GAL 6:12 Parallel Verse View

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Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) There’s so many people that want to look good in earthly terms, and they’re the ones trying to persuade you that you have to fulfil all of Mosheh’s rules—they don’t want to be persecuted concerning the messiah dying on a post.

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

ULT As many as desire to make a good impression in the flesh, they compel you to be circumcised, only so that they might not be persecuted for the cross of Christ Jesus.

UST Everyone who wants to impress the Jews with how they appear outwardly is trying to force you to have someone circumcise you. They only do this in order to prevent the Jews from persecuting them for believing that the Messiah Jesus died on the cross to save us.

BLB As many as desire to have a fair appearance in the flesh, these compel you to be circumcised, only that they might not be persecuted for the cross of Christ.

AICNT Those who want to make a good impression in the flesh, these are the ones who compel you to be circumcised, only so that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ.

OEB The people who are trying to compel you to be circumcised are the people who wish to appear to advantage in regard to outward observances. They do it only to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Jesus, the Christ

WEBBE As many as desire to make a good impression in the flesh compel you to be circumcised, just so they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ.

WMBB As many as desire to make a good impression in the flesh compel you to be circumcised, just so they may not be persecuted for the cross of Messiah.

NET Those who want to make a good showing in external matters are trying to force you to be circumcised. They do so only to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ.

LSV as many as are willing to make a good appearance in the flesh, these constrain you to be circumcised—only that they may not be persecuted for the Cross of the Christ,

FBV Those people who only want to make a good impression are forcing you to be circumcised just so they won't be persecuted for the cross of Christ.

TCNT It is those who want to make a good appearance in the flesh who compel you to be circumcised, but only so that they may not be persecuted for the cross of [fn]Christ.

6:12 Christ ¦ Christ Jesus WH

T4T Some Jewish believers are trying to force you to perform certain rituals so that other Jews will think highly of them. They are insisting that you be circumcised {that someone must circumcise you}. They are doing that only in order that other Jews would no longer ◄persecute them/cause them to suffer► for proclaiming that God will save us because of our trusting in what Christ accomplished when he died on the cross [MTY, MET].

LEB As many as are wanting to make a good showing in the flesh, these are attempting to compel[fn] you to be circumcised, only so that they will not be persecuted for the cross of Christ.

6:12 *The present tense has been translated as conative here (“are attempting”)

BBE Those who have the desire to seem important in the flesh, put force on you to undergo circumcision; only that they may not be attacked because of the cross of Christ.

Moff These men who are keen upon you getting circumcised are just men who want to make a grand display in the flesh — it is simply to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ.

Wymth All who desire to display their zeal for external observances try to compel you to receive circumcision, but their real object is simply to escape being persecuted for the Cross of Christ.

ASV As many as desire to make a fair show in the flesh, they compel you to be circumcised; only that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ.

DRA For as many as desire to please in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised, only that they may not suffer the persecution of the cross of Christ.

YLT as many as are willing to make a good appearance in the flesh, these constrain you to be circumcised — only that for the cross of the Christ they may not be persecuted,

Drby As many as desire to have a fair appearance in [the] flesh, these compel you to be circumcised, only that they may not be persecuted because of the cross of Christ.

RV As many as desire to make a fair show in the flesh, they compel you to be circumcised; only that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ.

SLT As many as: wish to have an agreeable demeanor in the flesh, they compel you to be circumcised; only lest they should be driven out for the cross of Christ.

Wbstr As many as desire to make a fair show in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ.

KJB-1769 As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ.
(As many as desire to make a fair show in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. )

KJB-1611 As many as desire to make a faire shew in the flesh, they constraine you to be Circumcised: onely least they should suffer persecution for the Crosse of Christ.
(As many as desire to make a fair show in the flesh, they constraine you to be Circumcised: only least they should suffer persecution for the Cross of Christ.)

Bshps As many as desire with outwarde appearaunce to please carnally, the same constrayne you to be circumcised, onlye lest they shoulde suffer persecution for the crosse of Christe.
(As many as desire with outward appearance to please carnally, the same constrayne you to be circumcised, only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ.)

Gnva As many as desire to make a faire shewe in the flesh, they constraine you to be circumcised, onely because they would not suffer persecution for the crosse of Christ.
(As many as desire to make a fair show in the flesh, they constraine you to be circumcised, only because they would not suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. )

Cvdl They that wil please in the flesh, constrayne you to be circumcysed, onely lest they shulde be persecuted with the crosse of Christ.
(They that will please in the flesh, constrayne you to be circumcysed, only lest they should be persecuted with the cross of Christ.)

TNT As many as desyre with vtwarde apperauce to please carnally they constrayne you to be circumcised only be cause they wolde not suffre persecucion with the crosse of Christ.
(As many as desire with vtwarde apperauce to please carnally they constrayne you to be circumcised only be cause they would not suffer persecution with the cross of Christ. )

Wycl For who euere wole plese in the fleisch, `this constreyneth you to be circumcidid, oonli that thei suffren not the persecucioun of Cristis crosse.
(For who ever will please in the flesh, this constreyneth you to be circumcidid, only that they suffering not the persecution of Christis crosse.)

Luth Die sich wollen angenehm machen nach dem Fleisch, die zwingen euch zu beschneiden, allein daß sie nicht mit dem Kreuz Christi verfolget werden.
(The itself/yourself/themselves want pleasant make after to_him flesh, the force you to/for prune/trim, alone that they/she/them not with to_him Kreuz Christi pursue/follow become.)

ClVg Quicumque enim volunt placere in carne, hi cogunt vos circumcidi, tantum ut crucis Christi persecutionem non patiantur.[fn]
(Whoever because they_want please in/into/on flesh/meat, these they_force you(pl) circumcidi, only as cross/frame of_Christ persecution not/no patiantur. )

6.12 Hi cogunt. Isti erant pseudo, qui sic Christum prædicabant ut et legem servandam docerent. Crucem prædicabant, ut a fidelibus quæstum haberent; legem, ut Judæis placerent. Ut crucis Christi persecutionem, etc. Forte hoc ideo dicit, quia Romani imperatores Caius Cæsar, et Octavianus, et Augustus, leges promulgaverunt ut Judæi, ubicunque essent, proprio ritu viverent, et patriis cæremoniis deservirent. Quicunque enim circumcisus erat, licet in Christum crederet, quasi Judæus habebatur in gentibus; qui vero incircumcisus se non esse Judæum præputio præferebat, persecutionibus tam gentilium quam Judæorum fiebat obnoxius. Has igitur persecutiones, qui Galatas depravaverant, declinare cupientes, circumcisionem pro defensione discipulis persuadebant. Nam nec Judæi persequi eos poterant, nec gentiles quos videbant, et proselytos circumcidere, et ipsos legalia servare.

6.12 They they_force. These they_were pseudo, who/which so Christ/Messiah they_preached as and the_law servandam to_teachnt. Crucem they_preached, as from to_the_faithful questum they_would_have; the_law, as To_the_Jews pleasent. As cross/frame of_Christ persecution, etc. Forte this therefore/for_that_reason he_says, because Romani commandsores Caius Cæsar, and Octavianus, and Augustus, laws promulgaverunt as Jews, ubicunque they_would_be, own ritu they_would_live, and patriis ceremonies they_would_serve. Whoever because circumcisus was, although in/into/on Christ/Messiah to_believet, as_if Yudahus hadur in/into/on nations; who/which indeed/however incircumcisus himself not/no to_be Yudahum beforeputio beforeferebat, persecutionibus tam Gentile how Yudahorum was_happening obnoxius. Has therefore persecutions, who/which Galatas depravaverant, declinare they_will_desirees, circumcision for defensione students persuadebant. For/Surely but_not Jews persequi them they_could, but_not Gentiles which seebant, and proselytos circumcidere, and themselves legalia to_keep.

UGNT ὅσοι θέλουσιν εὐπροσωπῆσαι ἐν σαρκί, οὗτοι ἀναγκάζουσιν ὑμᾶς περιτέμνεσθαι, μόνον ἵνα τῷ σταυρῷ τοῦ Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ μὴ διώκωνται.
(hosoi thelousin euprosōpaʸsai en sarki, houtoi anagkazousin humas peritemnesthai, monon hina tōi staurōi tou Ⱪristou Yaʸsou maʸ diōkōntai.)

SBL-GNT ὅσοι θέλουσιν εὐπροσωπῆσαι ἐν σαρκί, οὗτοι ἀναγκάζουσιν ὑμᾶς περιτέμνεσθαι, μόνον ⸀ἵνα τῷ σταυρῷ τοῦ ⸀Χριστοῦ ⸀μὴ διώκωνται·
(hosoi thelousin euprosōpaʸsai en sarki, houtoi anagkazousin humas peritemnesthai, monon ⸀hina tōi staurōi tou ⸀Ⱪristou ⸀maʸ diōkōntai;)

RP-GNT Ὅσοι θέλουσιν εὐπροσωπῆσαι ἐν σαρκί, οὗτοι ἀναγκάζουσιν ὑμᾶς περιτέμνεσθαι, μόνον ἵνα μὴ τῷ σταυρῷ τοῦ χριστοῦ διώκωνται.
(Hosoi thelousin euprosōpaʸsai en sarki, houtoi anagkazousin humas peritemnesthai, monon hina maʸ tōi staurōi tou ⱪristou diōkōntai.)

TC-GNT Ὅσοι θέλουσιν εὐπροσωπῆσαι ἐν σαρκί, οὗτοι ἀναγκάζουσιν ὑμᾶς περιτέμνεσθαι, μόνον ἵνα [fn]μὴ τῷ σταυρῷ τοῦ Χριστοῦ διώκωνται.
(Hosoi thelousin euprosōpaʸsai en sarki, houtoi anagkazousin humas peritemnesthai, monon hina maʸ tōi staurōi tou Ⱪristou diōkōntai. )

6:12 μη τω σταυρω του χριστου ¦ τω σταυρω του χριστου μη NA SBL TH ¦ τω σταυρω του χριστου ιησου μη WH

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

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 6:11–18: Paul repeated his warning not to listen to false teachers

This section is Paul’s conclusion to his letter. In this section he again contrasted circumcision and true faith. Those who teach that believers must be circumcised have a false basis for boasting. The only true basis for boasting is Christ’s death on the cross. Through the cross, believers are new creations in Christ. That is what matters. The Galatians should follow these truths. They must not follow false teachers who want to add circumcision to faith.

Paul ended his letter with a blessing/prayer.

Some other possible headings for this section are:

Final Warning and Benediction (ESV)

Paul’s Final Advice (NLT)

Paul Summarizes His Teachings About Circumcision (GW)

6:12–13

In these verses, Paul stated that the false teachers were only thinking about themselves and how they could avoid persecution for the cross of Christ. This is the exact opposite of what Paul said about himself in 5:11. The false teachers were preaching circumcision to avoid persecution. If Paul had preached circumcision, he could have avoided persecution as well, but since he refused to do so, he was persecuted. There was no godly zeal in what the false teachers were doing.

6:12a–b

(reordered) Those who are trying to force you to be circumcised want to look good to others. (NLT)

Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised: In some languages, it will be more natural to change the order of the clauses in 6:12a–b. For example:

^aThose who ^bare trying to force you to be circumcised ^awant to look good to others. (NLT)

6:12a

Those who want to make a good impression outwardly

Those who want to make a good impression outwardly
Some people want to show their goodness by the way their bodies appear.
Those people who want to look good to others,

Those: The word that the BSB translates as Those is literally “as many as.” This word refers to the people who were deceiving the Galatians.

Some other ways to translate this word are:

Those people

And as for those people

Some people

who want to make a good impression outwardly: This clause refers to the false teachers. They put on a good outward appearance in order that other people would think well of them and accept them. Here outwardly refers generally to external matters and specifically to circumcision. The false teachers wanted other Jews to think well of them. They themselves were circumcised, and they tried to force other people to get circumcised. They focused on the physical and external rather than the spiritual.

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

want to look good to others (NLT)

who want to show off and boast about external matters (GNT)

they want to show their goodness by the way their bodies appear to others

6:12b

are trying to compel you to be circumcised.

are trying to force you to get circumcised.
They are trying to force you to get circumcised.
they are trying to force you to get/be circumcised.

are trying to compel you to be circumcised: This clause also refers to the false teachers. They were trying to force the Galatian believers to get circumcised. The word compel is the same word that Paul used in 2:3a and 2:14d.

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

who are trying to force you to be circumcised (GNT)

Such persons are insisting that you be circumcised (SSA)

6:12c

They only do this to avoid persecution

They only do this so that they will not be persecuted
They do this only so that people will not cause them to suffer
The only reason they do this is because they do not want the Jews to persecute them.

They only do this to avoid persecution: In Greek this phrase is more literally “they only do this that they might not be persecuted.” In Greek this phrase contains the verb “persecuted,” which the BSB translates with the noun persecution. The verb “persecuted” means “causing people to suffer” because of their religious beliefs. The false teachers were afraid that the Jews would persecute them if they did not force believers to be circumcised. The false teachers were more concerned about avoiding persecution than about preaching the truth of the gospel.

The verb “persecuted” is passive. Some ways to translate this clause are:

Use a passive verb. For example:
They don’t want to be persecuted (NLT)
They are afraid they will be attacked (NCV)
Use an active verb. For example:
They do not want the Jews to persecute them
And they don’t want to get into trouble (CEV)
Their only aim is to avoid persecution (GW)

This verb also occurs in 1:13b and 5:11b.

They only do this to: These words introduce the false teachers’ purpose in forcing the Galatians to be circumcised. They forced the Galatians to be circumcised so that they (the false teachers) would not be persecuted.

Some other ways to introduce this purpose are:

They only do this so that

Their only purpose is

In some languages, it may be natural to translate this as the reason. For example:

The only reason they do this is (NIV)

6:12d

for the cross of Christ.

for teaching the cross of Christ.
for preaching only about Christ’s death on the cross.
They know that if they tell people to believe only on Christ’s death on the cross for salvation, they will be persecuted.

for the cross of Christ: This phrase refers to preaching only one thing: Christ died on a cross as the sacrifice for our sins. It refers to the complete gospel message of salvation by faith in Christ instead of by obeying the law. The false teachers were evidently preaching two things: people had to believe in the Messiah and also be circumcised.

Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

for preaching about the cross of Christ (CEV)

for teaching that the cross of Christ alone can save (NLT)

because they only tell people about Christ’s death on the cross for salvation

The word the cross also occurs in 5:11c with the same meaning.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

εὐπροσωπῆσαι

˓to˒_appear_good

Paul’s readers would have understood that he was referring to making a good impression on legalistic Jews who did not believe in Jesus. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: [to make a good impression on the Jews]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

ἐν σαρκί

in ˓the˒_flesh

Here, the flesh refers to someone’s outward physical appearance, specifically the appearance of someone who has been circumcised in order to impress the Jews. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [with regard to physical appearance]

Note 3 topic: grammar-connect-logic-goal

ἵνα

in_order_that

Here, so that introduces a purpose clause. Use a natural way in your language for introducing a purpose clause. Alternate translation: [for the purpose that]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

μὴ διώκωνται

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ὅσοι θέλουσιν εὐπροσωπῆσαι ἐν σαρκί οὗτοι ἀναγκάζουσιν ὑμᾶς περιτέμνεσθαι μόνον ἵνα τῷ σταυρῷ τοῦ Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ μή διώκωνται)

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. The context indicates that the Jews might do the action. Alternate translation: [the Jews might not persecute them]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

τῷ σταυρῷ τοῦ Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ

˱for˲_the cross ˱of˲_the Messiah Jesus

Here, the cross refers to believing in Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [for believing in what Christ Jesus did when he died on the cross]