Galatians 3
1 You foolish Galatians! Whose sophistry has bewitched you--you to whom Jesus Christ has been vividly portrayed as on the Cross?
You [fellow believers who live in] Galatia are very foolish! (Someone must have put an evil spell on you!/Did someone put an evil spell on you?) [RHQ] I clearly explained to you [SYN] [what] Jesus Christ [accomplished when] he was crucified {he died on the cross}.
2 Answer me this one question, "Is it on the ground of your obedience to the Law that you received the Spirit, or is it because, when you heard, you believed?"
[So], I want you to tell me one thing: [Do you think that] it was because you obeyed the laws God gave Moses that you received the [Holy] Spirit? [Do you not know that] [RHQ] it was because [when you] heard [the good message concerning Christ, you] trusted in him?
3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now going to reach perfection through what is external?
(You are acting so foolishly/Why are you being so foolish?) [RHQ]! You first [became Christians] as a result of God’s Spirit [enabling you]. So, (you should not now think that it is by what you yourselves do that you will continue [to grow spiritually]/do you now think it is by your own human efforts that you will continue [to grow spiritually?]!) [RHQ]
4 Have you endured such sufferings to no purpose--if indeed it has been to no purpose?
Keep in mind that [if what God has done for you was because of your obeying the laws that God gave to Moses and] not because of trusting in Christ, when others caused you to suffer, you suffered many things needlessly! [RHQ] [I certainly hope that you did not suffer like that] needlessly.
5 He who gives you His Spirit and works miracles among you--does He do so on the ground of your obedience to the Law, or is it the result of your having heard and believed:
[When God now] generously gives to you his Spirit and performs miracles among you, [do you think that it is] [RHQ] because you obey the laws [that God gave to Moses? Surely you know that] it is because when you heard [the good message about Christ], you trusted in him [RHQ]!
6 even as Abraham believed God, and his faith was placed to his account as righteousness?
[What you have experienced is] as [Moses wrote in the Scriptures about] Abraham. [He wrote that Abraham] trusted God, and as a result, he was considered as being righteous {[God] erased the record of his sins}.
7 Notice therefore that those who possess faith are true sons of Abraham.
You must realize, therefore, that it is those who trust [in what Christ has done who] are [like] Abraham’s descendants [MET] [because they trust in God as Abraham did].
8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that in consequence of faith God would declare the nations to be free from guilt, sent beforehand the Good News to Abraham, saying, "In you all the nations shall be blessed."
Furthermore, God planned beforehand that it was [when] non-Jews trusted [him] that he would erase the record of their sins. [Moses wrote in] the Scriptures [PRS] this good message that God told Abraham: “Because of [what] you [did], I will bless [people in] [MTY] all nations.”
9 So we see that it is those who possess faith that are blessed with believing Abraham.
So, [we can conclude that] it is those who trust [in what Christ has done] whom [God] blesses. That includes [all non-Jews and Jews who trust him], along with Abraham, the one who trusted him [long ago].
10 All who are depending upon their own obedience to the Law are under a curse, for it is written, "Cursed is every one who does not remain faithful to all the precepts of the Law, and practise them."
That is, God will eternally punish all those who [mistakenly] think [that God will erase the record of their sins] as a result of their [obeying] the laws [that God gave to Moses]. What is written in the Scriptures is that [God] will eternally punish everyone who does not continuously and completely obey all the laws [that Moses wrote].
11 It is evident, too, that no one can find acceptance with God simply by obeying the Law, because "the righteous shall live by faith,"
But God has declared that if he erases the record of anyone’s sins, it will not be as a result of their obeying the laws God gave Moses. [This is evident because the Scriptures say], “Every person whose record of sins God erases because that person trusts God will live [spiritually].”
12 and the Law has nothing to do with faith. It teaches that "he who does these things shall live by doing them."
But [when God gave] his laws [to the Jews, he did] not [say that a person must] trust [him]. Instead, [God said that] it is those who obey [all God’s laws, continuously and completely], who will live.
13 Christ has purchased our freedom from the curse of the Law by becoming accursed for us--because "Cursed is every one who is hanged upon a tree."
Even though we humans have not continuously and completely obeyed God’s laws, Christ rescued us from [God] punishing us eternally. Christ rescued us by his being [the one God condemned] instead of God condemning us. What is written {[someone/Moses] wrote} [in the Scriptures] shows that this is true. It is written {[He] wrote}, “[God] has cursed anyone [whom people have executed for his crimes and whose body they] have hung on a tree.”
14 Our freedom has been thus purchased in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing belonging to Abraham may come upon the nations, so that through faith we may receive the promised Spirit.
Jesus Christ rescued us in order that as a result of what he [has done, God might bless the non-Jews, in a way similar to the way] God blessed Abraham. He also desired that as a result of our trusting [Christ], we [all] might receive the Spirit [whom God] promised to [give to] us.
15 Brethren, even a covenant made by a man--to borrow an illustration from daily life--when once formally sanctioned is not liable to be set aside or added to.
My fellow believers, I will now [illustrate] by referring to human [relationships. After an agreement is confirmed by two people] {[two people have signed] an agreement}, no one can reject it or add to it.
16 (Now the promises were given to Abraham and to his seed. God did not say "and to seeds," as if speaking of many, but "and to your seed," since He spoke of only one--and this is Christ.)
[God] declared to Abraham and his descendant that he was promising [to give blessings to Abraham]. [The words that God spoke were not “and your] descendants.” [He was not] referring to many persons. Instead, he was referring to one person, who is Christ, [because the words that God spoke were], “and your descendant.”
17 I mean that the Covenant which God had already formally made is not abrogated by the Law which was given four hundred and thirty years later--so as to annul the promise.
This is what I am saying: [Since God] gave the laws [to the Jews] 430 years after [he declared to Abraham what he was promising to do for Abraham], those laws do not cancel that agreement [with] Abraham that God himself had previously agreed about [PRS].
18 For if the inheritance comes through obedience to Law, it no longer comes because of a promise. But, as a matter of fact, God has granted it to Abraham in fulfilment of a promise.
Remember that if it is because [we obey God’s] laws [that he gives to us] what [he has] promised [to give to us], then it is not [just] because he [has] promised [that he would give those things to us]. God freely gave to Abraham [what he had promised to give to him, just] because [God had] promised [that he would give it to him. Similarly, it is not because we obey God’s laws that God gives to us what he has promised to give to us].
19 Why then was the Law given? It was imposed later on for the sake of defining sin, until the seed should come to whom God had made the promise; and its details were laid down by a mediator with the help of angels.
So, [if someone should ask], “Why [did God later give] his laws [to Moses?” I would reply that] it was in order that [people might realize] how sinful they were. [Those laws were valid] until [Jesus came. He was] the descendant that God [was referring to when he made] the promises to Abraham. [The laws] were given {[God] gave [his laws]} [to Moses] by God’s causing angels to [speak to him. Moses was the] mediator, [the one who told the laws to the people].
20 But there cannot be a mediator where only one individual is concerned.
Now, [when] a mediator [functions], one [person] is not [speaking with another] directly; but God himself [made his promises directly to Abraham].
21 God, however, is only one. Is the Law then opposed to the promises of God? No, indeed; for if a Law had been given which could have conferred Life, righteousness would certainly have come by the Law.
[If someone should ask, “When God gave his] laws [to Moses] long [after he told Abraham] what he was promising [to give to him, was he] changing his mind?” [I would reply that God] certainly did not [change his mind when he did that]! If God had given a law that could enable people to live [eternally], then it actually would be because of people [obeying that] law that God would erase the record of their sins.
22 But Scripture has shown that all mankind are the prisoners of sin, in order that the promised blessing, which depends on faith in Jesus Christ, may be given to those who believe.
But instead, [what we read in] the Scriptures [PRS] is that God [caused all people to be unable to escape being punished for] their [sins] [MET], just like [people] in prison [are unable to escape] [PRS, MET]. [God did that in order that he might give what he promised to those who trust Jesus Christ, just] because they trust him.
23 Before this faith came, we Jews were perpetual prisoners under the Law, living under restraints and limitations in preparation for the faith which was soon to be revealed.
Before [God revealed the good message about] trusting [in Christ], the laws [PRS] that God gave to Moses were [confining/imprisoning us Jews] [MET], [as] a prisoner [in jail is] confined. [We] were unable to escape [obeying those] [MET] [laws]. This happened in order that [we might believe] the good message [concerning Christ, the message that God would] reveal [later].
24 So that the Law has acted the part of a tutor-slave to lead us to Christ, in order that through faith we may be declared to be free from guilt.
[Like a father supervises his immature son by appointing a] servant to take care of him [MET], [God] was supervising us [by] his laws [MET, PRS] until Christ came. [He did this] in order that he might erase the record of our sins [only] because we trust [Christ].
25 But now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor-slave.
But [now that God] has revealed the message [about trusting in Christ], the laws [that God gave to Moses] are no longer supervising us [Jews] [PRS, MET].
26 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus;
Now all of you [Jews and] non-Jews are [as though you are] God’s children because you trusted Christ Jesus.
27 for all of you who have been baptized into Christ, have clothed yourselves with Christ.
That is, you who [began a relationship] with Christ when you were baptized identified yourselves [MET] with Christ.
28 In Him the distinctions between Jew and Gentile, slave and free man, male and female, disappear; you are all one in Christ Jesus.
[If you are believers, it does] not [matter to God if you are] Jews or non-Jews; slaves or ones [who are] not slaves; males or females, because all of you are [as] one [sort of person because of your relationship] with Christ Jesus.
29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are indeed true descendants of Abraham, and are heirs in fulfilment of the promise.
Furthermore, since you belong to Christ, you are [like] Abraham’s descendants [because you trust God as Abraham did], and you will possess/receive all that God has promised [MET].
