GAL 1:8 Interlinear View

1. Greek word
2. Greek lemma
3. OET-LV words
4. OET-RV words
5. Strongs
6. Role/Morphology
7. OET Gloss
8. VLT Gloss
9. CAPS codes
10. Confidence
11. OET tags
12. OET word #
1. Ἀλλά
2. alla
3. But
4. -
5. 2350
6. C·······
7. but
8. but
9. S
10. Y58
11. 125669
1. κἄν
2. kan
3. -
4. -
5. 25790
6. C·······
7. even_if
8. even_if
9. -
10. -
11. 125670
1. καί
2. kai
3. even
4. -
5. 25320
6. D·······
7. even
8. even
9. -
10. Y58
11. 125671
1. ἐάν
2. ean
3. if
4. -
5. 14370
6. C·······
7. if
8. if
9. -
10. Y58
11. 125672
1. ἡμεῖς
2. egō
3. we
4. -
5. 14730
6. R···1N·P
7. we
8. we
9. -
10. Y58; R125554; Person=Paul; R125580
11. 125673
1. ἤ
2. ē
3. or
4. -
5. 22280
6. C·······
7. or
8. or
9. -
10. Y58
11. 125674
1. ἄγγελος
2. aŋgelos
3. +an messenger
4. messenger
5. 320
6. N····NMS
7. ˓an˒ messenger
8. ˓an˒ angel
9. -
10. Y58; F125687
11. 125675
1. ἐξ
2. ek
3. out of
4. -
5. 15370
6. P·······
7. out_of
8. out_of
9. -
10. Y58
11. 125676
1. οὐρανοῦ
2. ouranos
3. heaven
4. heaven
5. 37720
6. N····GMS
7. heaven
8. heaven
9. -
10. Y58
11. 125677
1. ὑμῖν
2. su
3. you all
4. -
5. 47710
6. R···2D·P
7. you_all
8. you_all
9. -
10. Y58; R125582
11. 125678
1. εὐαγγελίζηται
2. euaŋgelizō
3. may be good message preaching
4. -
5. 20970
6. VSPM3··S
7. ˓may_be˒ good_message_preaching
8. ˓may_be˒ gospel_preaching
9. -
10. Y58
11. 125679
1. εὐαγγελίσηται
2. euaŋgelizō
3. -
4. -
5. 20970
6. VSAM3··S
7. ˓may˒ good_message_preach
8. ˓may˒ gospel_preach
9. -
10. -
11. 125680
1. ὑμῖν
2. su
3. -
4. -
5. 47710
6. R···2D·P
7. ˱to˲ you_all
8. ˱to˲ you_all
9. -
10. R125582
11. 125681
1. πάρʼ
2. para
3. contrary to
4. -
5. 38440
6. P·······
7. contrary_to
8. contrary_to
9. -
10. Y58
11. 125682
1. ὅ
2. hos
3. what
4. -
5. 37390
6. R····ANS
7. what
8. what
9. -
10. Y58
11. 125683
1. εὐηγγελισάμεθα
2. euaŋgelizō
3. we good message preached
4. -
5. 20970
6. VIAM1··P
7. ˱we˲ good_message_preached
8. ˱we˲ gospel_preached
9. -
10. Y58; R125554; Person=Paul; R125580
11. 125684
1. ὑμῖν
2. su
3. to you all
4. -
5. 47710
6. R···2D·P
7. ˱to˲ you_all
8. ˱to˲ you_all
9. -
10. Y58
11. 125685
1. ἀνάθεμα
2. anathema
3. +a curse
4. cursed
5. 3310
6. N····NNS
7. ˓a˒ curse
8. ˓a˒ curse
9. -
10. Y58
11. 125686
1. ἔστω
2. eimi
3. let him be
4. should
5. 15100
6. VMPA3··S
7. ˱him˲ let_be
8. ˱him˲ let_be
9. -
10. Y58; R125675
11. 125687

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 1:6–10: Paul rebuked the Galatians for turning away from the true gospel

In this section, Paul began his plea with the Galatians to turn back to the true gospel. He did this in several ways:

He rebuked them for turning away from the true gospel.
He condemned anyone who proclaimed any other gospel.

At this point in most of Paul’s other letters, he thanked God for his readers. The fact that he does not do that in Galatians shows how concerned and upset he was.

Some other possible headings for this section are:

Do not follow false teaching

Do not turn away from the true gospel

Follow the Good News We Gave You (GW)

There Is No Other Gospel (NRSV)

1:8–9

In these verses, Paul strongly condemned anyone who teaches a false gospel. The true gospel is the only gospel. It is more important than any person.

No one, including Paul, may change the gospel. Paul said that God would curse anyone who would change the gospel. He emphasized this by stating a situation that was not real. Neither Paul nor the brothers with him had preached a different gospel to the Galatians.

This contrasts with the real situation of the false teachers who were teaching a false gospel. Paul was warning those who were listening to the false teachers.

1:8

Before you translate 1:8, carefully consider what is the most natural order in your language for the clauses in this verse. In some languages, it may be more natural to change the order of some of the clauses. Compare the order of the clause in the BSB and GW:

^aBut even if we or an angel from heaven ^bshould preach a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, ^clet him be under a curse! (BSB)

^bWhoever tells you good news that is different from the Good News we gave you ^cshould be condemned to hell, ^aeven if he is one of us or an angel from heaven. (GW)

See other examples in the Display under 1:8a–c reordered.

1:8a

But even if we or an angel from heaven

But even if we^(excl) or an angel from heaven/God
Suppose that we^(excl) or an angel from heaven
Consider/imagine the false situation in which we or an angel

But: There is a contrast here. The contrast is between the “gospel of Christ” that Paul preached and the “different gospel” that some men were preaching. With this contrast, Paul continued to show that there is only one gospel.

Some English versions indicate this contrast with the conjunction But. Other English versions do not translate this conjunction here. However, the contrast is still shown by the expressions for the true gospel and the false gospel.

even if: The phrase even if introduces a situation that is not real. The following situation never happened. The Greek grammar clearly shows that what follows is a hypothetical statement.

Some other ways to translate this are:

suppose

consider/imagine the false situation in which

if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you but we have not done that

we: The pronoun we refers to Paul and his companions. Paul used it to emphasize that he himself is included. This pronoun does not include the Galatians.

an angel from heaven: The Greek word that the BSB translates as angel means “messenger.” It can be either a human messenger or a divine messenger. The phrase from heaven shows that here it refers to a divine messenger.

Here, heaven is a figure of speech that represents God who lives in heaven. So the phrase angel from heaven refers to a “messenger from heaven” or “messenger from God.”

Some ways to translate this phrase are:

Use a descriptive word or phrase. For example:
messenger from heaven/God
good/holy spirit-being from above
Use a local term that fits the biblical meaning. If you use a term for angel that people cannot confuse with an ordinary messenger, then it would not be necessary to add from heaven. For example:
angel
In some areas the churches may already be using a borrowed term or a transliterated word for angel. Be sure that this term fits the biblical meaning. If some people do not understand the right meaning from this term, you may need to indicate the meaning with a descriptive phrase. For example:
an angelos messenger from heaven
a sacred angelos spirit from above

Be sure that your term for angel is different from your terms for “prophet” and “apostle.”

See also angel in the Glossary for more information.

1:8b

should preach a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you,

preach to you^(plur) a gospel that is different than the gospel that we had preached to you^(plur),
teach you^(plur) a message that is not the same as good news that we^(excl) first taught you,
teach you something that does not agree with the good news that we first taught you.

should preach a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you: The Greek word that the BSB translates as contrary to can also be translated as “that is opposed to” or “that does not agree with.”

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

should preach to you a gospel that is different from the one we preached to you (GNT)

should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you (NIV)

should preach/teach you a doctrine that does not agree with the gospel we already taught you

1:8c

let him be under a curse!

let/may that person be cursed.
may God’s curse/punishment fall on that person.
If that should happen, I pray that God will punish/destroy that person.

let him be under a curse: This clause is a type of prayer. Paul asked God to punish or condemn the person who changed the true gospel and preached another gospel.

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

may he be cursed

Let God’s curse fall on anyone (NLT)

I pray that God will punish (CEV)

may he be condemned to hell (GNT)

Paul was not casting a spell on someone. Do not use an expression in your language that would imply casting a spell.

him: The pronoun him refers to anyone who might preach a false gospel.

Some ways to translate this more clearly are:

that person

that messenger

1:8a–c

(reordered) I pray that God will punish anyone who preaches anything different from our message to you! It doesn’t matter if that person is one of us or an angel from heaven. (CEV)

(reordered) Let God’s curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you. (NLT)

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-condition-hypothetical

καὶ ἐὰν ἡμεῖς ἢ ἄγγελος ἐξ οὐρανοῦ εὐαγγελίζηται ὑμῖν παρ’ ὃ εὐηγγελισάμεθα ὑμῖν, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἀλλά καί ἐάν ἡμεῖς ἤ ἄγγελος ἐξ οὐρανοῦ ὑμῖν εὐαγγελίζηται πάρʼ ὅ εὐηγγελισάμεθα ὑμῖν ἀνάθεμα ἔστω)

The word if introduces a hypothetical situation. Paul uses a hypothetical situation to warn the Galatians against any teaching that is contrary to the original gospel message which he taught them. Use a natural form in your language for introducing a hypothetical situation. Alternate translation: [if it were to happen that we or an angel from heaven might proclaim to you a gospel other than the one we proclaimed to you, let whoever would do that be cursed] or [suppose it were to happen that we or an angel from heaven might proclaim to you a gospel other than the one we proclaimed to you. Let whoever would do that be cursed]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / exclusive

ἡμεῖς & εὐηγγελισάμεθα

we & ˱we˲_gospel_preached

When Paul says we here, he is not including the Galatians, so we would be exclusive. Your language may require you to mark these forms.

ἡμεῖς

Alternate translation: [I or my co-laborers in the gospel]

εὐαγγελίζηται ὑμῖν

˓may_be˒_gospel_preaching (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἀλλά καί ἐάν ἡμεῖς ἤ ἄγγελος ἐξ οὐρανοῦ ὑμῖν εὐαγγελίζηται πάρʼ ὅ εὐηγγελισάμεθα ὑμῖν ἀνάθεμα ἔστω)

Alternate translation: [might proclaim to you a gospel message] or [might proclaim to you a message of good news]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

παρ’ ὃ εὐηγγελισάμεθα

Here, the phrase the one refers to the gospel message that Paul and his co-laborers had proclaimed to the Galatians. IIf it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: [different from the gospel we proclaimed] or [different from the message we proclaimed]

ἀνάθεμα ἔστω

˓a˒_curse ˱him˲_let_be

If your language has a common way of asking God to curse someone or of calling down a curse on someone, and it would be appropriate to use in this context, consider using it here.

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

ἀνάθεμα ἔστω

˓a˒_curse ˱him˲_let_be

If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of someone being cursed, you could express the same idea with a verbal form such as “curse.” Alternate translation: [let God curse him]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

ἀνάθεμα ἔστω

˓a˒_curse ˱him˲_let_be

If your language does not use the passive form in this way, you could state this in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. If you must state who did the action, Paul implies that “God” is the one who will do it. Alternate translation: [let God curse him]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations

ἀνάθεμα ἔστω

˓a˒_curse ˱him˲_let_be

Although the term him is masculine, Paul is using the word here in a generic sense that includes both men and women. Alternate translation: [let God curse that person]

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.

Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.

OET interlinear GAL 1:8

SR Greek word order (including unused variant words in grey)

Section 1:6–10: Paul rebuked the Galatians for turning away from the true gospel

1:8–9

1:8

1:8a

1:8b

1:8c

1:8a–c

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)