Galatia 1:15

1:15 But when the one ¹  who set me apart from birth ²  and called me by his grace was pleased

Galatia 3:12

3:12 But the law is not based on faith, ³  but the one who does the works of the law ⁴  will live by them. ⁵ 

Galatia 4:5

4:5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we may be adopted as sons with full rights. ⁶ 

Galatia 5:5

5:5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we wait expectantly for the hope of righteousness.

[1:15]  ¹ tc ‡ Several important witnesses have ὁ θεός (Jo qeos) after εὐδόκησεν (eudokhsen; so א A D Ψ 0278 33 1739 1881 Ï co) while the shorter reading is supported by Ì⁴⁶ B F G 629 1505 pc lat. There is hardly any reason why scribes would omit the words (although the Beatty papyrus and the Western text do at times omit words and phrases), but several reasons why scribes would add the words (especially the need to clarify). The confluence of witnesses for the shorter reading (including a few fathers and versions) adds strong support for its authenticity. It is also in keeping with Paul’s style to refrain from mentioning God by name as a rhetorical device (cf. ExSyn 437 [although this section deals with passive constructions, the principle is the same]). NA²⁷ includes the words in brackets, indicating some doubts as to their authenticity.

[1:15]  ² tn Grk “from my mother’s womb.”

[3:12]  ³ tn Grk “is not from faith.”

[3:12]  ⁴ tn Grk “who does these things”; the referent (the works of the law, see 3:5) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:12]  ⁵ sn A quotation from Lev 18:5. The phrase the works of the law is an editorial expansion on the Greek text (see previous note); it has been left as normal typeface to indicate it is not part of the OT text.

[4:5]  ⁶ tn The Greek term υἱοθεσία (Juioqesia) was originally a legal technical term for adoption as a son with full rights of inheritance. BDAG 1024 s.v. notes, “a legal t.t. of ‘adoption’ of children, in our lit., i.e. in Paul, only in a transferred sense of a transcendent filial relationship between God and humans (with the legal aspect, not gender specificity, as major semantic component).” Although some modern translations remove the filial sense completely and render the term merely “adoption” (cf. NAB), the retention of this component of meaning was accomplished in the present translation by the phrase “as sons.”