Have not I reason to glory? for now I shall mention my visions and revelations from the Lord.

I have known a man in Christ, fourteen years ago -- whether in the body I have not known, whether out of the body I have not known, God hath known -- such an one being caught away unto the third heaven;

and I have known such a man -- whether in the body, whether out of the body, I have not known, God hath known, --

On account of such a one I will have glory: for myself I will take no glory, but only in my feeble body.

(If I did care to boast of other things, I would be no 'fool,' for I would have a true tale to tell; however, I abstain from that ??I want no one to take me for more than he can see in me or make out from me.)

and lest I should be exalted above measure by the extraordinary revelations I have had, I was afflicted in my person, so that the messenger of satan insulted me; concerning which,

Three times I have prayed to the Lord about this, begging that it might leave me,

but he told me, "It is enough for you to have my grace: it is in weakness that [my] power is fully felt." So I am proud to boast of all my weakness, and thus to have the power of Christ resting on my life.

I take pleasure then in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am afflicted, then it is I have fortitude.

I am become a fool??ou have forced me to; for you yourselves ought to have been my vindicators. In no respect am I inferior to these superapostolic apostles, even though I am nothing.

the marks indeed of an apostle I have shown among you by my extreme patience, by signs, and prodigies, and miracles.

For in what is it that ye have been inferior to the other assemblies, unless that I myself have not been in laziness a charge upon you? Forgive me this injury.

It is now the third time that I have been ready to come to see you, and I will never ask you for financial support, for it is not your money but you yourselves that I want; for children are not by duty bound to lay up money for their parents, but parents for their children.

I shall be glad to sacrifice myself and all I have for your service, even tho' it should happen that the more I love you, the less I should be beloved.

Now granted, I have not burdened you; yet sly as I am, I took you in by deceit!

Was there, anyone of those whom I have sent unto you, through whom I have overreached you?

I begged Titus, and sent the brother with him: did Titus at all make gain of you? have we not walked in the same spirit? have we not in the same steps?

You have thought all along that we were defending ourselves to you. No, in the sight of God we are speaking in Christ, and everything, dear friends, is for building you up.

For I have a fear that, when I come, you may not be answering to my desire, and that I may not be answering to yours; that there may be fighting, hate, angry feeling, divisions, evil talk about others, secrets, thoughts of pride, outbursts against authority;

and lest when I come again my God may humble me before you, and lest I shall mourn for many those who have sinned before, and have not repented of the impurity and immorality and wantonness which they have practised.

I have said formerly, and I now forewarn you as when I was present the second time, so now when I am absent the second time, so now when I am absent, saying to those who had sinned before, and to all the rest, "If I come again, I will not spare,"

That will prove to you that I am indeed a spokesman of Christ. It is no weak Christ you have to do with, but a Christ of power.

And I hope that you will realize that we have not failed the test!

Now we pray to God that you may not do anything wrong, not so that we may appear to have passed the test, but so that you may do what is right even if we may appear to have failed the test.

For I have no power against the truth, but only in defense of the truth.

For this reason I am writing thus while absent, so that when I come, I may not have to deal sharply, according to the authority which the Lord gave me for building up, and not for pulling down.

Now brothers, goodbye; mend your ways, listen to what I have told you, live in harmony, keep the peace; then the God of love and peace will be with you.

May you have unearned favor and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ,

whom be glory for ever and ever. amen. I wonder you have so soon deserted unto another gospel,

I wonder that you have so quickly turned away from him that called you in the grace of Christ to another gospel,

But even if we, or an angel from heaven, were to be a preacher to you of good news other than that which we have given you, let there be a curse on him.

I have said it before, and I now repeat it, if any one is preaching a gospel to you other than that which you have received, let him be accursed.

for do I now act in obedience to men, or to God? or do I seek to please men? if I had hitherto pleased men, I should not have been the servant of Christ.

For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel I preach is not man-made;

For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how furiously I used to persecute the church of God, and how I kept seeking to root it out;

I advanced in the Jewish religion beyond many of my contemporaries among my countrymen. I have been extremely more zealous in advocating the traditions [taught] by my forefathers.

But only they had heard that he who persecuted us before, now preacheth the faith which he formerly would have destroyed.

(I went up at that time in obedience to a revelation). And I laid before them the gospel which I am wont to preach among the Gentiles. I did this privately before those in authority, lest by any means I should be running, or should already have run, in vain.

And that because of the false brothers let in secretly, who came searching out our free condition which we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might make servants of us;

to whom not even for an hour have we yielded subjection, that the truth of the gospel might abide with you.

but, on the contrary, having seen that I have been entrusted with the good news of the uncircumcision, as Peter with that of the circumcision,

Only, we were to remember the poor, and that I have taken pains to do.

But when I saw that they were not acting consistently with the truth of the gospel, I told Cephas in front of everyone, "Though you are a Jew, you have been living like a gentile and not like a Jew. So how can you insist that the gentiles must live like Jews?"

Although we are Jews by natural birth, and not sinful Gentiles [who do not have a relationship with God],

"yet because we know that no man is justified by the works of the Law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, we ourselves also have put our faith in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the Law; for "By the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified."

But if while seeking to be justified in Christ we ourselves also have been found to be sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? Far from it!

on the contrary, if I re-establish what I have demolish'd, I show myself a prevaricator.

For I, through the law, have become dead to the law, so that I might be living to God.

I have been crucified with Christ, so it is no longer I who am living, but it is Christ who is living in me; and the life I am now living in the flesh, I am living in faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself up for me.

O foolish Galatians, by what strange powers have you been tricked, to whom it was made clear that Jesus Christ was put to death on the cross?

This only I wish to learn of you, Have ye received the Spirit on the principle of works of law, or of the report of faith?

have you so little understanding, as having begun in the spiritual doctrine of the gospel, to turn again to the law?

Did you have such experience to no purpose??f indeed it was really to no purpose?

then understand that those who have faith are Abraham’s sons.

And the holy Writings, seeing before the event that God would give the Gentiles righteousness by faith, gave the good news before to Abraham, saying, In you will all the nations have a blessing.

So then those who are of faith have a part in the blessing of Abraham who was full of faith.

but a curse rests on those who have their root in the works of the Law; for it is written. Cursed is every one that continues not in all the things written in the Book of the Law, to do them.

That no one is accepted as upright by God for obeying the Law is evident because the upright will have life because of his faith,

And the law is not of faith; but, He who does them will have life by them.

So that on the Gentiles might come the blessing of Abraham in Christ Jesus; in order that we through faith might have the Spirit which God had undertaken to give.

Brothers, as men would say, even a man's agreement, when it has been made certain, may not be put on one side, or have additions made to it.

Is the Law then opposed to the promises of God? Certainly not; for if a law had been given which could make alive, then righteousness would actually have come from law;

but the Scripture has shut up the whole world in prison together under sin, in order that the promise due to faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who have faith.

So the law has been a servant to take us to Christ, so that we might have righteousness by faith.

For all of you who were baptized into Christ, have clothed yourselves with Christ.

All distinctions between Jew and Greek, slave and freeman, male and female, have vanished; for in union with Christ Jesus you are all one.

so that He might redeem and liberate those who were under the Law, that we [who believe] might be adopted as sons [as God’s children with all rights as fully grown members of a family].

But once, when you Gentiles had no knowledge of God, you were slaves to gods which have no real being.

Now, however, when you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you are beginning to turn back to those weak and beggarly externalities, eager to be in bondage to them again?

Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid for you, lest I have laboured upon you in vain.

I am alarmed about you for fear lest I may have bestowed labor on you to no purpose.

Brothers, I beseech you, become as I am, because I also have become as you are. You never did me any wrong;

But you have knowledge that with a feeble body I was preaching the good news to you the first time;

And you did not have a poor opinion of me because of the trouble in my flesh, or put shame on it; but you took me to your hearts as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.

Why then did you account yourselves so happy? (For I bear you witness that if you could you would have torn out your own eyes and given them to me.)

So then, your enemy, have I become, by dealing truthfully with you?

they court your affection, but not in a fair way; for they design to exclude me, that you might have the greater esteem for them.

It is always an honorable thing to have your favor sought in an honorable cause, always, and not only when I am with you.

my children, of whom I again travail in birth until Christ shall have been formed in you:

Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law: have ye not heard of the law?

Which things have a secret sense; because these women are the two agreements; one from the mountain of Sinai, giving birth to servants, which is Hagar.

For it is in the Writings, You who have never given birth, be glad; give cries of joy, you who have had no birth-pains; for the children of her who has been given up by her husband are more than those of the woman who has a husband.

What then do the Writings say? Send away the servant-woman and her son; for the son of the servant-woman will not have a part in the heritage with the son of the free woman.

It was for this freedom that Christ set us free [completely liberating us]; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery [which you once removed].

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

You are cut off from Christ, you who would have righteousness by the law; you are turned away from grace.

*We* have not, for through the Spirit we wait with longing hope for an acceptance with God which is to come through faith.

I have confidence in you however through the Lord,

As for me, I am fully trusting you in the Lord that you will be no otherwise minded; but he who is trying to unsettle you will have to bear his punishment, whoever he may be.

Would to God that those who are trying to unsettle you would even have themselves mutilated.

For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.

For all the law is made complete in one word, even in this, Have love for your neighbour as for yourself.

This is what I have to say--Let your steps be guided by the Spirit, and then you will never gratify the cravings of your earthly nature.

For the flesh has desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; because these are opposite the one to the other; so that you may not do the things which you have a mind to do.

envy, drunkenness, revellings, and things like these. I tell you beforehand, as I have already told you, that those who practise such sins shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

And those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and appetites.

If we [claim to] live by the [Holy] Spirit, we must also walk by the Spirit [with personal integrity, godly character, and moral courage—our conduct empowered by the Holy Spirit].

let us have no vanity, no provoking, no envy of one another.

Let each one test his own work, and he will then have something to be proud of by comparing himself with himself, and not with any one else;

For each person will have to carry his own load.