GAL 5:16 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed for doing comparisons of different translations. Click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible. Please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=minor spelling Clarity of original=clear Importance=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) I’ll tell you: allow yourselves to be led by the spirit and then your earthly desires won’t triumph.

Key: khaki:verbs, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object, red:negative.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT Now I say, walk by the Spirit and you would certainly not fulfill desires of the flesh.

UST I am telling you to let the Holy Spirit lead you. If you do that, you will definitely not do what your sinful selves want to do.

BSB § So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

BLB Now I say, walk by the Spirit, and you should not gratify the desires of the flesh.

AICNT But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.

OEB This is what I have to say – Let your steps be guided by the Spirit, and then you will never gratify the cravings of your earthly nature.

WEBBE But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you won’t fulfil the lust of the flesh.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET But I say, live by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh.

LSV And I say, walk in the Spirit, and you may not fulfill the desire of the flesh;

FBV My advice is to walk by the Spirit. Don't satisfy the desires of your sinful human nature.

TCNT I say then, walk by the Spirit and you will certainly not gratify the desires of the flesh.

T4T So I tell you this: Constantly let God’s Spirit direct you. If you do that, you will certainly not do the things that your self-directed nature wants you to do.

LEB But I say, live by the Spirit, and you will never carry out the desire of the flesh.

BBE But I say, Go on in the Spirit, and you will not come under the rule of the evil desires of the flesh.

Moff No Moff GAL book available

Wymth This then is what I mean. Let your lives be guided by the Spirit, and then you will certainly not indulge the cravings of your lower natures.

ASV But I say, Walk by the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

DRA I say then, walk in the spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.

YLT And I say: In the Spirit walk ye, and the desire of the flesh ye may not complete;

Drby But I say, Walk in [the] Spirit, and ye shall no way fulfil flesh's lust.

RV But I say, Walk by the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

Wbstr This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye will not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

KJB-1769 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
(This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye/you_all shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. )

KJB-1611 This I say then, Walke in the spirit, and [fn]ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
(This I say then, Walke in the spirit, and ye/you_all shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.)

5:16 Or, fulfill not.

Bshps Then I say, walke in the spirite, and ye shall not fulfyll the lust of the flesshe.
(Then I say, walk in the spirit, and ye/you_all shall not fulfyll the lust of the flesh.)

Gnva Then I say, Walke in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lustes of the flesh.
(Then I say, Walke in the Spirit, and ye/you_all shall not fulfil the lustes of the flesh. )

Cvdl I saye: Walke in the sprete, and so shal ye not fulfill the lustes off the flesshe.
(I say: Walke in the spirit, and so shall ye/you_all not fulfil the lustes off the flesh.)

TNT I saye walke in the sprete and fulfill not the lustes of the flesshe.
(I say walk in the spirit and fulfil not the lustes of the flesh. )

Wycl And Y seie you in Crist, walke ye in spirit, and ye schulen not performe the desiris of the fleisch.
(And I say you in Christ, walk ye/you_all in spirit, and ye/you_all should not perform the desiris of the flesh.)

Luth Ich sage aber: Wandelt im Geist, so werdet ihr die Lüste des Fleisches nicht vollbringen.
(I said aber: Wandelt in_the spirit, so becomet you/their/her the Lüste the fleshes not vollbringen.)

ClVg Dico autem: Spiritu ambulate, et desideria carnis non perficietis.[fn]
(Dico however: Spiritu ambulate, and desideria carnis not/no perficietis. )

5.16 Dico autem in Christo, etc. Ostendit quam sufficiens sit fides Christi sine lege, quia per eam carnem vincunt et ejus opera, et sequuntur spiritum; quasi dicat: Ne detis libertatem in occasionem carnis, sed per charitatem spiritus servite. Hoc autem dico posse esse vobis in Christo, et nunquam aliter. Non perficietis, etc. Non ait non feceritis vel non habueritis quia ea non habere non poterant, sed non perficietis, id est non opera eorum consensu voluntatis implebitis.

5.16 Dico however in Christo, etc. Ostendit how sufficiens let_it_be fides of_Christ without lege, because through her carnem vincunt and his opera, and sequuntur spiritum; as_if let_him_say: Ne detis libertatem in occasionem carnis, but through charitatem spiritus servite. This however dico posse esse to_you in Christo, and nunquam aliter. Non perficietis, etc. Non he_said not/no feceritis or not/no habueritis because ea not/no habere not/no poterant, but not/no perficietis, id it_is not/no opera their consensu voluntatis implebitis.

UGNT λέγω δέ, Πνεύματι περιπατεῖτε, καὶ ἐπιθυμίαν σαρκὸς οὐ μὴ τελέσητε.
(legō de, Pneumati peripateite, kai epithumian sarkos ou maʸ telesaʸte.)

SBL-GNT Λέγω δέ, πνεύματι περιπατεῖτε καὶ ἐπιθυμίαν σαρκὸς οὐ μὴ τελέσητε.
(Legō de, pneumati peripateite kai epithumian sarkos ou maʸ telesaʸte.)

TC-GNT Λέγω δέ, πνεύματι περιπατεῖτε, καὶ ἐπιθυμίαν σαρκὸς οὐ μὴ τελέσητε.
(Legō de, pneumati peripateite, kai epithumian sarkos ou maʸ telesaʸte. )

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs (from our SR-GNT base).

TTN Tyndale Theme Notes:

The Law and the Spirit

An enduring question of the Christian faith is, Do Christians need to keep the Old Testament law in order to become mature followers of Christ? Does following God’s law provide sanctification?

When the Christians in Galatia had received the Good News of salvation through faith in Christ, they had also received the Holy Spirit as the guarantee of their status as believers. Not only had God given his Spirit to them, but he had also worked miracles among them (Gal 3:5). They knew from experience that the Holy Spirit has the power to make them new people, and Paul had taught them to rely on the Spirit to guide them.

Shortly after Paul left Galatia, Jewish-Christian teachers arrived who taught the need to observe God’s law, both to be accepted by God and to be sanctified and become mature. They argued that Paul’s approach to sanctification by the Spirit would lead to lawlessness and sin.

Paul responded that, just as God counts us as righteous by faith, so also he makes us righteous by faith, through the working of the Spirit (Gal 5:16-26). Those who rely on the Spirit and follow his leading will not sin—God’s Spirit will never lead people to sin.

The real problem is not a lack of understanding regarding right and wrong. Our God-given conscience tells us when we’re doing wrong, and God’s law makes the requirements of his righteousness even clearer (Rom 7:7-12). The real problem is that, by nature, our hearts are hard and sinful, and we lack the wisdom to know the right thing to do in a given situation. By nature, we are unable to apply God’s word in a way that is consistent with his intentions.

The law cannot ameliorate our condition. But when the Holy Spirit guides and controls us, he changes our hearts to do the things that please God (Gal 5:22-23; Rom 8:5-14). God’s Spirit guides his people to fulfill his law in its true sense and intent. But fulfillment of the law must not be the goal or focus—the law is just our guardian (Gal 3:24-25). Instead, we focus on trusting God, relying on the Spirit, and loving others. God’s Spirit gives us the will and the power to do these things in a way that pleases God.

Passages for Further Study

Num 11:16-17, 24-30; Jer 31:33-34; Ezek 36:26-27; Luke 24:49; Acts 5:32; Rom 7:1–8:17; 12:2; 2 Cor 3:7-18; Gal 3:2-5; 5:5, 16-26; Heb 12:14-29

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

Πνεύματι περιπατεῖτε

˱by˲_/the/_Spirit /be/_walking

Here Paul uses walk to refer to how a person lives and behaves. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “act by the Spirit”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

Πνεύματι

˱by˲_/the/_Spirit

The phrase by the Spirit implies being directed or controlled by the Holy Spirit. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “by the direction of the Holy Spirit” or “according to how the Holy Spirit leads”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / doublenegatives

οὐ μὴ

by_no_means not

The phrase certainly not translates two negative words in Greek. Paul uses them together to emphasize what he is saying. If your language can use two negatives together for emphasis without them canceling each other to create a positive meaning, it would be appropriate to use that construction here.

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

ἐπιθυμίαν σαρκὸς οὐ μὴ τελέσητε

/the/_desire ˱of˲_/the/_flesh by_no_means not /may/_accomplish

The phrase you would certainly not fulfill desires refers to not doing what someone sinfully wants to do. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “you would certainly not do what the flesh desires”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

ἐπιθυμίαν σαρκὸς

/the/_desire ˱of˲_/the/_flesh

If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of desires, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: “what the flesh desires”

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / personification

ἐπιθυμίαν σαρκὸς

/the/_desire ˱of˲_/the/_flesh

Here Paul speaks of the flesh as if it were a person who has desires. He is referring to what a person wants to do as a result of having a sinful human nature. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. See how this phrase is translated in Romans 13:14. Alternate translation: “what you want to do because of your sinful nature” or “the things you want to do that are sinful”

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

σαρκὸς

˱of˲_/the/_flesh

Here, Paul uses the word flesh to refer to sinful human nature. See how you translated the phrase the flesh in 5:13.

Parallel GAL 5:16