To the Galatians, 3

¹ O senseless Ga·laʹtians, who is it that brought YOU under evil influence, YOU before whose eyes Jesus Christ was openly portrayed impaled?

² This alone I want to learn from YOU: Did YOU receive the spirit due to works of law or due to a hearing by faith?^*1

³ Are YOU so senseless? After starting in spirit are YOU now being completed in flesh?

⁴ Did YOU undergo so many sufferings to no purpose? If it really was to no purpose.

⁵ He, therefore, who supplies YOU the spirit and performs powerful works^*1 among YOU, does he do it owing to works of law or owing to a hearing by faith?

⁶ Just as Abraham “put faith in Jehovah,^*1 and it was counted to him as righteousness.”

⁷ Surely YOU know that those who adhere to faith are the ones who are sons of Abraham.

⁸ Now the Scripture, seeing in advance that God would declare people of the nations righteous due to faith, declared the good news beforehand to Abraham, namely: “By means of you all the nations will be blessed.”

⁹ Consequently those who adhere to faith are being blessed together with faithful^*1 Abraham.

¹⁰ For all those who depend upon works of law are under a curse; for it is written: “Cursed is every one that does not continue in all the things written in the scroll of the Law in order to do them.”

¹¹ Moreover, that by law no one is declared righteous with God is evident, because “the righteous one will live by reason of faith.”

¹² Now the Law does not adhere to faith, but “he that does them shall live by means of them.”

¹³ Christ by purchase released us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse instead of us, because it is written: “Accursed is every man hanged upon a stake.”^*1

¹⁴ The purpose was that the blessing of Abraham might come to be by means of Jesus Christ for the nations, that we might receive the promised spirit^*1 through our faith.

¹⁵ Brothers, I speak with a human illustration: A validated covenant, though it is a man’s, no one sets aside or attaches additions to it.

¹⁶ Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. It^*1 says, not: “And to seeds,” as in the case of many such, but as in the case of one: “And to your seed,” who is Christ.

¹⁷ Further, I say this: As to the covenant previously validated by God, the Law that has come into being four hundred and thirty years later does not invalidate it, so as to abolish the promise.

¹⁸ For if the inheritance is due to law, it is no longer due to promise; whereas God has kindly given it to Abraham through a promise.

¹⁹ Why, then, the Law? It was added to make transgressions manifest,^*1 until the seed should arrive to whom the promise had been made; and it was transmitted through angels by the hand of a mediator.

²⁰ Now there is no mediator where only one person is concerned, but God^*1 is only one.

²¹ Is the Law, therefore, against the promises of God?^*1 May that never happen! For if a law had been given that was able to give life, righteousness would actually have been by means of law.

²² But the Scripture delivered up all things together to the custody of sin, that the promise resulting from faith toward Jesus Christ might be given to those exercising faith.

²³ However, before the faith arrived, we were being guarded under law, being delivered up together into custody, looking to the faith that was destined to be revealed.

²⁴ Consequently the Law has become our tutor^*1 leading to Christ, that we might be declared righteous due to faith.

²⁵ But now that the faith has arrived, we are no longer under a tutor.

²⁶ YOU are all, in fact, sons of God through YOUR faith in Christ Jesus.

²⁷ For all of YOU who were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.^*1

²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor freeman, there is neither male nor female; for YOU are all one [person] in union with Christ Jesus.

²⁹ Moreover, if YOU belong to Christ, YOU are really Abraham’s seed, heirs with reference to a promise.