴ tc Codex Bezae (D) and a few other witnesses have “and walk” here (i.e., instead of τῷ ἔθει τῷ Μωϋσέως [tw eqei tw Mwu>sew"] they read καὶ τῷ ἔθει τῷ Μωϋσέως περιπατῆτε [kai tw eqei tw Mwu>sew" peripathte]). This is a decidedly stronger focus on obedience to the Law. As well, D expands vv. 1-5 in various places with the overall effect of being “more sympathetic to the local tradition of the church at Jerusalem” while the Alexandrian witnesses are more sympathetic to Paul (TCGNT 377). Codex D is well known for having a significantly longer text in Acts, but modern scholarship is generally of the opinion that the text of D expands on the original wording of Acts, with a theological viewpoint that especially puts Peter in a more authoritarian light. The expansion in these five verses is in keeping with that motif even though Peter is not explicitly in view.

[15:24]  ¹⁵ tn Here BDAG 990-91 s.v. ταράσσω 2 states, “Of mental confusion caused by false teachings ταρ. τινά Ac 15:24 (w. λόγοις foll.).”

[15:24]  ¹⁶ tn BDAG 71 s.v. ἀνασκευάζω describes this verb with a figurative meaning: “to cause inward distress, upset, unsettle.”

[15:24]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “souls.”

[15:24]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “by words”; L&N 25.231 translates the phrase “they troubled and upset you by what they said.”

[16:3]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “this one”; the referent (Timothy) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:3]  ²⁰ tn Grk “and taking him he circumcised him.” The participle λαβών (labwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. Paul’s cultural sensitivity showed in his action here. He did not want Timothy’s lack of circumcision to become an issue (1 Cor 9:15-23).

[16:3]  ²¹ tn The verb περιέτεμεν (perietemen) here may be understood as causative (cf. ExSyn 411-12) if Paul did not personally perform the circumcision.

[16:3]  ²² tn Or “who lived in the area.”

[16:3]  ²³ tn The anarthrous predicate nominative has been translated as qualitative (“Greek”) rather than indefinite (“a Greek”).

[16:4]  ²⁴ tn Or “cities.”

[16:4]  ²⁵ tn BDAG 762-63 s.v. παραδίδωμι 3 has “they handed down to them the decisions to observe Ac 16:4.”

[16:4]  ²⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[16:4]  ²⁷ tn Grk “for them”; the referent (Gentile believers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:4]  ²⁸ tn Or “observe” or “follow.”

[9:31]  ²⁹ tn Or “who pursued.” The participle could be taken adverbially or adjectivally.

[9:31]  ³⁰ tn Or “a legal righteousness,” that is, a righteousness based on law. This translation would treat the genitive δικαιοσύνης (dikaiosunh") as an attributed genitive (see ExSyn 89-91).

[9:31]  ³¹ tn Grk “has not attained unto the law.”

[9:32]  ³² tn Grk “Why? Because not by faith but as though by works.” The verb (“they pursued [it]”) is to be supplied from the preceding verse for the sake of English style; yet a certain literary power is seen in Paul’s laconic style.

[9:32]  ³³ tc Most mss, especially the later ones (א² D Ψ 33 Ï sy), read νόμου (nomou, “of the law”) here, echoing Paul’s usage in Rom 3:20, 28 and elsewhere. The qualifying phrase is lacking in א* A B F G 6 629 630 1739 1881 pc lat co. The longer reading thus is weaker externally and internally, being motivated apparently by a need to clarify.

[9:32]  ³⁴ tn Grk “the stone of stumbling.”

[10:2]  ³⁵ tn Grk “they have a zeal for God.”

[10:2]  ³⁶ tn Grk “in accord with knowledge.”

[4:2]  ³⁷ tn Or “they were not united.”

[4:2]  ³⁸ tc A few mss (א and a few versional witnesses) have the nominative singular participle συγκεκερασμένος (sunkekerasmeno", “since it [the message] was not combined with faith by those who heard it”), a reading that refers back to the ὁ λόγος (Jo logo", “the message”). There are a few other variants here (e.g., συγκεκεραμμένοι [sunkekerammenoi] in 104, συγκεκεραμένους [sunkekeramenou"] in 1881 Ï), but the accusative plural participle συγκεκερασμένους (sunkekerasmenou"), found in Ì^13vid,46 A B C D* Ψ 0243 0278 33 81 1739 2464 pc, has by far the best external credentials. This participle agrees with the previous ἐκείνους (ekeinou", “those”), a more difficult construction grammatically than the nominative singular. Thus, both on external and internal grounds, συγκεκερασμένους is preferred.