Paul Opposes Cephas

11 When Cephas(A) came to Antioch,(B) I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For before certain men came from James,(C) he used to eat with the Gentiles.(D) But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group.(E) 13 The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas(F) was led astray.

14 When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel,(G) I said to Cephas(H) in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew.(I) How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?(J)

15 “We who are Jews by birth(K) and not sinful Gentiles(L) 16 know that a person is not justified by the works of the law,(M) but by faith in Jesus Christ.(N) So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in[a] Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.(O)

17 “But if, in seeking to be justified in Christ, we Jews find ourselves also among the sinners,(P) doesn’t that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not!(Q) 18 If I rebuild what I destroyed, then I really would be a lawbreaker.

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Footnotes

  1. Galatians 2:16 Or but through the faithfulness of … justified on the basis of the faithfulness of

Jew and Gentile Reconciled Through Christ

11 Therefore, remember that formerly(A) you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)(B) 12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners(C) to the covenants of the promise,(D) without hope(E) and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once(F) were far away have been brought near(G) by the blood of Christ.(H)

14 For he himself is our peace,(I) who has made the two groups one(J) and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by setting aside in his flesh(K) the law with its commands and regulations.(L) His purpose was to create in himself one(M) new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross,(N) by which he put to death their hostility. 17 He came and preached peace(O) to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.(P) 18 For through him we both have access(Q) to the Father(R) by one Spirit.(S)

19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers,(T) but fellow citizens(U) with God’s people and also members of his household,(V) 20 built(W) on the foundation(X) of the apostles and prophets,(Y) with Christ Jesus himself(Z) as the chief cornerstone.(AA) 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple(AB) in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.(AC)

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