| 1 | Then after [an interval] of fourteen years I again went up to Jerusalem. [This time I went] with Barnabas, taking Titus along with [me] also. |
| 2 | I went because it was specially
and
divinely revealed to me that I should go, and I put before them the Gospel [declaring to them that] which I preach among the Gentiles. However, [I presented the matter] privately before those of repute, [for I wanted to make certain, by thus at first confining my communication to this private conference] that I was not running or had not run in vain [guarding against being discredited either in what I was planning to do or had already done]. |
| 3 | But [all went well!] even Titus, who was with me, was not compelled [as some had anticipated] to be circumcised, although he was a Greek. |
| 4 | [My precaution was] because of false brethren who had been secretly smuggled in [to the Christian brotherhood]; they had slipped in to spy on our liberty
and
the freedom which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might again bring us into bondage [under the Law of Moses]. |
| 5 | To them we did not yield submission even for a moment, that the truth of the Gospel might continue to be [preserved] for you [in its purity]. |
| 6 | Moreover, [no new requirements were made] by those who were reputed to be something—though what was their individual position
and
whether they really were of importance or not makes no difference to me; God is not impressed with the positions that men hold
and
He is not partial
and
recognizes no external distinctions—those [I say] who were of repute imposed no new requirements upon me [had nothing to add to my Gospel, and from them I received no new suggestions]. |
| 7 | But on the contrary, when they [really] saw that I had been entrusted [to carry] the Gospel to the uncircumcised [Gentiles, just as definitely] as Peter had been entrusted [to proclaim] the Gospel to the circumcised [Jews, they were agreeable]; |
| 8 | For He Who motivated
and
fitted Peter
and
worked effectively through him for the mission to the circumcised, motivated
and
fitted me
and
worked through me also for [the mission to] the Gentiles. |
| 9 | And when they knew (perceived, recognized, understood, and acknowledged) the grace (God’s unmerited favor and spiritual blessing) that had been bestowed upon me, James and Cephas (Peter) and John, who were reputed to be pillars of the Jerusalem church, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, with the understanding that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised (Jews). |
| 10 | They only [made one stipulation], that we were to remember the poor, which very thing I was also eager to do. |
| 11 | But when Cephas (Peter) came to Antioch, I protested
and
opposed him to his face [concerning his conduct there], for he was blameable
and
stood condemned. |
| 12 | For up to the time that certain persons came from James, he ate his meals with the Gentile [converts]; but when the men [from Jerusalem] arrived, he withdrew
and
held himself aloof from the Gentiles and [ate] separately for fear of those of the circumcision [party]. |
| 13 | And the rest of the Jews along with him also concealed their true convictions
and
acted insincerely, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy (their example of insincerity and pretense). |
| 14 | But as soon as I saw that they were not straightforward
and
were not living up to the truth of the Gospel, I said to Cephas (Peter) before everybody present, If you, though born a Jew, can live [as you have been living] like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how do you dare now to urge
and
practically force the Gentiles to [comply with the ritual of Judaism and] live like Jews? |
| 15 | [I went on to say] Although we ourselves (you and I) are Jews by birth and not Gentile (heathen) sinners, |
| 16 | Yet we know that a man is justified
or
reckoned righteous
and
in right standing with God not by works of the Law, but [only] through faith
and
[absolute] reliance on
and
adherence to
and
trust in Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One). [Therefore] even we [ourselves] have believed on Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the Law [for we cannot be justified by any observance of the ritual of the Law given by Moses], because by keeping legal rituals
and
by works no human being can ever be justified (declared righteous and put in right standing with God). |
| 17 | But if, in our desire
and
endeavor to be justified in Christ [to be declared righteous and put in right standing with God wholly and solely through Christ], we have shown ourselves sinners also
and
convicted of sin, does that make Christ a minister (a party and contributor) to our sin? Banish the thought! [Of course not!] |
| 18 | For if I [or any others who have taught that the observance of the Law of Moses is not essential to being justified by God should now by word or practice teach or intimate that it is essential to] build up again what I tore down, I prove myself a transgressor. |
| 19 | For I through the Law [under the operation of the curse of the Law] have [in Christ’s death for me] myself died to the Law
and
all the Law’s demands upon me, so that I may [henceforth] live to
and
for God. |
| 20 | I have been crucified with Christ [in Him I have shared His crucifixion]; it is no longer I who live, but Christ (the Messiah) lives in me; and the life I now live in the body I live by faith in (by adherence to and reliance on and complete trust in) the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself up for me. |
| 21 | [Therefore, I do not treat God’s gracious gift as something of minor importance and defeat its very purpose]; I do not set aside
and
invalidate
and
frustrate
and
nullify the grace (unmerited favor) of God. For if justification (righteousness, acquittal from guilt) comes through [observing the ritual of] the Law, then Christ (the Messiah) died groundlessly
and
to no purpose
and
in vain. [His death was then wholly superfluous.] |
Cross references:
-
Galatians 2:6 : Deut. 10:17.
-
Galatians 2:16 : Ps. 143:2.
|