Let those who say this keep in mind that, what we are in word by letters when we are away, so will we be in act when we are present.

For we will not make comparison of ourselves with some of those who say good things about themselves: but these, measuring themselves by themselves, and making comparison of themselves with themselves, are not wise.

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 whoever has a desire for glory, let his glory be in the Lord.

For I have a very great care for you: because you have been married by me to one husband, and it is my desire to give you completely holy to Christ.

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.

But though I am rough in my way of talking, I am not so in knowledge, as we have made clear to all by our acts among you.

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;

And when I was present with you, and was in need, I let no man be responsible for me; for the brothers, when they came from Macedonia, gave me whatever was needed; and in everything I kept myself from being a trouble to you, and I will go on doing so.

Why? because I have no love for you? let God be judge.

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.

So it is no great thing if his servants make themselves seem to be servants of righteousness; whose end will be the reward of their works.

What I am now saying is not by the order of the Lord, but as a foolish person, taking credit to myself, as it seems.

I say this by way of shaming ourselves, as if we had been feeble. But if anyone puts himself forward (I am talking like a foolish person), I will do the same.

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.

How he was taken up into Paradise, and words came to his ears which may not be said, and which man is not able to say.

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.

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.

And I will gladly give all I have for your souls. If I have the more love for you, am I to be loved the less?

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.

Did I make a profit out of you by any of those whom I sent to you?

I gave orders to Titus, and I sent the brother with him. Did Titus make any profit out of you? were we not guided by the same Spirit, in the same ways?

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;

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.

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.

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.

Let this be my last word, brothers; be glad; be complete; be comforted; be of the same mind; be at peace with one another: and the God of love and peace will be with you.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the harmony of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.

To whom be the glory for ever and ever. So be it.

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.

Am I now using arguments to men, or God? or is it my desire to give men pleasure? if I was still pleasing men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

But when it was the good pleasure of God, by whom I was marked out even from my mother's body, through his grace,

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.

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 from those who seemed to be important (whatever they were has no weight with me: God does not take man's person into account): those who seemed to be important gave nothing new to me;

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

We being Jews by birth, and not sinners of the Gentiles,

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.

But if, while we were desiring to get righteousness through Christ, we ourselves were seen to be sinners, is Christ a servant of sin? In no way!

For if I put up again those things which I gave to destruction, I am seen to be a wrongdoer.

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?

Give me an answer to this one question, Did the Spirit come to you through the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

Are you so foolish? having made a start in the Spirit, will you now be made complete in the flesh?

He who gives you the Spirit, and does works of power among you, is it by the works of law, or by the hearing of faith?

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.

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

Christ has made us free from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us: because it is said in the Writings, A curse on everyone who is put to death by hanging on a tree:

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.

Now this I say: The law, which came four hundred and thirty years after, does not put an end to the agreement made before by God, so as to make the undertaking without effect.

Because if the heritage is by the law, it is no longer dependent on the word of God; but God gave it to Abraham by his word.

What then is the law? It was an addition made because of sin, till the coming of the seed to whom the undertaking had been given; and it was ordered through angels by the hand of a go-between.

Is the law then against the words of God? in no way; because if there had been a law which was able to give life, truly righteousness would have been by the law.

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.

And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and yours is the heritage by the right of God's undertaking given to Abraham.

But is under keepers and managers till the time fixed by the father.

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

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?

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;

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

Truly my desire is to be present with you now, using a changed voice; for I am troubled about you.

Say, you whose desire it is to be under the law, do you not give ear to the law?

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

Now the son by the servant-woman has his birth after the flesh; but the son by the free woman has his birth through the undertaking of God.

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.

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

For we through the Spirit by faith are waiting for the hope of righteousness.

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.

Because you, brothers, were marked out to be free; only do not make use of your free condition to give the flesh its chance, but through love be servants one to another.

But if you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

If we are living by the Spirit, by the Spirit let us be guided.

Let us not be full of self-glory, making one another angry, having envy of one another.

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.

But let every man make test of his work, and then will his cause for glory be in himself only, and not in his neighbour.

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.

But far be it from me to have glory in anything, but only in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which this world has come to an end on the cross for me, and I for it.

And on all who are guided by this rule be peace and mercy, and on the Israel of God.

From this time on let no man be a trouble to me; because my body is marked with the marks of Jesus.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. So be it.

Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the purpose of God, to the saints who are at Ephesus, and those who have faith in Christ Jesus:

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has given us every blessing of the Spirit in the heavens in Christ:

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: