So that we may be able to go on and take the good news to countries still farther away than you are, and not take credit for another man's work in making things ready to our hand.

But I have a fear, that in some way, as Eve was tricked by the deceit of the snake, your minds may be turned away from their simple and holy love for Christ.

For in my opinion, I am in no way less than the most important of the Apostles.

Or did I do wrong in making myself low so that you might be lifted up, because I gave you the good news of God without reward?

I took money from other churches as payment for my work, so that I might be your servant;

But what I do, that I will go on doing, so that I may give no chance to those who are looking for one; so that, in the cause of their pride, they may be seen to be the same as we are.

I say again, Let me not seem foolish to anyone; but if I do, put up with me as such, so that I may take a little glory to myself.

Seeing that there are those who take credit to themselves after the flesh, I will do the same.

Are they servants of Christ? (I am talking foolishly) I am more so; I have had more experience of hard work, of prisons, of blows more than measure, of death.

In addition to all the other things, there is that which comes on me every day, the care of all the churches.

The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be praise for ever, is witness that the things which I say are true.

For if I had a desire to take credit to myself, it would not be foolish, for I would be saying what is true: but I will not, for fear that I might seem to any man more than he sees me to be, or has word from me that I am.

And because the revelations were so very great, in order that I might not be overmuch lifted up, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, one sent from Satan to give me pain.

And about this thing I made request to the Lord three times that it might be taken away from me.

And he said to me, My grace is enough for you, for my power is made complete in what is feeble. Most gladly, then, will I take pride in my feeble body, so that the power of Christ may be on me.

I have been forced by you to become foolish, though it was right for my praise to have come from you: for in no way was I less than the chief of the Apostles, though I am nothing.

For what is there in which you were made less than the other churches, but in the one thing that I was not a trouble to you? Let me have forgiveness for this wrong.

This is now the third time that I am ready to come to you; and I will not be a trouble to you: my desire is for you, not for your property: for it is not the children's business to make store for their fathers, but the fathers for the children.

But let it be so, that I was not a trouble to you myself; but (someone may say) being false, I took you with deceit.

It may seem to you that all this time we have been attempting to put ourselves in the right; but we are saying these things before God in Christ. For all things, dear brothers, are for your profit.

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 that when I come again, my God may put me to shame among you, and I may have grief for those who have done wrong before and have had no regret for their unclean ways, and for the evil desires of the flesh to which they have given way.

This is the third time that I am coming to you. From the mouth of two or three witnesses will every word be made certain.

I said before, and still say it before I come, as being present for the second time, though I am still away from you, to those who have done wrong before, and to all the others, that if I come again I will not have pity;

Seeing that you are looking for a sign of Christ giving out his word in me; who is not feeble in relation to you, but is strong in you:

For he was feeble in that he was put to death on the cross, but he is living by the power of God. And we are feeble in him, but we will be living with him through the power of God in relation to you.

Make a test of yourselves, if you are in the faith; make certain of yourselves. Or are you not conscious in yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you, if you are truly Christ's?

But it is my hope that you will have no doubt that we are truly Christ's.

Now our prayer to God is that you may do no evil; not in order that it may be put to our credit, but so that you may do what is right, whatever we may seem.

For we are glad when we are feeble and you are strong: and this is our prayer, even that you may be made complete.

For this cause I am writing these things while I am away, so that there may be need for me, when I am present, to make use of sharp measures, by the authority which the Lord has given me for building up and not for destruction.

Who gave himself for our sins, so that he might make us free from this present evil world, after the purpose of our God and Father:

I am surprised that you are being so quickly turned away from him whose word came to you in the grace of Christ, to good news of a different sort;

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.

As we have said before, so say I now again, If any man is a preacher to you of any good news other than that which has been given to you, let there be a curse on him.

Because I say to you, my brothers, that the good news of which I was the preacher is not man's.

And I went farther in the Jews' religion than a number of my generation among my countrymen, having a more burning interest in the beliefs handed down from my fathers.

To give the revelation of his Son in me, so that I might give the news of him to the Gentiles; then I did not take the opinion of flesh and blood,

Now God is witness that the things which I am writing to you are true.

Only it came to their ears that he who at one time was cruel to us is now preaching the faith which before had been attacked by him;

And I went up by revelation; and I put before them the good news which I was preaching among the Gentiles, but privately before those who were of good name, so that the work which I was or had been doing might not be without effect.

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 we gave way not even for an hour; so that the true words of the good news might still be with you.

But, quite the opposite, when they saw that I had been made responsible for preaching the good news to those without circumcision, even as Peter had been for those of the circumcision

When they saw the grace which was given to me, James and Cephas and John, who had the name of being pillars, gave to me and Barnabas their right hands as friends so that we might go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcision;

Only it was their desire that we would give thought to the poor; which very thing I had much in mind to do.

And the rest of the Jews went after him, so that even Barnabas was overcome by their false ways.

But when I saw that they were not living uprightly in agreement with the true words of the good news, I said to Cephas before them all, If you, being a Jew, are living like the Gentiles, and not like the Jews, how will you make the Gentiles do the same as the Jews?

Being conscious that a man does not get righteousness by the works of the law, but through faith in Jesus Christ, we had faith in Christ Jesus, so that we might get righteousness by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the law: because by the works of the law will no flesh get righteousness.

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

I have been put to death on the cross with Christ; still I am living; no longer I, but Christ is living in me; and that life which I now am living in the flesh I am living by faith, the faith of the Son of God, who in love for me, 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?

Be certain, then, that those who are of faith, the same are sons of Abraham.

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.

Now that no man gets righteousness by the law in the eyes of God, is clear; because, The upright will be living by faith.

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.

However, the holy Writings have put all things under sin, so that that for which God gave the undertaking, based on faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who have such faith.

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

But now that faith is come, we are no longer under a servant.

But I say that as long as the son is a child, he is in no way different from a servant, though he is lord of all;

That he might make them free who were under the law, and that we might be given the place of sons.

So that you are no longer a servant, but a son; and if a son, then the heritage of God is yours.

But at that time, having no knowledge of God, you were servants to those who by right are no gods:

But now that you have come to have knowledge of God, or more truly, God has knowledge of you, how is it that you go back again to the poor and feeble first things, desiring to be servants to them again?

I am in fear of you, that I may have been working for you to no purpose.

My desire for you, brothers, is that you may be as I am, because I am as you are. You have done me no wrong;

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

Where then is that happy condition of yours? because I give you witness, that, if possible, you would have taken out your eyes and given them to me.

Their interest in you is not good; but their desire is that you may be shut out, so that you may go after them.

Because it is in the Writings, that Abraham had two sons, one by the servant-woman, and one by the free woman.

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.

See, I Paul say to you, that if you undergo circumcision, Christ will be of no use to you.

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

I am certain about you in the Lord, that you will be of no other mind; but he who is troubling you will have his punishment, whoever he is.

My desire is that they who give you trouble might even be cut off themselves.

But if you are given to fighting with one another, take care that you are not the cause of destruction one to another.

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, uncontrolled drinking and feasting, and such things: of which I give you word clearly, even as I did in the past, that they who do such things will have no part in the kingdom of God.

Brothers, if a man is taken in any wrongdoing, you who are of the Spirit will put such a one right in a spirit of love; keeping watch on yourself, for fear that you yourself may be tested.

For if a man has an idea that he is something when he is nothing, he is tricked by himself.

Be not tricked; God is not made sport of: for whatever seed a man puts in, that will he get back as grain.

Those who have the desire to seem important in the flesh, put force on you to undergo circumcision; only that they may not be attacked because of the cross of Christ.

Because even those who undergo circumcision do not themselves keep the law; but they would have you undergo circumcision, so that they may have glory in your flesh.

Even as he made selection of us in him from the first, so that we might be holy and free from all evil before him in love:

The ordering of the times when they are complete, so that all things might come to a head in Christ, the things in heaven and the things on the earth; in him, I say,

So that his glory might have praise through us who first had hope in Christ:

Which is the first-fruit of our heritage, till God gets back that which is his, to the praise of his glory.

That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him;

And that having the eyes of your heart full of light, you may have knowledge of what is the hope of his purpose, what is the wealth of the glory of his heritage in the saints,

Far over all rule and authority and power and every name which is named, not only in the present order, but in that which is to come:

So that we came back from death with him, and are seated with him in the heavens, in Christ Jesus;

That in the time to come he might make clear the full wealth of his grace in his mercy to us in Christ Jesus:

Because by grace you have salvation through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is given by God:

Not by works, so that no man may take glory to himself.

For by his act we were given existence in Christ Jesus to do those good works which God before made ready for us so that we might do them.

For this reason keep it in mind that in the past you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are looked on as being outside the circumcision by those who have circumcision, in the flesh, made by hands;

That you were at that time without Christ, being cut off from any part in Israel's rights as a nation, having no part in God's agreement, having no hope, and without God in the world.

Having in his flesh put an end to that which made the division between us, even the law with its rules and orders, so that he might make in himself, of the two, one new man, so making peace;

And that the two might come into agreement with God in one body through the cross, so putting an end to that division.

If that ordering of the grace of God has come to your knowledge, which was given to me for you,