NET Bible | New Living Translation |
1From Paul, an apostle (not from men, nor by human agency, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead) | 1This letter is from Paul, an apostle. I was not appointed by any group of people or any human authority, but by Jesus Christ himself and by God the Father, who raised Jesus from the dead. |
2and all the brothers with me, to the churches of Galatia. | 2All the brothers and sisters here join me in sending this letter to the churches of Galatia. |
3Grace and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, | 3May God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. |
4who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age according to the will of our God and Father, | 4Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live. |
5to whom be glory forever and ever! Amen. | 5All glory to God forever and ever! Amen. There Is Only One Good News |
6I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are following a different gospel-- | 6I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ. You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News |
7not that there really is another gospel, but there are some who are disturbing you and wanting to distort the gospel of Christ. | 7but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ. |
8But even if we (or an angel from heaven) should preach a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be condemned to hell! | 8Let God’s curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you. |
9As we have said before, and now I say again, if any one is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let him be condemned to hell! | 9I say again what we have said before: If anyone preaches any other Good News than the one you welcomed, let that person be cursed. |
10Am I now trying to gain the approval of people, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a slave of Christ! | 10Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant. Paul’s Message Comes from Christ |
11Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. | 11Dear brothers and sisters, I want you to understand that the gospel message I preach is not based on mere human reasoning. |
12For I did not receive it or learn it from any human source; instead I received it by a revelation of Jesus Christ. | 12I received my message from no human source, and no one taught me. Instead, I received it by direct revelation from Jesus Christ. |
13For you have heard of my former way of life in Judaism, how I was savagely persecuting the church of God and trying to destroy it. | 13You know what I was like when I followed the Jewish religion—how I violently persecuted God’s church. I did my best to destroy it. |
14I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my nation, and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my ancestors. | 14I was far ahead of my fellow Jews in my zeal for the traditions of my ancestors. |
15But when the one who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace was pleased | 15But even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous grace. Then it pleased him |
16to reveal his Son in me so that I could preach him among the Gentiles, I did not go to ask advice from any human being, | 16to reveal his Son to me so that I would proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles. When this happened, I did not rush out to consult with any human being. |
17nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before me, but right away I departed to Arabia, and then returned to Damascus. | 17Nor did I go up to Jerusalem to consult with those who were apostles before I was. Instead, I went away into Arabia, and later I returned to the city of Damascus. |
18Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and get information from him, and I stayed with him fifteen days. | 18Then three years later I went to Jerusalem to get to know Peter, and I stayed with him for fifteen days. |
19But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord's brother. | 19The only other apostle I met at that time was James, the Lord’s brother. |
20I assure you that, before God, I am not lying about what I am writing to you! | 20I declare before God that what I am writing to you is not a lie. |
21Afterward I went to the regions of Syria and Cilicia. | 21After that visit I went north into the provinces of Syria and Cilicia. |
22But I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. | 22And still the churches in Christ that are in Judea didn’t know me personally. |
23They were only hearing, "The one who once persecuted us is now proclaiming the good news of the faith he once tried to destroy." | 23All they knew was that people were saying, “The one who used to persecute us is now preaching the very faith he tried to destroy!” |
24So they glorified God because of me. | 24And they praised God because of me. |
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