Galatians 5:15

The Holy Bible, Berean Study Bible

But if you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out, or you will be consumed by each other.

Parallel Translations

New American Standard Bible (1995)
But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.

Legacy Standard Bible
But if you bite and devour one another, beware that you are not consumed by one another.

Simplified Cowboy Version
But if y'all act like a bunch of hungry coyotes who are constantly biting and snarling at each other, don't be surprised when y'all are all chewed to pieces.

Bible in Basic English
But if you are given to fighting with one another, take care that you are not the cause of destruction one to another.

Darby Translation
but if ye bite and devour one another, see that ye are not consumed one of another.

Christian Standard Bible®
But if you bite and devour one another, watch out, or you will be consumed by one another.

World English Bible
But if you bite and devour one another, be careful that you don't consume one another.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed ye be not consumed one of another.

Weymouth's New Testament
But if you are perpetually snarling and snapping at one another, beware lest you are destroyed by one another.

King James Version (1611)
But if yee bite and deuoure one another, take heed ye be not consumed one of another.

Literal Translation
But if you bite and devour one another, be careful that you are not consumed by one another.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But yf ye byte and deuoure one another, take hede, that ye be not consumed one of another.

Mace New Testament (1729)
but if you bite and tear one another, take heed that you be not consumed by one another.

Amplified Bible
But if you bite and devour one another [in bickering and strife], watch out that you [along with your entire fellowship] are not consumed by one another.

American Standard Version
But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.

Revised Standard Version
But if you bite and devour one another take heed that you are not consumed by one another.

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
Yf ye byte and devoure one another: take hede lest ye be consumed one of another.

Update Bible Version
But if you bite and devour one another, take heed that you are not consumed one of another.

Webster's Bible Translation
But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one by another.

Young's Literal Translation
and if one another ye do bite and devour, see -- that ye may not by one another be consumed.

New Century Version
If you go on hurting each other and tearing each other apart, be careful, or you will completely destroy each other.

New English Translation
However, if you continually bite and devour one another, beware that you are not consumed by one another.

Contemporary English Version
But if you keep attacking each other like wild animals, you had better watch out or you will destroy yourselves.

Complete Jewish Bible
but if you go on snapping at each other and tearing each other to pieces, watch out, or you will be destroyed by each other!

English Standard Version
But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.

Geneva Bible (1587)
If ye bite and deuoure one another, take heede least ye be consumed one of another.

George Lamsa Translation
But if you harm and plunder one another, take heed lest you be consumed one by another.

Hebrew Names Version
But if you bite and devour one another, be careful that you don't consume one another.

International Standard Version
But if you bite and devour one another, be careful that you are not destroyed by each other.

Etheridge Translation
But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest one by another you be consumed.

Murdock Translation
But if ye bite and devour one another, beware, lest ye be consumed one by another.

New King James Version
But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!

New Living Translation
But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another.

New Life Bible
But if you hurt and make it hard for each other, watch out or you may be destroyed by each other.

English Revised Version
But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.

New Revised Standard
If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
If, however, one another, ye bite and devour, take heed lest, by one another, ye be consumed!

Douay-Rheims Bible
But if you bite and devour one another: take heed you be not consumed one of another.

King James Version
But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.

Lexham English Bible
But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Yf ye byte and deuoure one another, take heede lest ye be consumed one of another.

Easy-to-Read Version
If you continue hurting each other and tearing each other apart, be careful, or you will completely destroy each other.

New American Standard Bible
But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.

Good News Translation
But if you act like wild animals, hurting and harming each other, then watch out, or you will completely destroy one another.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And if ye bite, and ete ech othere, se ye, lest ye be wastid ech fro othere.

Contextual Overview

¹³For you, brothers, were called to freedom; but do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. Rather, serve one another in love. ¹⁴The entire law is fulfilled in a single decree: "Love your neighbor as yourself." ¹⁵But if you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out, or you will be consumed by each other.¹⁶So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷For the flesh craves what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are opposed to each other, so that you do not do what you want. ¹⁸But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. ¹⁹The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; ²⁰idolatry and sorcery; hatred, discord, jealousy, and rage; rivalries, divisions, factions, ²¹and envy; drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. ²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Galatians 5:26, 2 Samuel 2:26, 2 Samuel 2:27, Isaiah 9:20, Isaiah 9:21, Isaiah 11:5-9, Isaiah 11:13, 1 Corinthians 3:3, 1 Corinthians 6:6-8, 2 Corinthians 11:20, 2 Corinthians 12:20, James 3:14-18, James 4:1-3

Reciprocal: Judges 8:2 - What Judges 9:44 - rushed forward Judges 9:49 - put them Judges 12:6 - there fell 2 Samuel 19:43 - the words Psalms 14:4 - eat up Zechariah 11:14 - I cut Matthew 12:25 - Every kingdom Mark 3:25 - General Mark 9:50 - have peace Romans 13:13 - strife 1 Corinthians 1:11 - that there Philippians 2:3 - nothing Philippians 2:14 - disputings Philippians 3:2 - of dogs Colossians 3:8 - anger 1 Timothy 6:4 - words

Cross-References

1 Chronicles 1:2
Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared,

Gill's Notes on the Bible

But if ye bite and devour one another,.... Another reason inducing to love is taken from the pernicious consequences of a contrary spirit and conduct. The allusion is to beasts of prey falling upon and devouring one another: for wolves or dogs to worry sheep is not strange; but for sheep to distress one another is unnatural. The apostle does not say, if grievous wolves should enter in among you and not spare the flock; but suggests if they themselves should act the part of wolves to one another; having reference to their controversies about the law and circumcision, and the necessity thereof to justification and salvation; which were managed with great heat and bitterness, occasioned great contentions, and threatened them with divisions, parties, and factions; and were attended with envy and malice, with reproachful words, biting sarcasms, scandalous invectives, and injurious actions, which must be of bad consequence: hence he adds,

take heed that ye be not consumed one of another; that is, either beware lest each other's particular peace and comfort be destroyed, which is oftentimes done this way, though a person's state and condition God-ward may be safe; or lest their church state should be destroyed and come to nothing, since love is the cement of it, which being loosened, threatens a dissolution; for as no civil community, either public or private, divided against itself, can stand long, so no religious one; and for want of love the Lord threatens to remove, and sometimes does remove, the candlestick out of its place.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

But if ye bite - The word used here (δάκνω daknō), means, properly, to bite, to sting; and here seems to be used in the sense of contending and striving - a metaphor not improbably taken from dogs and wild beasts.

And devour one another - As wild beasts do. The sense is, “if you contend with each other;” and the reference is, probably, to the strifes which would arise between the two parties in the churches - the Jewish and the Gentile converts.

Take heed that ye be not consumed ... - As wild beasts contend sometimes until both are slain. Thus, the idea is, in their contentions they would destroy the spirituality and happiness of each other; their characters would be ruined; and the church be overthrown. The readiest way to destroy the spirituality of a church, and to annihilate the influence of religion, is to excite a spirit of contention.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 15. If ye bite and devour one another — These Churches seem to have been in a state of great distraction; there were continual altercations among them. They had fallen from the grace of the Gospel; and, as Christ no longer dwelt in their hearts by faith, pride, anger, ill-will, and all unkind and uncharitable tempers, took possession of their souls, and they were in consequence alternately destroying each other. Nothing is so destructive to the peace of man, and to the peace of the soul, as religious disputes; where they prevail, religion in general has little place.