| 1 | O you poor
and
silly
and
thoughtless
and
unreflecting
and
senseless Galatians! Who has fascinated
or
bewitched
or
cast a spell over you, unto whom—right before your very eyes—Jesus Christ (the Messiah) was openly
and
graphically set forth
and
portrayed as crucified? |
| 2 | Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the [Holy] Spirit as the result of obeying the Law
and
doing its works, or was it by hearing [the message of the Gospel] and believing [it]? [Was it from observing a law of rituals or from a message of faith?] |
| 3 | Are you so foolish
and
so senseless
and
so silly? Having begun [your new life spiritually] with the [Holy] Spirit, are you now reaching perfection [by dependence] on the flesh? |
| 4 | Have you suffered so many things
and
experienced so much all for nothing (to no purpose)—if it really is to no purpose
and
in vain? |
| 5 | Then does He Who supplies you with His marvelous [Holy] Spirit and works powerfully
and
miraculously among you do so on [the grounds of your doing] what the Law demands, or because of your believing in
and
adhering to
and
trusting in
and
relying on the message that you heard? |
| 6 | Thus Abraham believed in
and
adhered to
and
trusted in
and
relied on God, and it was reckoned
and
placed to his account
and
credited as righteousness (as conformity to the divine will in purpose, thought, and action). |
| 7 | Know
and
understand that it is [really] the people [who live] by faith who are [the true] sons of Abraham. |
| 8 | And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify (declare righteous, put in right standing with Himself) the Gentiles in consequence of faith, proclaimed the Gospel [foretelling the glad tidings of a Savior long beforehand] to Abraham in the promise, saying, In you shall all the nations [of the earth] be blessed. |
| 9 | So then, those who are people of faith are blessed
and
made happy
and
favored by God [as partners in fellowship] with the believing
and
trusting Abraham. |
| 10 | And all who depend on the Law [who are seeking to be justified by obedience to the Law of rituals] are under a curse
and
doomed to disappointment
and
destruction, for it is written in the Scriptures, Cursed (accursed, devoted to destruction, doomed to eternal punishment) be everyone who does not continue to abide (live and remain) by all the precepts
and
commands written in the Book of the Law and to practice them. |
| 11 | Now it is evident that no person is justified (declared righteous and brought into right standing with God) through the Law, for the Scripture says, The man in right standing with God [the just, the righteous] shall live by
and
out of faith
and
he who through
and
by faith is declared righteous
and
in right standing with God shall live. |
| 12 | But the Law does not rest on faith [does not require faith, has nothing to do with faith], for it itself says, He who does them [the things prescribed by the Law] shall live by them [not by faith]. |
| 13 | Christ purchased our freedom [redeeming us] from the curse (doom) of the Law [and its condemnation] by [Himself] becoming a curse for us, for it is written [in the Scriptures], Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree (is crucified); |
| 14 | To the end that through [their receiving] Christ Jesus, the blessing [promised] to Abraham might come upon the Gentiles, so that we through faith might [all] receive [the realization of] the promise of the [Holy] Spirit. |
| 15 | To speak in terms of human relations, brethren, [if] even a man makes a last will and testament (a merely human covenant), no one sets it aside
or
makes it void
or
adds to it when once it has been drawn up
and
signed (ratified, confirmed). |
| 16 | Now the promises (covenants, agreements) were decreed
and
made to Abraham and his Seed (his Offspring, his Heir). He [God] does not say, And to seeds (descendants, heirs), as if referring to many persons, but, And to your Seed (your Descendant, your Heir), obviously referring to one individual, Who is [none other than] Christ (the Messiah). |
| 17 | This is my argument: The Law, which began 430 years after the covenant [concerning the coming Messiah], does not
and
cannot annul the covenant previously established (ratified) by God, so as to abolish the promise
and
make it void. |
| 18 | For if the inheritance [of the promise depends on observing] the Law [as these false teachers would like you to believe], it no longer [depends] on the promise; however, God gave it to Abraham [as a free gift solely] by virtue of His promise. |
| 19 | What then was the purpose of the Law? It was added [later on, after the promise, to disclose and expose to men their guilt] because of transgressions
and
[to make men more conscious of the sinfulness] of sin; and it was intended to be in effect until the Seed (the Descendant, the Heir) should come, to
and
concerning Whom the promise had been made. And it [the Law] was arranged
and
ordained
and
appointed through the instrumentality of angels [and was given] by the hand (in the person) of a go-between [Moses, an intermediary person between God and man]. |
| 20 | Now a go-between (intermediary) has to do with
and
implies more than one party [there can be no mediator with just one person]. Yet God is [only] one Person [and He was the sole party in giving that promise to Abraham. But the Law was a contract between two, God and Israel; its validity was dependent on both]. |
| 21 | Is the Law then contrary
and
opposed to the promises of God? Of course not! For if a Law had been given which could confer [spiritual] life, then righteousness
and
right standing with God would certainly have come by Law. |
| 22 | But the Scriptures [picture all mankind as sinners] shut up
and
imprisoned by sin, so that [the inheritance, blessing] which was promised through faith in Jesus Christ (the Messiah) might be given (released, delivered, and committed) to [all] those who believe [who adhere to and trust in and rely on Him]. |
| 23 | Now before the faith came, we were perpetually guarded under the Law, kept in custody in preparation for the faith that was destined to be revealed (unveiled, disclosed), |
| 24 | So that the Law served
[a][to us Jews] as our trainer [our guardian, our guide to Christ, to lead us] until Christ [came], that we might be justified (declared righteous, put in right standing with God) by
and
through faith. |
| 25 | But now that the faith has come, we are no longer under a trainer (the guardian of our childhood). |
| 26 | For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith. |
| 27 | For as many [of you] as were baptized into Christ [into a spiritual union and communion with Christ, the Anointed One, the Messiah] have put on (clothed yourselves with) Christ. |
| 28 | There is [now no distinction] neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is not male
[b]and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. |
| 29 | And if you belong to Christ [are in Him Who is Abraham’s Seed], then you are Abraham’s offspring and [spiritual] heirs according to promise. |
Cross references:
-
Galatians 3:6 : Gen. 15:6.
-
Galatians 3:8 : Gen. 12:3.
-
Galatians 3:10 : Deut. 27:26.
-
Galatians 3:11 : Hab. 2:4.
-
Galatians 3:12 : Lev. 18:5.
-
Galatians 3:13 : Deut. 21:23.
-
Galatians 3:16 : Gen. 13:15; 17:8.
-
Galatians 3:17 : Exod. 12:40.
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