Galatians 2

1 Fourteen [a period of fourteen] years later I went up [ascended, to ascend] again to Jerusalem [the capital of Palestine], accompanied [with, in the company of] by Barnabas [son of prophecy]. I took [to take along with, to accompany] Titus [a Christian disciple] along also. word study 2 I went in response to a [divine, supernatural] revelation [from God, a disclosure of truth] and set before them the gospel [good news, message of salvation] that I preach [proclaim, herald] among the Gentiles [non-Jewish people, nations]. But I spoke privately [in a personal, confidential manner] to those recognized as leaders [esteemed, respected], for fear that I was running [striving, laboring] or had already run [exerted effort, toiled] in vain [without result, to no purpose]. word study 3 Yet not even Titus [a Greek, Gentile], who was with [in close association, together] me, was compelled [forced, urged] to be circumcised [to cut around, undergo the Jewish rite], even though he was a [born, ethnic] Greek [non-Jewish, Gentile]. word study 4 This issue arose because some false brothers [who claimed to be Christians but were not genuine] had come in [secretly, sneaking in] under false pretenses [with hidden intentions, deceiving others] to spy on [watch closely, inspect] our freedom [liberty, being free from sin and rules] in Christ Jesus [our Lord and Savior, the Messiah], in order to [with the purpose of, so that they might] enslave us [make us slaves, dominate and control]. word study 5 We did not give in [yield or surrender] to them for a moment [not even for an hour, briefly], so that the truth [reality, accuracy] of the gospel [good news, message of salvation] would remain [continue, stay] with you [in your midst, among you]. word study 6 But as for the highly esteemed [those who seemed to be important, of repute]—whatever they were [in time past, once] makes no difference to me; God [the supreme Deity] does not show favoritism [accept no man’s person, is no respecter of persons] —those leaders [who seemed to be somewhat, of repute] added nothing [no new truth, no additional insight] to me. word study 7 On the contrary [instead, to the opposite], they saw [perceived, understood] that I had been entrusted [given responsibility, committed] to preach [proclaim, share] the gospel [good news, message of salvation] to the uncircumcised [non-Jews, Gentiles] [without circumcision, as opposed to Jewish tradition], just as [in the same way, similarly] Peter [the rock, apostle] had been to the circumcised [Jews, those who practice circumcision]. word study 8 For the One [being active] who was at work in Peter’s [as the Apostle to the Jews] apostleship [office or role of an apostle] to the circumcised [Jewish people, those who practice circumcision] was also at work [being mighty, effective] in my apostleship [role as a messenger of Jesus Christ] to the Gentiles [non-Jewish people, nations]. word study 9 And recognizing [perceiving, knowing] the grace [divine influence, favor] that I had been given, James [the brother of Jesus], Cephas [Peter, the Rock], and John [the Apostle]—those reputed [considered, esteemed] to be pillars [supporting leaders]—gave me and Barnabas the right hand [a symbol of unity, fellowship] of fellowship [partnership, communion], so that we should go to the Gentiles [non-Jewish people, nations], and they to the circumcised [Jews, those who practice circumcision]. word study 10 They only [merely, alone] asked us to remember [to recall, bring to mind] the poor [needy, impoverished, those who crouch and cower], the very thing [which same thing] I was eager [zealous, diligent, making an effort] to do [to make, to bring about, to accomplish]. word study 11 When [at a specific point in time] Cephas [Peter, a rock or stone] came [to go, to arrive] to Antioch [a city in Syria], however, I opposed [to stand against, to resist] him to his face [in his presence, openly], because [since, for the reason that] he stood [was found, was considered] to be condemned [blameworthy, guilty, worthy of blame]. word study 12 For before [at an earlier time, prior to] certain men came from James [a leader in Jerusalem], he used to eat [share meals, fellowship] with the Gentiles [non-Jewish people, nations]. But when they arrived [came, appeared], he began to draw back [withdraw, step away] and separate himself [set himself apart, isolate], for fear [reverence, awe] of those in the circumcision group [who practiced Jewish customs, the circumcised]. word study 13 The other Jews [who were also believers, Jewish Christians] joined him [Peter] in his hypocrisy [acting insincerely, pretending to agree], so that by their hypocrisy [dissimulation, false ways] even Barnabas [a leader, son of prophecy] was led astray [carried away, deceived]. word study 14 When I saw [at a specific point in time, perceived] that they were not walking [living, conducting themselves] in line with [according to, in harmony with] the truth [reality, authenticity] of the gospel [good news, message of salvation], I said to Cephas [Peter, a rock] in front of [before, in the presence of] them all, “If you, who are a Jew [a person from Judah, a Hebrew], live [behave, conduct yourself] like a Gentile [a non-Jew, in a non-Jewish manner] and not like a Jew [in a Jewish manner, according to Jewish customs], how can you compel [force, persuade] the Gentiles [non-Jews, nations] to live [behave, conduct themselves] like Jews [in a Jewish manner, according to Jewish customs]?” word study 15 We [by nature, from birth] who are Jews [from Judah, of Jewish descent] by birth [by natural origin] and not [completely, in no way] Gentile [non-Jewish, of the nations] “sinners [wrongdoers, those who miss the mark]” word study 16 know that a man [a human being] is not justified [declared righteous, made innocent] by works [actions, deeds] of the law [Mosaic law], but by faith [trust, confidence] in Jesus Christ [the Messiah, the Anointed One]. So we, too, have believed [trusted, had faith] in Christ Jesus [the Lord, the Savior], that we may be justified [made righteous, declared innocent] by faith [trust, confidence] in Christ [the Messiah, the Anointed One] and not by works [actions, deeds] of the law [Mosaic law], because by works [actions, deeds] of the law [Mosaic law] no one [not a single person, ou pas] will be justified [declared righteous, made innocent]. word study 17 But if, while we seek [look for, try to find] to be justified [declared righteous, made innocent] in Christ [the Anointed One, Messiah], we ourselves are found [discovered, revealed] to be sinners [those who miss the mark, fall short], does that make Christ [the Savior, Redeemer] a minister [servant, attendant] of sin [rebellion, lawlessness]? Certainly [by no means, God forbid] not! word study 18 If [in the event that, supposing] I rebuild [restore, reestablish] what I have already torn down [destroyed, demolished], I prove [demonstrate, show] myself [my own person, my own actions] to be a lawbreaker [transgressor, one who disobeys the law]. word study 19 For [as a reason, to explain] through [because of, by means of] the law [a set of rules or regulations] I died [to stop living, passed away spiritually] to the law [no longer bound by its demands] so that [in order that, to the end that] I might live [have life, be spiritually alive] to God [the one true deity, my Creator]. word study 20 I have been crucified [put to death on the cross] with Christ [the Anointed One, Messiah], and I no longer live [exist in my old self], but Christ [the Son of God, Savior] lives in me [dwells within, guides my heart]. The life I live [exist, have being] in the body [flesh, physical form], I live [walk, conduct myself] by faith [trust, confidence] in the Son of God [the divine, eternal Son], who loved me [showed me kindness, affection] and gave Himself up [sacrificed, surrendered] for me [on my behalf, in my place]. word study 21 I do not [completely reject, frustrate] set aside the grace [divine influence, unmerited favor] of God [the one true deity]. For if righteousness [living according to God’s will, being in right standing] comes [is attainable] through [because of, by means of] the law [a set of rules or regulations], Christ [the anointed Messiah] died [passed away, was put to death] for nothing [in vain, without purpose]. word study