Galatians 2:20–3:9

Footnotes

1. 59 Both the / Greek text and the place the phrase “I have been crucified with Christ” at the end of v. 19, but most English translations place these words at the beginning of v. 20.
2. 60 Here δέ (de) has been translated as “So” to bring out the connection of the following clauses with the preceding ones. What Paul says here amounts to a result or inference drawn from his co-crucifixion with Christ and the fact that Christ now lives in him. In Greek this is a continuation of the preceding sentence, but the construction is too long and complex for contemporary English style, so a new sentence was started here in the translation.
3. 61 Grk “flesh.”
4. 62 A number of important witnesses (𝔓46 B D* F G) have θεοῦ καὶ Χριστοῦ (theou kai Christou, “of God and Christ”) instead of υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ (huiou tou theou, “the Son of God”), found in the majority of , including several important ones (א A C D1 Ψ 0278 33 1739 1881 𝔐 lat sy co). The construction “of God and Christ” appears to be motivated as a more explicit affirmation of the deity of Christ (following as it apparently does the Granville Sharp rule). Although Paul certainly has an elevated Christology, explicit “God-talk” with reference to Jesus does not normally appear until the later books (cf., e.g., Titus 2:13, Phil 2:10–11, and probably Rom 9:5). For different arguments but the same textual conclusions, see . Or “I live by faith in the Son of God.” See note on “faithfulness of Jesus Christ” in v. for the rationale behind the translation “the faithfulness of the Son of God.” On the phrase because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, , which notes that the grammar is not decisive, nevertheless suggests that “the faith/faithfulness of Christ is not a denial of faith in Christ as a Pauline concept (for the idea is expressed in many of the same contexts, only with the verb πιστεύω rather than the noun), but implies that the object of faith is a worthy object, for he himself is faithful.” Though Paul elsewhere teaches justification by faith, this presupposes that the object of our faith is reliable and worthy of such faith.
5. 63 Or “I do not declare invalid,” “I do not nullify.”
6. 64 Or “justification.”
7. 65 Or “without cause,” “for no purpose.”
8. 1 Grk “O” (an interjection used both in address and emotion). In context the following section is highly charged emotionally.
9. 2 Or “deceived”; the verb βασκαίνω (baskainō) can be understood literally here in the sense of bewitching by black magic, but could also be understood figuratively to refer to an act of deception (see L&N 53.98 and 88.159).
10. 3 Or “publicly placarded,” “set forth in a public proclamation” ( προγράφω 2).
11. 4 Grk “by [the] works of [the] law,” a reference to observing the Mosaic law.
12. 5 Grk “by [the] hearing of faith.”
13. 6 Grk “Having begun”; the participle ἐναρξάμενοι (enarxamenoi) has been translated concessively.
14. 7 Or “by the Spirit.”
15. 8 The verb ἐπιτελεῖσθε (epiteleisthe) has been translated as a conative present (see ). This is something the Galatians were attempting to do, but could not accomplish successfully.
16. 9 Grk “in/by [the] flesh.”
17. 10 Or “provide.”
18. 11 Grk “by [the] works of [the] law” (the same phrase as in v. 2).
19. 12 Grk “by [the] hearing of faith” (the same phrase as in v. 2).
20. 13 A quotation from Gen 15:6.
21. 14 Grk “know.”
22. 15 The phrase “sons of Abraham” is used here in a figurative sense to describe people who are connected to a personality, Abraham, by close nonmaterial ties. It is this personality that has defined the relationship and its characteristics ( υἱός 2.c.α).
23. 16 For the Greek verb προευαγγελίζομαι (proeuangelizomai) translated as “proclaim the gospel ahead of time,” compare L&N 33.216.
24. 17 The same plural Greek word, τὰ ἔθνη (ta ethnē), can be translated as “nations” or “Gentiles.”
25. 18 A quotation from Gen 12:3; 18:18.
26. 19 Grk “those who are by faith,” with the Greek expression “by faith” (ἐκ πίστεως, ek pisteōs) the same as the expression in v. 8.