From: Paul an apostle not sent from men or by a man, but by Jesus the Messiah, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead

and all the brothers who are with me. To: The churches in Galatia.

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of the Messiah and, instead, are following a different gospel,

not that another one really exists. To be sure, there are certain people who are troubling you and want to distort the gospel about the Messiah.

But when God, who set me apart before I was born and who called me by his grace, was pleased

nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before me. Instead, I went away to Arabia and then came back to Damascus.

The only thing they kept hearing was this: "The man who used to persecute us is now proclaiming the faith he once tried to destroy!"

But not even Titus, who was with me, was forced to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek.

Now those who were reputed to be important added nothing to my message. (What sort of people they were makes no difference to me, since God pays no attention to outward appearances.)

For the one who worked through Peter by making him an apostle to the circumcised also worked through me by sending me to the gentiles.

So when James, Cephas, and John (who were reputed to be leaders) recognized the grace that had been given me, they gave Barnabas and me the right hand of fellowship, agreeing that we should go to the gentiles and they to the circumcised.

I no longer live, but the Messiah lives in me, and the life that I am now living in this body I live by the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

You foolish Galatians! Who put you under a spell? Was not Jesus the Messiah clearly portrayed before your very eyes as having been crucified?

You see, then, that those who have faith are Abraham's real descendants.

Therefore, those who believe are blessed together with Abraham, the one who believed.

Certainly all who depend on the actions of the Law are under a curse. For it is written, "A curse on everyone who does not obey everything that is written in the Book of the Law!"

But the Law has nothing to do with faith. Instead, "The person who keeps the commandments will have life in them."

The Messiah redeemed us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written, "A curse on everyone who is hung on a tree!"

Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his descendant. It doesn't say "descendants," referring to many, but "your descendant," referring to one person, who is the Messiah.

Why, then, was the Law added? Because of transgressions, until the descendant came about whom the promise pertained. It was put into effect through angels by means of a mediator.

But the Scripture has captured everything by means of sin's net, so that what was promised by the faithfulness of the Messiah might be granted to those who believe.

Indeed, all of you who were baptized into the Messiah have clothed yourselves with the Messiah.

in order to redeem those who were under the Law, and thus to adopt them as his children.

These people who have been instructing you are devoted to you, but not in a good way. They want you to avoid me so that you will be devoted to them.

Tell me, those of you who want to live under the Law: Are you really listening to what the Law says?

For it is written, "Rejoice, you childless woman, who cannot give birth to any children! Break into song and shout, you who feel no pains of childbirth! For the children of the deserted woman are more numerous than the children of the woman who has a husband."

But just as then the son who was conceived according to the flesh persecuted the son who was conceived according to the Spirit, so it is now.

Again, I insist that everyone who allows himself to be circumcised is obligated to obey the entire Law.

Those of you who are trying to be justified by the Law have been cut off from the Messiah. You have fallen away from grace.

You were running the race beautifully. Who cut in on you and stopped you from obeying the truth?

Such influence does not come from the one who calls you.

I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view of this. However, the one who is troubling you will suffer God's judgment, whoever he is.

I wish that those who are upsetting you would castrate themselves!

envy, murder, drunkenness, wild partying, and things like that. I am telling you now, as I have told you in the past, that people who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Now those who belong to the Messiah Jesus have crucified their flesh with its passions and desires.

Brothers, if a person is caught doing something wrong, those of you who are spiritual should restore that person gently. Watch out for yourself so that you are not tempted as well.

The person who is taught the word should share all his goods with his teacher.

The person who sows through human means will harvest decay from human means, but the person who sows in the Spirit will harvest eternal life from the Spirit.

These people who want to impress others by their external appearance are trying to force you to be circumcised, simply to avoid being persecuted for the cross of the Messiah.

Why, not even those who are circumcised obey the Law! They simply want you to be circumcised so that they can boast about your external appearance.

Now may peace be on all those who live by this principle, and may mercy be on the Israel of God.