GAL 2:21 Interlinear View

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 2:11–21: Paul corrected Peter in Antioch

In this section, Paul told his readers what the true gospel is. It is salvation by faith in Christ alone. Obeying the law is not part of the true gospel. Doing what the law demands does not justify anyone.

Paul told how Peter had deserted the true gospel. He wanted the Galatians to understand how they too were deserting the true gospel. They had started to think that it was necessary to obey the law to be justified. Paul wanted them to read about his rebuke to Peter so that they could recognize how their own situation was similar. They must completely reject justification through the law. He emphasized that justification is by faith in Christ alone.

This section also shows that Paul’s authority as an apostle was at least as great as Peter’s was. This section is also an indirect rebuke of the false teachers who had come to the Galatian churches and required the non-Jews to adopt Jewish traditions to be accepted as true Christians.

Some other possible headings for this section are:

Paul rebukes Peter

Paul defended the truth of the gospel

Paul shows how Peter was wrong

Paragraph 2:14–21

In this paragraph, Paul asked Peter and the other Jewish believers to live according to the true gospel. This meant that they had to reject the idea that they were justified by obeying the law. Paul emphasized that justification is by faith in Christ alone. Peter’s actions had implied that it was also necessary to keep the law. That would make Christ’s death meaningless and nullify the grace of God.

In 2:14c, Paul began to speak directly to Peter. There are at least three ways to interpret where Paul’s direct speech to Peter ends:

It ends after verse 21. (NIV, NASB, CEV)
It ends after verse 14. In verses 15–21, what Paul said to Peter is indirect speech. (BSB, ESV, NET, RSV, JBP, GNT, NJB, GW, NCV)
It ends after verse 16. (NLT)

It is recommended that you follow option (1). In 2:15, it is possible that Paul began to also talk to the other people who were there. But he was still also talking to Peter. So Paul’s speech does not end until verse 21.Schreiner on page 150 says, “The first question to be asked is where Paul’s words to Peter, which began in 2:11, end. Since quotation marks are lacking in the original manuscripts, certainty eludes us. Possibly the words directed to Peter conclude after 2:14, 2:15, 2:16, 2:18, or 2:21. I personally argue that it makes most sense to see all of 2:14–21 as addressed to Peter. At least four pieces of evidence support this conclusion. (1) Verse 15 is not clearly set off from 2:11–14. (2) The first person plural pronouns in 2:15–17 most naturally refer to Jewish Christians and would speak to such people in Antioch. (3) Verse 17 may reflect the charges against Peter. (4) A new subject commences on 3:1, where the Galatians are addressed directly.”

If you choose option (2), your translation should still show that Paul is indirectly speaking to Peter in 2:15–21. For example, at the beginning of 2:15, the JBP says:

And then I went on to explain that (JBP)

2:21

In this verse, Paul concluded his rebuke of Peter and the other Jewish believers who separated themselves from the non-Jews. He said that their actions implied that Christ died for nothing.

But Christ’s death did accomplish its purpose. Therefore the actions of Peter and the other men were wrong. Paul refused to reject God’s grace as they had done. He used “I do not” as an indirect way of rebuking Peter for what he did.

2:21a

I do not set aside the grace of God.

I do not reject God’s grace,
I do not refuse God’s favor/kindness like those who return to obeying the law.

I do not set aside the grace of God: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as set aside means to “reject” or “refuse.”

The word grace means “kindness,” “generosity” or “favor” that is shown to someone who does not deserve it. This word also occurs in 2:9a. See grace, Meaning 2, in the Glossary.

Paul implied that Peter had rejected God’s grace. Peter did that when he separated himself from the non-Jews. When he did this, he acted as if it were necessary to obey the Jewish laws in order for God to accept him. That was rejecting grace as the means of being made righteous.

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

I don’t reject God’s kindness. (GW)

I don’t turn my back on God's gift of undeserved grace. (CEV)

I do not refuse the grace of God like those who return to obeying the law

2:21b

For if righteousness comes through the law,

for if people could become righteous through obeying the law,
because if obeying the law could make a person right with/before God,
If a person could be made acceptable to God because of obeying the law,

For: This part of 2:21 explains why Paul does not reject the grace of God. The Greek introduces this explanation with a conjunction that the BSB translates as For.

Some other ways to begin this explanation are:

I do not reject the grace of God , because

I do not do this , because

In some languages, it will not be necessary to translate this conjunction. In other languages, it will be more natural to change the order of 2:21b–c and 2:21a. For example:

^bIf righteousness were through the law, ^cthen Christ died for no purpose. ^aBut righteousness is not through the law. It is through grace. So I do not reject the grace of God.

if righteousness comes through the law: This clause means “if a person could become righteous through/by obeying the law of Moses.”

The word if introduces a statement that is not true. Paul used this “if” sentence to show the consequences of Peter’s action. Peter’s actions implied that a person could become right with God by means of obeying the law.

Some other ways to translate this sentence are:

if a person could become righteous by obeying the law

if obeying the law could make a person right with God— but it cannot

suppose righteousness could be gained/found through the law

righteousness: The word righteousness refers to the character trait of being “upright,” “blameless” or “just.” A person can never be made right with God by obeying the law.

Some other ways to translate this word are:

right with God

acceptable to God (CEV)

uprightness/blamelessness in the sight of God

See righteous in the Glossary for more information.

2:21c

Christ died for nothing.

then Christ's death had no purpose.”
then that would make Christ’s death worthless.”
it was useless for Christ to die.”

Christ died for nothing: In this context, the phrase for nothing means “for no purpose.” This clause states the consequence that would result if 2:21b were true. Since it is impossible to be made right with God by means of obeying the law, then it is equally not true that Christ died for nothing.

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

then Christ’s death was pointless (GW)

then that would that make Christ’s death worthless! But is was not worthless.

it was useless for Christ to die (CEV)

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / litotes

οὐκ ἀθετῶ

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οὐκ ἀθετῶ τήν χάριν τοῦ Θεοῦ εἰ γάρ διά νόμου δικαιοσύνη ἄρα Χριστός δωρεάν ἀπέθανεν)

Here, Paul expresses a strong positive meaning by using a negative phrase, do not, together with a phrase, set aside that is the opposite of the intended meaning. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning positively. Alternate translation: [I strongly affirm] or [I do uphold]

οὐκ ἀθετῶ

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οὐκ ἀθετῶ τήν χάριν τοῦ Θεοῦ εἰ γάρ διά νόμου δικαιοσύνη ἄρα Χριστός δωρεάν ἀπέθανεν)

Alternate translation: [I do not ignore] or [I do not dismiss]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

τὴν χάριν τοῦ Θεοῦ

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οὐκ ἀθετῶ τήν χάριν τοῦ Θεοῦ εἰ γάρ διά νόμου δικαιοσύνη ἄρα Χριστός δωρεάν ἀπέθανεν)

If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of grace, you could express the same idea with an adverb or you could express the meaning in some other way that is natural in your language. See how you translated the similar expression “the grace of Christ” in [1:6](../01/06.md). Alternate translation: [what God graciously did]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

δικαιοσύνη

righteousness_‹is›

If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of righteousness, you could express the same idea with an adjective such as “righteous,” or you could express the meaning in some other way that is natural in your language.

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / hypo

εἰ γὰρ διὰ νόμου δικαιοσύνη, ἄρα Χριστὸς δωρεὰν ἀπέθανεν

if (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οὐκ ἀθετῶ τήν χάριν τοῦ Θεοῦ εἰ γάρ διά νόμου δικαιοσύνη ἄρα Χριστός δωρεάν ἀπέθανεν)

Paul is speaking as if this were a hypothetical possibility, but he means that it is not true. Paul stated two times in [2:16](../02/16.md) that no person is made righteous before God by obeying the law of Moses. Also, Paul knows that Christ died for a definite purpose. If your language does not state something as a condition if it is certainly false, and if your readers might misunderstand this and think that what Paul is saying is not certain, then you could translate his words as a negative statement. If your language does state things as a hypothetical possibility that the speaker is trying to prove false, then use the natural form in your language for expressing a hypothetical situation. Alternate translation: [since we know that righteousness is through faith in Christ and not through the law of Moses, or else Christ would have died for nothing] or [for we know that God considers us righteous because we believe in Christ and not because we keep the law of Moses, or else Christ would have died for nothing]

Note 5 topic: grammar-connect-condition-hypothetical

εἰ γὰρ διὰ νόμου δικαιοσύνη, ἄρα Χριστὸς δωρεὰν ἀπέθανεν

if (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οὐκ ἀθετῶ τήν χάριν τοῦ Θεοῦ εἰ γάρ διά νόμου δικαιοσύνη ἄρα Χριστός δωρεάν ἀπέθανεν)

Paul is using a hypothetical situation to teach the Galatian believers. Use a natural way in your language for expressing conditional “if … then” constructions.

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

εἰ & διὰ νόμου δικαιοσύνη

if & (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οὐκ ἀθετῶ τήν χάριν τοῦ Θεοῦ εἰ γάρ διά νόμου δικαιοσύνη ἄρα Χριστός δωρεάν ἀπέθανεν)

Here, the word through expresses the means by which something happens. The phrase if righteousness is through the law means “if righteousness could be obtained through keeping the law.” If it would be helpful to your readers, you could indicate that explicitly. Alternate translation: [if righteousness could be obtained by keeping the law] or [if a person could be justified by keeping the law]

Note 7 topic: grammar-collectivenouns

διὰ νόμου

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οὐκ ἀθετῶ τήν χάριν τοῦ Θεοῦ εἰ γάρ διά νόμου δικαιοσύνη ἄρα Χριστός δωρεάν ἀπέθανεν)

The phrase through the law is equivalent in meaning to the phrase “by works of the law” in [2:16](../02/16.md). See how you translated the phrase “by works of the law” in [2:16](../02/16.md) where it occurs twice.

Note 8 topic: grammar-collectivenouns

νόμου

˓the˒_law

See how you translated the phrase the law in [2:16](../02/016.md).

ἄρα Χριστὸς δωρεὰν ἀπέθανεν

consequently (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οὐκ ἀθετῶ τήν χάριν τοῦ Θεοῦ εἰ γάρ διά νόμου δικαιοσύνη ἄρα Χριστός δωρεάν ἀπέθανεν)

Alternate translation: [then Christ would have accomplished nothing by dying] or [then it was pointless for Christ to die]

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 2:21

SR Greek word order

Section 2:11–21: Paul corrected Peter in Antioch

Paragraph 2:14–21

2:21

2:21a

2:21b

2:21c

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