Romans 10:4

10:4 For Christ is the end of the law, with the result that there is righteousness for everyone who believes.

Romans 13:8-10

Exhortation to Love Neighbors

13:8 Owe no one anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. 13:9 For the commandments, ¹  “Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not covet,” ²  (and if there is any other commandment) are summed up in this, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” ³  13:10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Galatians 5:13-14

Practice Love

5:13 For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; ⁴  only do not use your freedom as an opportunity to indulge your flesh, ⁵  but through love serve one another. ⁶  5:14 For the whole law can be summed up in a single commandment, ⁷  namely, “You must love your neighbor as yourself.” ⁸ 

Galatians 5:22

5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit ⁹  is love, ¹⁰  joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ¹¹ 

Galatians 5:1

Freedom of the Believer

5:1 For freedom ¹²  Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be subject again to the yoke ¹³  of slavery.

Galatians 4:7-14

4:7 So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if you are ¹⁴  a son, then you are also an heir through God. ¹⁵ 

Heirs of Promise Are Not to Return to Law

4:8 Formerly when you did not know God, you were enslaved to beings that by nature are not gods at all. ¹⁶  4:9 But now that you have come to know God (or rather to be known by God), how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless ¹⁷  basic forces? ¹⁸  Do you want to be enslaved to them all over again? ¹⁹  4:10 You are observing religious ²⁰  days and months and seasons and years. 4:11 I fear for you that my work for you may have been in vain. 4:12 I beg you, brothers and sisters, ²¹  become like me, because I have become like you. You have done me no wrong!

Personal Appeal of Paul

4:13 But you know it was because of a physical illness that I first proclaimed the gospel to you, 4:14 and though my physical condition put you to the test, you did not despise or reject me. ²²  Instead, you welcomed me as though I were an angel of God, ²³  as though I were Christ Jesus himself! ²⁴ 

[13:9]  ¹ tn Grk “For the…” (with the word “commandments” supplied for clarity). The Greek article (“the”) is used here as a substantiver to introduce the commands that are quoted from the second half of the Decalogue (ExSyn 238).

[13:9]  ² sn A quotation from Exod 20:13-15, 17; Deut 5:17-19, 21.

[13:9]  ³ sn A quotation from Lev 19:18.

[5:13]  ⁴ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:11.

[5:13]  ⁵ tn 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]  ⁶ tn 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]  ⁷ tn Or “can be fulfilled in one commandment.”

[5:14]  ⁸ sn A quotation from Lev 19:18.

[5:22]  ⁹ tn That is, the fruit the Spirit produces.

[5:22]  ¹⁰ sn 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]  ¹¹ tn Or “reliability”; see BDAG 818 s.v. πίστις 1.a.

[5:1]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ sn Here the yoke figuratively represents the burdensome nature of slavery.

[4:7]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “and if a son, then also an heir.” The words “you are” have been supplied twice to clarify the statement.

[4:7]  ¹⁵ tc The unusual expression διὰ θεοῦ (dia qeou, “through God”) certainly prompted scribes to alter it to more customary or theologically acceptable ones such as διὰ θεόν (dia qeon, “because of God”; F G 1881 pc), διὰ Χριστοῦ (dia Cristou, “through Christ”; 81 630 pc sa), διὰ ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ (dia Ihsou Cristou, “through Jesus Christ”; 1739^c), θεοῦ διὰ Χριστοῦ (“[an heir] of God through Christ”; א² C³ D [P] 0278 [6 326 1505] Ï ar sy), or κληρονόμος μὲν θεοῦ, συγκληρονόμος δὲ Χριστοῦ (klhronomo" men qeou, sugklhronomo" de Cristou, “an heir of God, and fellow-heir with Christ”; Ψ pc [cf. Rom 8:17]). Although it is unusual for Paul to speak of God as an intermediate agent, it is not unprecedented (cf. Gal 1:1; 1 Cor 1:9). Nevertheless, Gal 4:7 is the most direct statement to this effect. Further testimony on behalf of διὰ θεοῦ is to be found in external evidence: The witnesses with this phrase are among the most important in the NT (Ì⁴⁶ א* A B C* 33 1739*^vid lat bo Cl).

[4:8]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “those that by nature…” with the word “beings” implied. BDAG 1070 s.v. φύσις 2 sees this as referring to pagan worship: “Polytheists worship…beings that are by nature no gods at all Gal 4:8.”

[4:9]  ¹⁷ tn Or “useless.” See L&N 65.16.

[4:9]  ¹⁸ tn See the note on the phrase “basic forces” in 4:3.

[4:9]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “basic forces, to which you want to be enslaved…” Verse 9 is a single sentence in the Greek text, but has been divided into two in the translation because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence.

[4:10]  ²⁰ tn The adjective “religious” has been supplied in the translation to make clear that the problem concerns observing certain days, etc. in a religious sense (cf. NIV, NRSV “special days”). In light of the polemic in this letter against the Judaizers (those who tried to force observance of the Mosaic law on Gentile converts to Christianity) this may well be a reference to the observance of Jewish Sabbaths, feasts, and other religious days.

[4:12]  ²¹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:11.

[4:14]  ²² tn Grk “your trial in my flesh you did not despise or reject.”

[4:14]  ²³ tn Or “the angel of God.” Linguistically, “angel of God” is the same in both testaments (and thus, he is either “an angel of God” or “the angel of God” in both testaments). For arguments and implications, see ExSyn 252; M. J. Davidson, “Angels,” DJG, 9; W. G. MacDonald argues for “an angel” in both testaments: “Christology and ‘The Angel of the Lord’,” Current Issues in Biblical and Patristic Interpretation, 324-35.

[4:14]  ²⁴ tn Grk “as an angel of God…as Christ Jesus.” This could be understood to mean either “you welcomed me like an angel of God would,” or “you welcomed me as though I were an angel of God.” In context only the second is accurate, so the translation has been phrased to indicate this.