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Monday, September 23rd, 2024
the Week of Proper 20 / Ordinary 25
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Read the Bible

THE MESSAGE

Galatians 5:2

I am emphatic about this. The moment any one of you submits to circumcision or any other rule-keeping system, at that same moment Christ's hard-won gift of freedom is squandered. I repeat my warning: The person who accepts the ways of circumcision trades all the advantages of the free life in Christ for the obligations of the slave life of the law.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Circumcision;   Works;   Thompson Chain Reference - Circumcision;   Judaism;   Reversion to Judaism;   The Topic Concordance - Legalism;   Waiting;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Circumcision;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Law;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Discipline;   Flesh;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Law;   Liberty;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Circumcision;   Galatians, the Epistle to the;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Galatians, Letter to the;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Galatians, Epistle to the;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Galatians Epistle to the;   Law;   Universalism (2);   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Circumcision;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Gala'tians, the Epistle to the,;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Circumcision;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Baptism (Lutheran Doctrine);   Galatians, Epistle to the;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Polemics and Polemical Literature;  

Devotionals:

- Every Day Light - Devotion for November 8;   My Utmost for His Highest - Devotion for December 9;  

Parallel Translations

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you.
Legacy Standard Bible
Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you.
Simplified Cowboy Version
Listen to me! If you think clipping your pickles is going to make God like you better, then you must not need Jesus.
Bible in Basic English
See, I Paul say to you, that if you undergo circumcision, Christ will be of no use to you.
Darby Translation
Behold, I, Paul, say to you, that if ye are circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.
Christian Standard Bible®
Take note! I, Paul, tell you that if you get yourselves circumcised, Christ will not benefit you at all.
World English Bible
Behold, I, Paul, tell you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will profit you nothing.
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
Behold, I Paul say unto you, If ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.
Weymouth's New Testament
Remember that it is I Paul who tell you that if you receive circumcision Christ will avail you nothing.
King James Version (1611)
Beholde, I Paul say vnto you that if ye be circumcised, Christ shal profite you nothing.
Literal Translation
Behold, I, Paul, say to you that if you are circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Beholde, I Paul saye vnto you: Yf ye be circumcysed, Christ profiteth you nothinge at all.
Mace New Testament (1729)
take notice, 'tis I Paul declare it to you, that if you are circumcised, Christ shall be of no advantage to you.
Amplified Bible
Notice, it is I, Paul, who tells you that if you receive circumcision [as a supposed requirement of salvation], Christ will be of no benefit to you [for you will lack the faith in Christ that is necessary for salvation].
American Standard Version
Behold, I Paul say unto you, that, if ye receive circumcision, Christ will profit you nothing.
Revised Standard Version
Now I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you.
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
Beholde I Paul saye vnto you that yf ye be circumcised Christ shall proffit you nothinge at all.
Update Bible Version
Look, I Paul say to you, that, if you receive circumcision, Christ will profit you nothing.
Webster's Bible Translation
Behold, I Paul say to you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing.
Young's Literal Translation
lo, I Paul do say to you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing;
New Century Version
Listen, I Paul tell you that if you go back to the law by being circumcised, Christ does you no good.
New English Translation
Listen! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you at all!
Berean Standard Bible
Take notice: I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all.
Contemporary English Version
I, Paul, promise you that Christ won't do you any good if you get circumcised.
Complete Jewish Bible
Mark my words — I, Sha'ul, tell you that if you undergo b'rit-milah the Messiah will be of no advantage to you at all!
English Standard Version
Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Beholde, I Paul say vnto you, that if yee be circumcised, Christ shall profite you nothing.
George Lamsa Translation
Behold, I, Paul, tell you that if you be circumcised, then Christ is of no benefit to you.
Hebrew Names Version
Behold, I, Sha'ul, tell you that if you receive circumcision, Messiah will profit you nothing.
International Standard Version
Listen! I, Paul, am telling you that if you allow yourselves to be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you.Acts 15:1; 16:3;">[xr]
Etheridge Translation
Behold, I, Paulos, tell you, that if you be circumcised, the Meshiha profiteth you nothing.
Murdock Translation
Behold, I Paul say to you, That if ye become circumcised, the Messiah is of no advantage to you.
New King James Version
Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing.
New Living Translation
Listen! I, Paul, tell you this: If you are counting on circumcision to make you right with God, then Christ will be of no benefit to you.
New Life Bible
Listen to me! I, Paul, tell you that if you have the religious act of becoming a Jew done on you, Christ will be of no use to you at all.
English Revised Version
Behold, I Paul say unto you, that, if ye receive circumcision, Christ will profit you nothing.
New Revised Standard
Listen! I, Paul, am telling you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
See! I, Paul, say unto you - if ye be getting circumcised, Christ will profit you, nothing.
Douay-Rheims Bible
Behold, I Paul tell you, that if you be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.
King James Version
Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.
Lexham English Bible
Look! I, Paul, tell you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing!
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Beholde I Paul saye vnto you, that yf ye be , circumcised Christe shall profite you nothyng.
Easy-to-Read Version
Listen! I, Paul, tell you that if you start following the law by being circumcised, then Christ cannot help you.
New American Standard Bible
Look! I, Paul, tell you that if you have yourselves circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you.
Good News Translation
Listen! I, Paul, tell you that if you allow yourselves to be circumcised, it means that Christ is of no use to you at all.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Lo! Y Poul seie to you, that if ye ben circumcidid, Crist schal no thing profite to you.

Contextual Overview

1 Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you. 2I am emphatic about this. The moment any one of you submits to circumcision or any other rule-keeping system, at that same moment Christ's hard-won gift of freedom is squandered. I repeat my warning: The person who accepts the ways of circumcision trades all the advantages of the free life in Christ for the obligations of the slave life of the law. 4I suspect you would never intend this, but this is what happens. When you attempt to live by your own religious plans and projects, you are cut off from Christ, you fall out of grace. Meanwhile we expectantly wait for a satisfying relationship with the Spirit. For in Christ, neither our most conscientious religion nor disregard of religion amounts to anything. What matters is something far more interior: faith expressed in love. 7You were running superbly! Who cut in on you, deflecting you from the true course of obedience? This detour doesn't come from the One who called you into the race in the first place. And please don't toss this off as insignificant. It only takes a minute amount of yeast, you know, to permeate an entire loaf of bread. Deep down, the Master has given me confidence that you will not defect. But the one who is upsetting you, whoever he is, will bear the divine judgment. 11As for the rumor that I continue to preach the ways of circumcision (as I did in those pre-Damascus Road days), that is absurd. Why would I still be persecuted, then? If I were preaching that old message, no one would be offended if I mentioned the Cross now and then—it would be so watered-down it wouldn't matter one way or the other. Why don't these agitators, obsessive as they are about circumcision, go all the way and castrate themselves!

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

I Paul: 1 Corinthians 16:21, 2 Corinthians 10:1, 1 Thessalonians 2:18, Philemon 1:9

that: Galatians 5:4, Galatians 5:6, Galatians 2:3-5, Acts 15:1, Acts 15:24, Acts 16:3, Acts 16:4, Romans 9:31, Romans 9:32, Romans 10:2, Romans 10:3, Hebrews 4:2

Reciprocal: Jeremiah 9:25 - that Ezekiel 3:21 - if thou 2 Corinthians 11:29 - and I burn Galatians 2:21 - righteousness Galatians 4:11 - lest Ephesians 3:1 - I Philippians 3:7 - General Colossians 2:19 - not Philemon 1:19 - I Paul

Cross-References

Genesis 2:15
God took the Man and set him down in the Garden of Eden to work the ground and keep it in order.
Genesis 2:23
The Man said, "Finally! Bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh! Name her Woman for she was made from Man." Therefore a man leaves his father and mother and embraces his wife. They become one flesh. The two of them, the Man and his Wife, were naked, but they felt no shame.
Matthew 19:4
He answered, "Haven't you read in your Bible that the Creator originally made man and woman for each other, male and female? And because of this, a man leaves father and mother and is firmly bonded to his wife, becoming one flesh—no longer two bodies but one. Because God created this organic union of the two sexes, no one should desecrate his art by cutting them apart."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Behold, I Paul say unto you,.... The apostle proceeds to give some reasons and arguments to enforce the above exhortation and dissuasion: the first of which is introduced with a note of attention, "behold"; what he was about to say being matter of great moment and importance; and also mentions himself by name, as the assertor of it; and that, either because his name was well known to them, and the rather because of his apostolical authority; and to show his full assurance of this matter, and his intrepidity, and that he was no ways ashamed of it, they might, if they pleased, say it to whomsoever they would, that Paul the apostle affirmed,

that if ye be circumcised Christ shall profit you nothing: he speaks of circumcision, not as when it was an ordinance of God, but as it was now abolished by Christ; and that got as singly performed on some certain accounts for he himself circumcised Timothy for the sake of the Jews; but as done in order to salvation, or as necessary unto it; which was the doctrine the false apostles taught and these Galatians were ready to give into: now circumcision submitted to on this consideration, and with this view rendered Christ unprofitable, made his death to be in vain, his sacrifice of no effect, and his righteousness useless: besides, Christ is a whole Saviour, or none at all; to join anything with him and his righteousness, in the business of justification and salvation, is interpreted by him as a contempt and neglect of him, as laying him aside, and to such persons he is of no profit; and if he is not, what they have, and whatsoever they do, will be of no advantage; wealth and riches, yea, the whole world could it be gained, their works and righteousness, whatever show they make before men, God has declared shall not profit them; and trusting to these renders Christ unprofitable to them. This is directly contrary to the notions of the Jews, who think they shall be saved for their circumcision, and that that will secure them from hell; they say m no circumcised person goes down to hell, and that whoever is circumcised shall inherit the land; but there is none shall inherit the land, save a righteous person; but everyone that is circumcised is called a righteous man n; so that circumcision is their righteousness, on account of which they expect heaven and happiness.

m Shemot Rabba, sect. 19. fol. 104. 4. n Zohar in Exod. fol. 10. 2.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Behold, I Paul say unto you - I, who at first preached the gospel to you; I, too, who have been circumcised, and who was formerly a strenuous assertor of the necessity of observing the laws of Moses; and I, too, who am charged (see Galatians 5:11) with still preaching the necessity of circumcision, now solemnly say to you, that if you are circumcised with a view to being justified by that in whole or in part, it amounts to a rejection of the doctrine of justification by Christ, and an entire apostacy from him. He is to be “a whole Saviour.” No one is to share with him in the honor of saving people; and no rite, no custom, no observance of law, is to divide the honor with his death. The design of Paul is to give them the most solemn assurance on this point; and by his own authority and experience to guard them from the danger, and to put the matter to rest.

That if ye be circumcised - This must be understood with reference to the subject under consideration. If you are circumcised with such a view as is maintained by the false teachers that have come among you; that is, with an idea that it is necessary in order to your justification. He evidently did not mean that if any of them had been circumcised before their conversion to Christianity; nor could he mean to say, that circumcision in all cases amounted to a rejection of Christianity, for he had himself procured the circumcision of Timothy, Acts 16:3. If it was done, as it was then, for prudential considerations, and with a wish not necessarily to irritate the Jews, and to give one a more ready access to them, it was not to be regarded as wrong. But if, as the false teachers in Galatia claimed, as a thing essential to salvation, as indispensable to justification and acceptance with God, then the matter assumed a different aspect; and then it became in fact a renouncing of Christ as himself sufficient to save us. So with anything else. Rites and ceremonies in religion may be in themselves well enough, if they are held to be matters not essential; but the moment they are regarded as vital and essential, that moment they begin to infringe on the doctrine of justification by faith alone, and that moment they are to be rejected; and it is because of the danger that this will be the case, that they are to be used sparingly in the Christian church. Who does not know the danger of depending upon prayers, and alms, and the sacraments, and extreme unction, and penance, and empty forms for salvation? And who does not know how much in the papal communion the great doctrine of justification has been obscured by numberless such rites and forms?

Christ shall profit you nothing - Will be of no advantage to you. Your dependence on circumcision, in these circumstances, will in fact amount to a rejection of the Saviour, and of the doctrine of justification by him.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Galatians 5:2. If ye be circumcised — By circumcision you take on you the whole obligation of the Jewish law, and consequently profess to seek salvation by means of its observances; and therefore Christ can profit you nothing; for, by seeking justification by the works of the law, you renounce justification by faith in Christ.


 
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