Galatians 5:3

THE MESSAGE

Parallel Translations

Easy-to-Read Version
Again, I warn everyone: If you allow yourselves to be circumcised, then you must follow the whole law.

Revised Standard Version
I testify again to every man who receives circumcision that he is bound to keep the whole law.

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
I testifie agayne to every man which is circumcised that he is bounde to kepe the whole lawe.

Hebrew Names Version
Yes, I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.

New American Standard Bible
And I testify again to every man who has himself circumcised, that he is obligated to keep the whole Law.

New Century Version
Again, I warn every man: If you allow yourselves to be circumcised, you must follow all the law.

Update Bible Version
Yes, I testify again to every man that receives circumcision, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.

Webster's Bible Translation
For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.

English Standard Version
I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law.

World English Bible
Yes, I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, he is a debtor to do the whole law.

Weymouth's New Testament
I once more protest to every man who receives circumcision that he is under obligation to obey the whole Law of Moses.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Y witnesse eftsoones to ech man that circumcidith hym silf, that he is dettour of al the lawe to be don.

English Revised Version
Yea, I testify again to every man that receiveth circumcision, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.

Berean Standard Bible
Again I testify to every man who gets himself circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law.

Contemporary English Version
If you do, you must obey the whole Law.

Amplified Bible
Once more I solemnly affirm to every man who receives circumcision [as a supposed requirement of salvation], that he is under obligation and required to keep the whole Law.

American Standard Version
Yea, I testify again to every man that receiveth circumcision, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.

Bible in Basic English
Yes, I give witness again to every man who undergoes circumcision, that he will have to keep all the law.

Complete Jewish Bible
Again, I warn you: any man who undergoes b'rit-milah is obligated to observe the entire Torah!

Darby Translation
And I witness again to every man [who is] circumcised, that he is debtor to do the whole law.

International Standard Version
Again, I insisttestify">[fn] that everyone who allows himself to be circumcised is obligated to obey the entire law.Galatians 3:10;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
But I attest again to every man who is circumcised, that he is obligated to fulfil the whole law.

Murdock Translation
And again, I testify to every one who becometh circumcised, that he is bound to fulfill the whole law.

King James Version (1611)
For I testifie againe to euery man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to doe the whole Law.

New Living Translation
I'll say it again. If you are trying to find favor with God by being circumcised, you must obey every regulation in the whole law of Moses.

New Life Bible
I say it again. Every man who has the religious act of becoming a Jew done on him must obey every Law.

New Revised Standard
Once again I testify to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obliged to obey the entire law.

Geneva Bible (1587)
For I testifie againe to euery man, which is circumcised, that he is bound to keepe the whole Lawe.

George Lamsa Translation
For I testify again to every man who is circumcised, that he is under obligation to fulfill the whole law.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Yea, I bear solemn witness again, unto every man getting circumcised, - that he is, a debtor, to do, the whole law.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And I testify again to every man circumcising himself that he is a debtor to do the whole law.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
For I testifie agayne to euery man which is circumcised, that he is a detter to do the whole lawe.

Good News Translation
Once more I warn any man who allows himself to be circumcised that he is obliged to obey the whole Law.

Christian Standard Bible®
Again I testify to every man who gets himself circumcised that he is obligated to do the entire law.

King James Version
For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.

Lexham English Bible
And again I testify to every man who becomes circumcised, that he is under obligation to keep the whole law.

Literal Translation
And I testify again to every man being circumcised, that he is a debtor to do all the Law,

Young's Literal Translation
and I testify again to every man circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
I testifye agayne vnto euery man which is circumcysed, that he is bounde to kepe the whole lawe.

Mace New Testament (1729)
for I testify to every man that is circumcised, that he is under an obligation to perform the whole law.

New English Translation
And I testify again to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law.

New King James Version
And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law.

Simplified Cowboy Version
I've said it once and I'll say it again, any cowboy who tries to go by one part of the Law must obey every part of the Law—every twist, turn, nook, and cranny.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law.

Legacy Standard Bible
And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law.

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

testify: Deuteronomy 8:19, Deuteronomy 31:21, Nehemiah 9:29, Nehemiah 9:30, Nehemiah 9:34, Luke 16:28, Acts 2:40, Acts 20:21, Ephesians 4:17, 1 Thessalonians 4:6, 1 John 4:14

a debtor: Galatians 3:10, Deuteronomy 27:26, Matthew 23:16, Matthew 23:18,*Gr: James 2:10, James 2:11

Reciprocal: Genesis 17:10 - Every Leviticus 12:3 - General Nehemiah 13:15 - I testified Acts 13:39 - from which Romans 2:25 - circumcision Romans 9:31 - hath Romans 10:3 - to establish Galatians 5:6 - in 1 Timothy 1:7 - to

Cross-References

Genesis 4:25
Adam slept with his wife again. She had a son whom she named Seth. She said, "God has given me another child in place of Abel whom Cain killed." And then Seth had a son whom he named Enosh. That's when men and women began praying and worshiping in the name of God .

Genesis 5:3
When Adam was 130 years old, he had a son who was just like him, his very spirit and image, and named him Seth. After the birth of Seth, Adam lived another 800 years, having more sons and daughters. Adam lived a total of 930 years. And he died.

Luke 1:35
The angel answered, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, the power of the Highest hover over you; Therefore, the child you bring to birth will be called Holy, Son of God.

Romans 5:12
You know the story of how Adam landed us in the dilemma we're in—first sin, then death, and no one exempt from either sin or death. That sin disturbed relations with God in everything and everyone, but the extent of the disturbance was not clear until God spelled it out in detail to Moses. So death, this huge abyss separating us from God, dominated the landscape from Adam to Moses. Even those who didn't sin precisely as Adam did by disobeying a specific command of God still had to experience this termination of life, this separation from God. But Adam, who got us into this, also points ahead to the One who will get us out of it.

1 Corinthians 15:39
You will notice that the variety of bodies is stunning. Just as there are different kinds of seeds, there are different kinds of bodies—humans, animals, birds, fish—each unprecedented in its form. You get a hint at the diversity of resurrection glory by looking at the diversity of bodies not only on earth but in the skies—sun, moon, stars—all these varieties of beauty and brightness. And we're only looking at pre-resurrection "seeds"—who can imagine what the resurrection "plants" will be like!

Gill's Notes on the Bible

For I testify again to every man,.... This is the form of an oath, a calling God to witness, swearing by the living God, and declaring as in his presence to every man, whether Jew or Gentile, whoever he be:

that is circumcised; in order to obtain salvation, and as necessary to it:

that he is a debtor to do the whole law; and this it is that made circumcision an insupportable yoke, for that itself might be bore, and was bore by children of eight days old; but the fulfilling of the whole law cannot be done by any man; and yet everyone that is circumcised, in order to procure righteousness and life, is bound to keep the whole law; because the law is only his righteousness, when he observes all that is required in it, and as the Lord has commanded; if he does not, he is pronounced accursed: and this proves what was before said, that Christ is of no profit to such persons; because they reject him and his righteousness, and, as much as in them lie, make void his obedience, sufferings, and death: hence the same thing is repeated, though not in the same words, in the next verse.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

For I testify again - Probably he had stated this when he had preached the gospel to them first, and he now solemnly bears witness to the same thing again. Bloomfield, however, supposes that the word “again” here (πάλιν palin) means, on the other hand, or, “furthermore,” or, as we would say, “and again.”

That he is a debtor to do the whole law - He binds himself to obey all the Law of Moses. Circumcision was the distinguishing badge of the Jews, as baptism is of Christians. A man, therefore, who became circumcised became a professor of the Jewish religion, and bound himself to obey all its special laws. This must be understood, of course, with reference to the point under discussion; and means, if he did it with a view to justification, or as a thing that was necessary and binding. It would not apply to such a case as that of Timothy, where it was a matter of mere expediency or prudence; see the note at Galatians 5:2.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Galatians 5:3. He is a debtor to do the whole law. — Lays himself, by receiving circumcision, under the obligation to fulfil all its precepts, ordinances, &c.