Galatians 5:2
New International Version
Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all.

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.

English Standard Version
Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you.

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.

Berean Literal Bible
Behold, I Paul say to you that if you shall become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing.

King James Bible
Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.

New King James Version
Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing.

New American Standard Bible
Look! I, Paul, tell you that if you have yourselves circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you.

NASB 1995
Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you.

NASB 1977
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.

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].

Christian Standard Bible
Take note! I, Paul, am telling you that if you get yourselves circumcised, Christ will not benefit you at all.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Take note! I, Paul, tell you that if you get yourselves circumcised, Christ will not benefit you at all.

American Standard Version
Behold, I Paul say unto you, that, if ye receive circumcision, Christ will profit you nothing.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
Behold, I Paul say to you that if you will be circumcised, The Messiah profits you nothing.

Contemporary English Version
I, Paul, promise you that Christ won't do you any good if you get circumcised.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Behold, I Paul tell you, that if you be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.

English Revised Version
Behold, I Paul say unto you, that, if ye receive circumcision, Christ will profit you nothing.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
I, Paul, can guarantee that if you allow yourselves to be 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.

International Standard Version
Listen! I, Paul, am telling you that if you allow yourselves to be circumcised, the Messiah will be of no benefit to you.

Literal Standard Version
Behold! I, Paul, say to you, that if you are [to be] circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing;

Majority 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.

New American Bible
It is I, Paul, who am telling you that if you have yourselves circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you.

NET Bible
Listen! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you at all!

New Revised Standard Version
Listen! I, Paul, am telling you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you.

New Heart English Bible
Listen, I, Paul, tell 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.

Weymouth New Testament
Remember that it is I Paul who tell you that if you receive circumcision Christ will avail you nothing.

World English Bible
Behold, I, Paul, tell you that if you receive circumcision, 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;

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Freedom in Christ
1It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be encumbered once more by a yoke of slavery. 2Take notice: I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. 3Again I testify to every man who gets himself circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law.…

Cross References
Acts 15:1
Then some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved."

Acts 15:5
But some believers from the party of the Pharisees stood up and declared, "The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses."

2 Corinthians 10:1
Now by the mildness and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you--I, Paul, who am humble when face to face with you, but bold when away.

Galatians 5:3
Again I testify to every man who gets himself circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law.

Galatians 5:6
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. All that matters is faith, expressed through love.

Philemon 1:19
I, Paul, write this with my own hand. I will repay it--not to mention that you owe me your very self.


Treasury of Scripture

Behold, I Paul say to you, that if you be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.

I Paul.

1 Corinthians 16:21
The salutation of me Paul with mine own hand.

2 Corinthians 10:1
Now I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who in presence am base among you, but being absent am bold toward you:

1 Thessalonians 2:18
Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us.

that.

Galatians 5:4,6
Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace…

Galatians 2:3-5
But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised: …

Acts 15:1,24
And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved…

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Advantage Avail Benefit Christ Circumcised Circumcision Mark Paul Profit Receive Remember Undergo Use Value Words Yourselves
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Advantage Avail Benefit Christ Circumcised Circumcision Mark Paul Profit Receive Remember Undergo Use Value Words Yourselves
Galatians 5
1. He wills them to stand in their liberty,
3. and not to observe circumcision;
13. but rather love, which is the sum of the law.
19. He lists the works of the flesh,
22. and the fruits of the Spirit,
25. and exhorts to walk in the Spirit.














(2-6) There can be no compromise between Christianity and Judaism. If you accept the one you must give up the other. Circumcision is a pledge or engagement to live by the rule of the Law. That rule must be taken as a whole. You are committed to the practice of the whole Law, and in that way alone you must seek for justification. Our position is something quite different. We hope to be admitted into a state of righteousness through the action of the Spirit on God's side, and through faith on our own. The Christian owes the righteousness attributed to him, not to circumcision, but to a life of which faith is the motive and love the law.

The whole tenor of the Epistle shows that the Apostle viewed the attempts of the Judaising party with indignation; and at this point his language takes a more than usually stern and imperative tone. He speaks with the full weight of his apostolic authority, and warns the Galatians that no half-measures will avail, but that they must decide, once for all, either to give up Judaism or Christ.

This is one of the passages which have been insisted on as proving a direct antagonism between St. Paul and the other Apostles; but any one who enters into the thought of the Apostle, and follows the course of his impassioned reasoning, will see how unnecessary any such assumption is. Nothing is more in accordance with human nature than that the same man should at one time agree to the amicable compromise of Acts 15, and at another, some years later, with the field all to himself, and only his own converts to deal with, should allow freer scope to his own convictions. He is speaking with feelings highly roused, and with less regard to considerations of policy. Besides, the march of events had been rapid, and the principles of policy themselves would naturally change.

(2) Behold, I Paul.--The strong personality of the Apostle asserts itself; instead of going into an elaborate proof, he speaks with dogmatic authority, as though his bare word were enough.

Shall profit you nothing.--"Profit," i.e., in the way of justification, as producing that state of righteousness in the sight of God by virtue of which the believer is released from wrath and received into the divine favour. The Apostle says that if this state of justification is sought through circumcision, it cannot be sought through Christ at the same time.

Verse 2. - Behold, I Paul say unto you (ἴδε, ἐγὼ Παῦλος λώγω ὑμῖν); lo, I Paul say unto you. The adverbial exclamation ἴδε, found in St. Paul's writings only here (in Romans 2:17 it should be εἰ δὲ), seems to be more abrupt than ἰδού, pointing to the immense importance and yet possibly unexpected character of what follows. The Galatians might be surprised to hear it; but that which they seemed disposed to take in hand was fraught with utter ruin. "I, Paul:" he thus puts forward his personality, as solemnly gaging his whole credit and responsibility upon the truth of that which he is about to affirm. The turn of thought is somewhat different in 2 Corinthians 10:1 and Ephesians 3:1. There is no reason to suppose that he is glancing at the use which might have already been made or might be made of the fact of his having himself circumcised Timothy. That if ye be circumcised (ὅτι ἐὰν περιτέμνησθε); that if ye set about having yourselves circumcised. The present tense is used also in the next verse and in Galatians 6:12, 13; 1 Corinthians 7:18. Compare the present tense, δικαιοῦσθε, in ver. 4. In Acts 15:1 the πωειτέμνηαθε of the Textus Receptus is replaced by recent editors by περιτμηθῆτε, which is better suited to the posture of mind of those Pharisee Christians who had in view the abhorrent uncleanness attaching, as they considered, to those described as ἀκροβυστίαν ἔχοντες (Acts 11:3); upon whom themselves the Jews fastened the epithet of ἀκροβυστία, not as a mere colourless anti-theton to περιτομή, but as a selected term of reproach as objects of offence and disgust. The apostle, on the other hand, is here not thinking of outward corporeal condition; for he presently (ver. 6) affirms that in Christ Jesus it mattered nothing whether a man were in περιτομὴ or in ἀκροβυστία, as indeed he proved to be his feeling by circumcising Timothy (Acts 16:3). It is the posture of mind that the apostle-is thinking of exclusively. What was this? The very warning of this verse shows, that, in wishing for circumcision, these Galatians did not intend to withdraw from Christ; and it appears from the next verse that they did not, either, contemplate the doing of the whole Law. But then, too, the fourth verse, in which apparently the apostle means to explain and justify the assertion of this second verse, indicates that they sought circumcision with the view of being justified by the Law; not, as has just been remarked, by obeying the whole Law, but by submitting themselves to the Law so far as undergoing this one rite prescribed by it. The conclusion to be drawn from these premisses is that what the apostle means is this: If ye have yourselves circumcised with the view of thereby obtaining righteousness before God, ye forfeit all hope of receiving benefit from Christ (see note on Galatians 4:10). In comparing the present passage with Galatians 6:12, 13, we observe that, while here he is dealing with those who sought circumcision with the view of assuring their righteousness before God, he is there referring to persons actuated by an altogether different set of motives. Christ shall profit you nothing (Ξριστὸς ὑμᾶς οὐδὲν ὠφωλήσει). "The future tense marks the certain result of their being circumcised: 'Christ (as you will find) will never profit you anything'" (Bishop Ellicott). The future time is not, in particular, for example, the time of Christ's second coming; but that which follows upon their receiving circumcision - the hour in which their distrust in Christ eventuated in the overt act of having themselves circumcised for the purpose of gaining righteousness thereby, would decisively cut them off from Christ. Their circumcision would be for them the sacrament of excision from Christ. We may compare with this the awful passage referring to the consequences accruing to Jewish Christians from their relapsing to Judaism, in Hebrews 10:26-30. It is difficult to overestimate the importance of this passage, in determining the relation between trust in Christ's atonement and participation in the benefits of that atonement. It is at his extreme peril that a Christian allows himself in misgivings as to whether Christ's mediation is all-sufficient for the securing of his peace with God and his part in God's kingdom. It is by reliance upon Christ's work that his salvation through Christ is secured; by distrust in it his salvation is brought into peril; by definite unbelief his salvation is forfeited. This is in perfect accordance with the apostolic doctrine in general; but rarely is it so strongly and incisively asserted as it is here.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
Take notice:
Ἴδε (Ide)
Verb - Aorist Imperative Active - 2nd Person Singular
Strong's 2400: See! Lo! Behold! Look! Second person singular imperative middle voice of eido; used as imperative lo!

I,
ἐγὼ (egō)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Nominative 1st Person Singular
Strong's 1473: I, the first-person pronoun. A primary pronoun of the first person I.

Paul,
Παῦλος (Paulos)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3972: Paul, Paulus. Of Latin origin; Paulus, the name of a Roman and of an apostle.

tell
λέγω (legō)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular
Strong's 3004: (a) I say, speak; I mean, mention, tell, (b) I call, name, especially in the pass., (c) I tell, command.

you
ὑμῖν (hymin)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Dative 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 4771: You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou.

that
ὅτι (hoti)
Conjunction
Strong's 3754: Neuter of hostis as conjunction; demonstrative, that; causative, because.

if
ἐὰν (ean)
Conjunction
Strong's 1437: If. From ei and an; a conditional particle; in case that, provided, etc.

you let yourselves be circumcised,
περιτέμνησθε (peritemnēsthe)
Verb - Present Subjunctive Middle or Passive - 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 4059: To cut around, circumcise. From peri and the base of tomoteros; to cut around, i.e. to circumcise.

Christ
Χριστὸς (Christos)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 5547: Anointed One; the Messiah, the Christ. From chrio; Anointed One, i.e. The Messiah, an epithet of Jesus.

will be of no value
ὠφελήσει (ōphelēsei)
Verb - Future Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 5623: To help, benefit, do good, be useful (to), profit. From the same as opheleia; to be useful, i.e. To benefit.

to you {at all}.
ὑμᾶς (hymas)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Accusative 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 4771: You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou.


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NT Letters: Galatians 5:2 Behold I Paul tell you that if (Gal. Ga)
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