For news has come to you of my way of life in the past in the Jews' religion, how I was cruel without measure to the church of God, and did great damage to it:

Of them which seemed to be great - what they were in time passed it maketh no matter to me: God looketh on no man's person - nevertheless they seemed great, added nothing to me:

Now to Abraham were the undertakings given, and to his seed. He says not, And to seeds, as of a great number; but as of one, he says, And to your seed, which is Christ.

Before the coming of faith, we were kept under the guard of the Law, in bondage, awaiting the Faith that was destined to be revealed.

So when we were spiritually under age, we were slaves to the world's crude notions,

but now that you know God, or rather have come to be known by him, how can you turn back to the old, crude notions, so poor and weak, and wish to become slaves to them again?

How great, then, was your blessedness! For I testify for you, that, if possible, you would have torn out your eyes, and have given them to me.

These men [the Judaizers] eagerly seek you [to entrap you with honeyed words and attention, to win you over to their philosophy], not honorably [for their purpose is not honorable or worthy of consideration]. They want to isolate you [from us who oppose them] so that you will seek them.