Galatians 6:7-18

6:7 Do not be deceived. God will not be made a fool. ¹  For a person ²  will reap what he sows, 6:8 because the person who sows to his own flesh ³  will reap corruption ⁴  from the flesh, ⁵  but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit. 6:9 So we must not grow weary ⁶  in doing good, for in due time we will reap, if we do not give up. ⁷  6:10 So then, ⁸  whenever we have an opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who belong to the family of faith. ⁹ 

Final Instructions and Benediction

6:11 See what big letters I make as I write to you with my own hand!

6:12 Those who want to make a good showing in external matters ¹⁰  are trying to force you to be circumcised. They do so ¹¹  only to avoid being persecuted ¹²  for the cross of Christ. 6:13 For those who are circumcised do not obey the law themselves, but they want you to be circumcised so that they can boast about your flesh. ¹³  6:14 But may I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which ¹⁴  the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 6:15 For ¹⁵  neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for ¹⁶  anything; the only thing that matters is a new creation! ¹⁷  6:16 And all who will behave ¹⁸  in accordance with this rule, peace and mercy be on them, and on the Israel of God. ¹⁹ 

6:17 From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear the marks of Jesus on my body. ²⁰ 

6:18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be ²¹  with your spirit, brothers and sisters. ²²  Amen.

[6:7]  ¹ tn Or “is not mocked,” “will not be ridiculed” (L&N 33.409). BDAG 660 s.v. μυκτηρίζω has “of God οὐ μ. he is not to be mocked, treated w. contempt, perh. outwitted Gal 6:7.”

[6:7]  ² tn Here ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used in a generic sense, referring to both men and women.

[6:8]  ³ tn 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.”

[6:8]  ⁴ tn Or “destruction.”

[6:8]  ⁵ tn See the note on the previous occurrence of the word “flesh” in this verse.

[6:9]  ⁶ tn Or “not become discouraged,” “not lose heart” (L&N 25.288).

[6:9]  ⁷ tn Or “if we do not become extremely weary,” “if we do not give out,” “if we do not faint from exhaustion” (L&N 23.79).

[6:10]  ⁸ tn There is a double connective here that cannot be easily preserved in English: “consequently therefore,” emphasizing the conclusion of what Paul has been arguing.

[6:10]  ⁹ tn Grk “to those who are members of the family of [the] faith.”

[6:12]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “in the flesh.” L&N 88.236 translates the phrase “those who force you to be circumcised are those who wish to make a good showing in external matters.”

[6:12]  ¹¹ tn Grk “to be circumcised, only.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started with the words “They do so,” which were supplied to make a complete English sentence.

[6:12]  ¹² tc ‡ Grk “so that they will not be persecuted.” The indicative after ἵνα μή (Jina mh) is unusual (though not unexampled elsewhere in the NT), making it the harder reading. The evidence is fairly evenly split between the indicative διώκονται (diwkontai; Ì⁴⁶ A C F G K L P 0278 6 81 104 326 629 1175 1505 pm) and the subjunctive διώκωνται (diwkwntai; א B D Ψ 33 365 1739 pm), with a slight preference for the subjunctive. However, since scribes would tend to change the indicative to a subjunctive due to syntactical requirements, the internal evidence is decidedly on the side of the indicative, suggesting that it is original.

[6:13]  ¹³ tn Or “boast about you in external matters,” “in the outward rite” (cf. v. 12).

[6:14]  ¹⁴ tn Or perhaps, “through whom,” referring to the Lord Jesus Christ rather than the cross.

[6:15]  ¹⁵ tc The phrase “in Christ Jesus” is found after “For” in some mss (א A C D F G 0278 1881 Ï lat bo), but lacking in Ì⁴⁶ B Ψ 33 1175 1505 1739* and several fathers. The longer reading probably represents a harmonization to Gal 5:6.

[6:15]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “is.”

[6:15]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “but a new creation”; the words “the only thing that matters” have been supplied to reflect the implied contrast with the previous clause (see also Gal 5:6).

[6:16]  ¹⁸ tn The same Greek verb, στοιχέω (stoicew), occurs in Gal 5:25.

[6:16]  ¹⁹ tn The word “and” (καί) can be interpreted in two ways: (1) It could be rendered as “also” which would indicate that two distinct groups are in view, namely “all who will behave in accordance with this rule” and “the Israel of God.” Or (2) it could be rendered “even,” which would indicate that “all who behave in accordance with this rule” are “the Israel of God.” In other words, in this latter view, “even” = “that is.”

[6:17]  ²⁰ tn Paul is probably referring to scars from wounds received in the service of Jesus, although the term στίγμα (stigma) may imply ownership and suggest these scars served as brands (L&N 8.55; 33.481; 90.84).

[6:18]  ²¹ tn Or “is.” No verb is stated, but a wish (“be”) rather than a declarative statement (“is”) is most likely in a concluding greeting such as this.

[6:18]  ²² tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:11.