ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

Galatians 1.8-9

Book: Galatians · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

6. I marvel that ye are so quickly removing from him that called you in the grace of Christ unto a different gospel; 7. which is not another gospel only there are some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.

8. But though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach unto you any gospel other than that which we preached unto you, let him be anathema. 9. As we have said before, so say I now again, if any man preacheth unto you any gospel other than that which ye received, let him be anathema.

  1. For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? or am I striving to please men? if I were still pleasing men, I should not be a servant of Christ. 11. For I make known to you, brethren, as touching the gospel which was preached by me, that it is not after man. (Galatians 1:6-11, ASV)
WEB

6. I marvel that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ to a different “good news”; 7. and there isn’t another “good news.” Only there are some who trouble you, and want to pervert the Good News of Christ.

8. But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you any “good news” other than that which we preached to you, let him be cursed. 9. As we have said before, so I now say again: if any man preaches to you any “good news” other than that which you received, let him be cursed.

  1. For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? For if I were still pleasing men, I wouldn’t be a servant of Christ. 11. But I make known to you, brothers, concerning the Good News which was preached by me, that it is not according to man. (Galatians 1:6-11, WEB)
KJV

6. I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: 7. Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.

8. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. 9. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

  1. For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. 11. But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. (Galatians 1:6-11, KJV)
YLT

6. I wonder that ye are so quickly removed from Him who did call you in the grace of Christ to another good news; 7. that is not another, except there be certain who are troubling you, and wishing to pervert the good news of the Christ;

8. but even if we or a messenger out of heaven may proclaim good news to you different from what we did proclaim to you, anathema let him be! 9. as we have said before, and now say again, If any one to you may proclaim good news different from what ye did receive, anathema let him be!

  1. for now men do I persuade, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if yet men I did please, Christ's servant I should not be. 11. And I make known to you, brethren, the good news that were proclaimed by me, that it is not according to man, (Galatians 1:6-11, YLT)

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Setting

  • Speaker: Paul
  • Audience: the churches of Galatia, who were adopting circumcision and law-observance
  • Location: written from an uncertain location; date depends on the North or South Galatian theory
  • Time period: c. AD 48-55 depending on the destination theory

Theological reading

Though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. Paul says it, and then in the next verse says it again, prefacing the repetition with as we said before, so say I now again.

The repetition is the structural feature that carries the meaning. Paul has just omitted the thanksgiving that opens every other letter he writes, moving straight from the greeting to I marvel that ye are so soon removed. The doubled curse is the continuation of that abruptness, and the word is anathema, devoted to destruction.

The scope is what makes the statement usable. Paul places himself inside it first, and then an angel from heaven, which are the two authorities a congregation would find hardest to resist. The criterion he sets is not the status of the messenger but the content of the message, and it is stated in a letter whose occasion was the addition of a requirement to the gospel rather than a denial of it. The Galatians were not abandoning Christ; they were adding circumcision. Paul treats an addition as a different gospel.

That is the point of contact with later disputes about works added to faith, and it is also why the verse is frequently misapplied. It is a test for the content of the gospel message, not a general licence to anathematise disagreement on secondary matters, and Paul himself models restraint on disputable things elsewhere.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

Lexicon:

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

  • ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.