Galatia 2:3-4

2:3 Yet ¹  not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, although he was a Greek. 2:4 Now this matter arose ²  because of the false brothers with false pretenses ³  who slipped in unnoticed to spy on ⁴  our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, to make us slaves. ⁵ 

Galatia 5:1

Freedom of the Believer

5:1 For freedom ⁶  Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be subject again to the yoke ⁷  of slavery.

Galatia 6:12-15

6:12 Those who want to make a good showing in external matters ⁸  are trying to force you to be circumcised. They do so ⁹  only to avoid being persecuted ¹⁰  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. ¹¹  6:14 But may I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which ¹²  the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 6:15 For ¹³  neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for ¹⁴  anything; the only thing that matters is a new creation! ¹⁵ 

[2:3]  ¹ tn Grk “But,” translated here as “Yet” for stylistic reasons (note the use of “but” in v. 2).

[2:4]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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.

[5:1]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ sn Here the yoke figuratively represents the burdensome nature of slavery.

[6:12]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn Or “boast about you in external matters,” “in the outward rite” (cf. v. 12).

[6:14]  ¹² tn Or perhaps, “through whom,” referring to the Lord Jesus Christ rather than the cross.

[6:15]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “is.”

[6:15]  ¹⁵ 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).