^2:11But when Cephas³⁷ came to Antioch,³⁸ I opposed him to his face, because he had clearly done wrong.³⁹ ^2:12Until⁴⁰ certain people came from James, he had been eating with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he stopped doing this⁴¹ and separated himself⁴² because he was afraid of those who were pro-circumcision.⁴³ ^2:13And the rest of the Jews also joined with him in this hypocrisy, so that even Barnabas was led astray with them⁴⁴ by their hypocrisy. ^2:14But when I saw that they were not behaving consistently with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas⁴⁵ in front of them all, “If you, although you are a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you try to force⁴⁶ the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

Jews and Gentiles are Justified by Faith

^2:15We are Jews by birth⁴⁷ and not Gentile sinners,⁴⁸^2:16yet we know⁴⁹ that no one⁵⁰ is justified by the works of the law⁵¹ but by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ.⁵² And⁵³ we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by the faithfulness of Christ⁵⁴ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one⁵⁵ will be justified.

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Footnotes

37 Cephas. This individual is generally identified with the Apostle Peter (L&N 93.211).
38 For location see ; ; ; .
39 Grk “because he stood condemned.”
40 The conjunction γάρ has not been translated here.
41 Grk “he drew back.” If ἑαυτόν (heauton) goes with both ὑπέστελλεν (hupestellen) and ἀφώριζεν (aphōrizen) rather than only the latter, the meaning would be “he drew himself back” (see ὑποστέλλω 1.a).
42 Or “and held himself aloof.”
43 Grk “the [ones] of the circumcision,” that is, the group of Jewish Christians who insisted on circumcision of Gentiles before they could become Christians.
44 The words “with them” are a reflection of the σύν- (sun-) prefix on the verb συναπήχθη (sunapēchthē; see L&N 31.76).
45 Cephas. This individual is generally identified with the Apostle Peter (L&N 93.211).
46 Here ἀναγκάζεις (anankazeis) has been translated as a conative present (see ).
47 Grk “by nature.”
48 Grk “and not sinners from among the Gentiles.”
49 Grk “yet knowing”; the participle εἰδότες (eidotes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
50 Grk “no man,” but ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos) is used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women.
51 The law is a reference to the law of Moses.
52 Or “faith in Jesus Christ.” A decision is difficult here. Though traditionally translated “faith in Jesus Christ,” an increasing number of NT scholars are arguing that πίστις Χριστοῦ (pistis Christou) and similar phrases in Paul (here and in v. 20; Rom 3:22, 26; Gal 3:22; Eph 3:12; Phil 3:9) involve a subjective genitive and mean “Christ’s faith” or “Christ’s faithfulness” (cf., e.g., G. Howard, “The ‘Faith of Christ’,” 85 [1974]: 212–15; R. B. Hays, The Faith of Jesus Christ []; Morna D. Hooker, “Πίστις Χριστοῦ,” 35 [1989]: 321–42). Noteworthy among the arguments for the subjective genitive view is that when πίστις takes a personal genitive it is almost never an objective genitive (cf. Matt 9:2, 22, 29; Mark 2:5; 5:34; 10:52; Luke 5:20; 7:50; 8:25, 48; 17:19; 18:42; 22:32; Rom 1:8; 12; 3:3; 4:5, 12, 16; 1 Cor 2:5; 15:14, 17; 2 Cor 10:15; Phil 2:17; Col 1:4; 2:5; 1 Thess 1:8; 3:2, 5, 10; 2 Thess 1:3; Titus 1:1; Phlm 6; 1 Pet 1:9, 21; 2 Pet 1:5). On the other hand, the objective genitive view has its adherents: A. Hultgren, “The Pistis Christou Formulations in Paul,” 22 (1980): 248–63; J. D. G. Dunn, “Once More, ΠΙΣΤΙΣ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΥ,” Seminar Papers, 1991, 730–44. Most commentaries on Romans and Galatians usually side with the objective view. On the phrase translated the faithfulness of Christ, , 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.
53 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.
54 Or “by faith in Christ.” See comment above on “the faithfulness of Jesus Christ.”
55 Or “no human being”; Grk “flesh.”