12 For before certain men came from James,y he used to eat with the Gentiles.z But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group.a 13 The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabasb was led astray.

14 When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel,c I said to Cephasd in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew.e How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?f

15 “We who are Jews by birthg and not sinful Gentilesh 16 know that a person is not justified by the works of the law,i but by faith in Jesus Christ.j So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith ind Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.k

17 “But if, in seeking to be justified in Christ, we Jews find ourselves also among the sinners,l doesn’t that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not!m 18 If I rebuild what I destroyed, then I really would be a lawbreaker.

19 “For through the law I died to the lawn so that I might live for God.o 20 I have been crucified with Christp and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.q The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God,r who loved mes and gave himself for me.t 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law,u Christ died for nothing!”e