GAL 3:11 Interlinear View

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 3:1–14: We are justified by believing, not by obeying the law

In this section, Paul contrasted “doing” and “believing.” He began by rebuking the Galatians because they had forgotten something. They had forgotten that they had been made right with God (justified) and had received the Holy Spirit by believing. They should not then begin to do/obey the law to be made right with God.

Being made right with God (justification) has always been an issue of believing. Abraham himself was justified because he believed. People who are Abraham’s children are those who believe. They are the ones who are blessed. People who try to be made right with God by obeying the law are cursed, because no one can obey the entire law.

Paul wanted the Galatians to change their ways. He was convinced that if they thought about their actions and understood the truth, they would change.

Some other examples for a heading for this section are:

Justification by Law or by Faith? (NET)

Law or Faith

Paragraph 3:10–14

In this paragraph, Paul stated that people who want to be justified through obedience to the law are under a curse. But Christ freed us from the curse of the law by his death on the cross. People who have faith in Christ receive a blessing instead of a curse. It was God’s purpose that by faith the Gentiles would share in the blessing of Abraham and receive the Spirit.

3:11a

Now it is clear that no one is justified before God by the law,

It is evident that no one is put/made right before God by obeying the law,
Doing what the law of Moses commands never makes a person righteous/blameless in God’s sight. That is evident,
It is clear that God does not consider a person right/straight because he obeys the law of Moses.

Now: In 3:11–12, Paul briefly interrupted his new discussion about being cursed (in 3:10). He did this to remind his readers of one of his main themes: we are justified by faith, not by works. He then returned to the idea of curse in 3:13.

The Greek indicates this brief interruption with a conjunction that the BSB translates as Now.

Some English versions, such as the CEV and NIV, do not translate this conjunction. In some languages, no conjunction will be necessary either.

it is clear that: Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

it is evident (ESV)

it is obvious

we see/understand that

no one is justified before God: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as justified means “cause/make to be acceptable/right.” This same word occurs in 3:8b.

This verb is passive. Some ways to translate it are:

Use a passive. For example:
no one can be made right with God (NCV)
no one can be regarded as righteous/straight in front of God
Use an active. For example:
obeying the law cannot put/make a person right with God
God does not consider a person right

See also justify in the Glossary for more information.

by the law: The phrase by the law means the same thing as “by the works of the law” in 3:2b. It means “by keeping/obeying the law.”

Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

by obeying/following the law

through keeping the law

if/when he obeys the law

because of his following the law

following the law

3:11b

because, “The righteous will live by faith.”

because the person who is put/made right by faith will live well.
because the word of God says “It is through believing that a person becomes righteous/blameless and gets real/eternal life.”
This is clear because the Scriptures say, “God makes a person upright/straight because he believes. This person will sit/walk well.”

because: The Greek word that the BSB translates as because introduces the basis for the statement in 3:11a. The basis for 3:11a is a verse from Scripture.

Some other ways to show the connection are:

for (NASB)

because the scripture says (GNT)

In some languages, it is natural to put the basis first. For example:

^11b“The righteous shall live by faith.” ^11aSo no one is justified by the law.

The righteous will live by faith: There are two ways to interpret the phrase by faith:

It is connected with the noun righteous. It means that those people whom God declares righteous because of their faith will live. For example:
Only the person who is put right with God through faith shall live (GNT) (GNT, RSV, REB, CEV, NLT)
It is connected with the verb live. It means that those people who are righteous will live because of their faith. For example:
Those who are right with God will live by faith (NCV) (BSB, NIV, ESV, NET, NRSV, NJB, KJV, NASB, GW, JBP, NCV)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). Throughout Galatians, Paul has connected righteousness and faith. God makes people righteous because of their faith, not because they follow the law.

It appears that more versions follow interpretation (2). But it is possible that some are simply ambiguous and do not intend to exclude interpretation (1).

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

The person whom God makes right because of his faith will live.

The people who believe in God are made right. These people will live.

The righteous: The phrase that the BSB translates as The righteous refers to a righteous person. It is a person whom God has declared right/straight. The word righteous is the noun form of the verb “justified” in 3:11a.

Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

The person who is justified

The person who is blameless

The one who is made right/straight

In some languages, it may be more natural to use the plural word “people” here. For example:

The people who are made right/straight

See also righteous in the Glossary.

will live: The verb will live refers to living/being in a good relationship with God. It is living for and with God both here on earth and after death. It does not refer to remaining alive on the earth.

Some other ways to translate this verb are:

will really live

will have true/genuine life

lives in right relationship with God (The Message)

will live forever (Easy-to-Read Version)

Languages have many ways to express the idea of live. In some languages, the idea of live is expressed by the verb “sit,” “stay,” or “be with someone.” Other languages use a metaphor such as “walk.” Those languages may have to translate will live by something like:

will sit/stay/be well

will walk with God

will have a relationship with God

by faith: The phrase by faith means that a person will be made righteous because of his faith/belief in God.

Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

through faith

because of his faith/believing

See faith, Meaning 1 in the Glossary.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

ἐν νόμῳ, οὐδεὶς δικαιοῦται παρὰ τῷ Θεῷ

by ˓the˒_law (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὅτι Δέ ἐν νόμῳ οὐδείς δικαιοῦται παρά τῷ Θεῷ δῆλον ὅτι Ὁ δίκαιος ἐκ πίστεως ζήσεται)

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. Alternate translation: [God justifies no one by the law] or [God justifies no one as a result of them seeking to obey the law of Moses]

δῆλον

evident_‹it_is›

Alternate translation: [is evident]

Note 2 topic: grammar-connect-words-phrases

ὅτι

that

The word because is introducing the quotation The righteous will live by faith from the Old Testament passage [Habakkuk 2:4](../hab/02/04.md). Use a natural way of introducing direct quotations from an important or sacred text. Alternate translation: [because it is written in Scripture,]

Note 3 topic: grammar-collectivenouns

νόμῳ

˓the˒_law

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

Note 4 topic: writing-quotations

ὁ δίκαιος ἐκ πίστεως ζήσεται

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὅτι Δέ ἐν νόμῳ οὐδείς δικαιοῦται παρά τῷ Θεῷ δῆλον ὅτι Ὁ δίκαιος ἐκ πίστεως ζήσεται)

The sentence The righteous will live by faith is a quotation from Habakkuk 2:4. Use a natural way of indicating that something is a quotation.

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / nominaladj

ὁ δίκαιος ἐκ πίστεως ζήσεται

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὅτι Δέ ἐν νόμῳ οὐδείς δικαιοῦται παρά τῷ Θεῷ δῆλον ὅτι Ὁ δίκαιος ἐκ πίστεως ζήσεται)

Paul is citing the prophet Habakkuk, who is using the adjective righteous as a noun in order to describe a group of people. Your language may use adjectives in the same way. If not, you could translate this with a noun phrase. Alternate translation: [People who are righteous will live by their faith]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ὁ δίκαιος ἐκ πίστεως ζήσεται

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὅτι Δέ ἐν νόμῳ οὐδείς δικαιοῦται παρά τῷ Θεῷ δῆλον ὅτι Ὁ δίκαιος ἐκ πίστεως ζήσεται)

The phrase by faith could be connected to: (1) the phrase will live and be describing the ongoing means by which a righteous person has spiritual life, namely by their faith. Alternate translation: [The righteous person has life through their faith] or [The righteous person lives as a result of their faith] (2) the phrase the righteous and be describing the means by which God considers a sinful person to be righteous, namely by their having faith in him. Alternate translation: [The person who is made right with God as a result of their faith will live] or [Every person will live spiritually whose record of sins God erases because that person trusts God]

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

ἐκ πίστεως

by faith

If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of faith, you could express the same idea with a verb such as “believe,” or you could express the meaning in some other way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: [by believing] or [because they believe]

Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ἐκ πίστεως

by faith

If it would be helpful to your readers, you could indicate explicitly that the object of faith here is God. Alternate translation: [by believing in God] or [because they believe in God]

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 3:11

SR Greek word order

Section 3:1–14: We are justified by believing, not by obeying the law

Paragraph 3:10–14

3:11a

3:11b

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