¹tn Grk “O” (an interjection used both in address and emotion. In context the following section is highly charged emotionally.
²tn Or “deceived”; the verb baskaivnw (baskainw) can be understood literally here in the sense of bewitching by black magic, but could also be understood figuratively to refer to an act of deception (see L&N 53.98 and 88.159).
³tn Or “publicly placarded,” “set forth in a public proclamation” (BDAG 867 s.v. progravfw 2).
⁴tn Grk “by [the] works of [the] law,” a reference to observing the Mosaic law.
⁵tn Grk “by [the] hearing of faith.”
⁶tn Grk “Having begun”; the participle ejnarxavmenoi (enarxamenoi) has been translated concessively.
⁷tn Or “by the Spirit.”
⁸tn The verb ejpitelei'sqe (epiteleisqe) has been translated as a conative present (see ExSyn 534). This is something the Galatians were attempting to do, but could not accomplish successfully.
⁹tn Grk “in/by [the] flesh.”
¹⁰tn Or “provide.”
¹¹tn Grk “by [the] works of [the] law” (the same phrase as in v. 2).
¹²tn Grk “by [the] hearing of faith” (the same phrase as in v. 2).
¹³sn A quotation from Gen 15:6.
¹⁴tn Grk “know.”
¹⁵tn The phrase “sons of Abraham” is used here in a figurative sense to describe people who are connected to a personality, Abraham, by close nonmaterial ties. It is this personality that has defined the relationship and its characteristics. Those who believe are called “sons of Abraham” because Abraham was the first whose relationship to God was based on faith (BDAG 1024-25 s.v. uiJov" 2.c.a).
¹⁶tn For the Greek verb proeuaggelivzomai (proeuangelizomai) translated as “proclaim the gospel ahead of time,” compare L&N 33.216.
¹⁷tn The same plural Greek word, taV e[qnh (ta eqnh), can be translated as “nations” or “Gentiles.”
¹⁸sn A quotation from Gen 12:3; 18:18.
¹⁹tn Grk “those who are by faith,” with the Greek expression “by faith” (ejk pivstew", ek pistew") the same as the expression in v. 8.
²⁰tn Grk “For as many as.”
²¹tn Grk “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all the things written in the book of the law, to do them.”
sn A quotation from Deut 27:26.
²²tn Or “The one who is righteous by faith will live” (a quotation from Hab 2:4).
²³tn Grk “is not from faith.”
²⁴tn Grk “who does these things”; the referent (the works of the law, see 3:5) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
²⁵sn A quotation from Lev 18:5. The phrase the works of the law is an editorial expansion on the Greek text (see previous note); it has been left as normal typeface to indicate it is not part of the OT text.
²⁶tn Grk “having become”; the participle genovmeno" (genomenos) has been taken instrumentally.
²⁷sn A quotation from Deut 21:23. By figurative extension the Greek word translated tree (zuvlon, zulon) can also be used to refer to a cross (L&N 6.28), the Roman instrument of execution.
²⁸tn Or “so that the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles in Christ Jesus.”
²⁹tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:11.
³⁰tn Grk “I speak according to man,” referring to the illustration that follows.
³¹tn The same Greek word, diaqhvkh (diaqhkh), can mean either “covenant” or “will,” but in this context the former is preferred here because Paul is discussing in vv. 16-18 the Abrahamic covenant.
³²tn Or “has been put into effect.”
³³tn Grk “his seed,” a figurative extension of the meaning of spevrma (sperma) to refer to descendants (L&N 10.29).
³⁴tn Grk “It”; the referent (the scripture) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The understood subject of the verb levgei (legei) could also be “He” (referring to God) as the one who spoke the promise to Abraham.
³⁵tn Grk “to seeds.” See the note on “descendant” earlier in this verse. Here the term is plural; the use of the singular in the OT text cited later in this verse is crucial to Paul’s argument.
³⁶tn See the note on “descendant” earlier in this verse.
sn A quotation from Gen 12:7; 13:15; 17:7; 24:7.
³⁷tc Most mss (D F G I 0176 0278 Ï it sy) read “ratified by God in Christ” whereas the omission of “in Christ” is the reading in Ì46 Í A B C P Y 6 33 81 1175 1739 1881 2464 pc co. The shorter reading is strongly supported by the ms evidence, and it is probable that a copyist inserted the words as an interpretive gloss. However, this form of the “in Christ” expression is somewhat atypical in the corpus Paulinum (eij" Cristovn [ei" Criston] rather than ejn Cristw'/ [en Cristw]), a fact which tempers one’s certainty about the shorter reading. Nevertheless, the expression is used more in Galatians than in any other of Paul’s letters (Gal 2:16; 3:24, 27), and may have been suggested by such texts to early copyists.
³⁸tn On the translation “graciously gave” for carivzomai (carizomai) see L&N 57.102.
³⁹tn Grk “Why then the law?”
⁴⁰tc For prosetevqh (proseteqh) several Western mss have ejtevqh (eteqh, “it was established”; so D* F G it Ir^lat Ambst Spec). The net effect of this reading, in conjunction with the largely Western reading of pravxewn (praxewn) for parabavsewn (parabasewn), seems to be a very positive assessment of the law. But there are compelling reasons for rejecting this reading: (1) externally, it is provincial and relatively late; (2) internally: (a) transcriptionally, there seems to be a much higher transcriptional probability that a scribe would try to smooth over Paul’s harsh saying here about the law than vice versa; (b) intrinsically: [1] Paul has already argued that the law came after the promise (vv. 15-18), indicating, more than likely, its temporary nature; [2] the verb “was added” in v. 19 (prosetevqh) is different from the verb in v. 15 (ejpidiatavssetai, epidiatassetai); virtually all exegetes recognize this as an intentional linguistic shift on Paul’s part in order not to contradict his statement in v. 15; [3] the temper of 3:1-4:7 is decidedly against a positive statement about the Torah’s role in Heilsgeschichte.
⁴¹tc paradovsewn (paradosewn; “traditions, commandments”) is read by D*, while the vast majority of witnesses read parabavsewn (parabasewn, “transgressions”). D’s reading makes little sense in this context. pravxewn (praxewn, “of deeds”) replaces parabavsewn in Ì46 F G it Ir^lat Ambst Spec. The wording is best taken as going with novmo" (nomo"; “Why then the law of deeds?”), as is evident by the consistent punctuation in the later witnesses. But such an expression is unpauline and superfluous; it was almost certainly added by some early scribe(s) to soften the blow of Paul’s statement.
⁴²tn Grk “the seed.” See the note on the first occurrence of the word “descendant” in 3:16.
⁴³tn Or “was ordered.” L&N 31.22 has “was put into effect” here.
⁴⁴tn Many modern translations (NASB, NIV, NRSV) render this word (mesivth", mesith"; here and in v. 20) as “mediator,” but this conveys a wrong impression in contemporary English. If this is referring to Moses, he certainly did not “mediate” between God and Israel but was an intermediary on God’s behalf. Moses was not a mediator, for example, who worked for compromise between opposing parties. He instead was God’s representative to his people who enabled them to have a relationship, but entirely on God’s terms.
⁴⁵tn The meaning of this verse is disputed. According to BDAG 634 s.v. mesivth", “It prob. means that the activity of an intermediary implies the existence of more than one party, and hence may be unsatisfactory because it must result in a compromise. The presence of an intermediary would prevent attainment, without any impediment, of the purpose of the ei\" qeov" in giving the law.” See also A. Oepke, TDNT 4:598-624, esp. 618-19.
⁴⁶tc The reading tou' qeou' (tou qeou, “of God”) is well attested in Í A C D (F G read qeou' without the article) Y 0278 33 1739 1881 Ï lat sy co. However, Ì46 B d Ambst lack the words. Ì46 and B perhaps should not to be given as much weight as they normally are, since the combination of these two witnesses often produces a secondary shorter reading against all others. In addition, one might expect that if the shorter reading were original other variants would have crept into the textual tradition early on. But 104 (a.d. 1087) virtually stands alone with the variant tou' Cristou' (tou Cristou, “of Christ”). Nevertheless, if tou' qeou' were not part of the original text, it is the kind of variant that would be expected to show up early and often, especially in light of Paul’s usage elsewhere (Rom 4:20; 2 Cor 1:20). A slight preference should be given to the tou' qeou' over the omission. NA27 rightly places the words in brackets, indicating doubts as to their authenticity.
⁴⁷tn Or “have been based on the law.”
⁴⁸tn Or “locked up.”
⁴⁹tn Grk “imprisoned all things” but taV pavnta (ta panta) includes people as part of the created order. Because people are the emphasis of Paul’s argument ( “given to those who believe” at the end of this verse.), “everything and everyone” was used here.
⁵⁰tn Or “so that the promise could be given by faith in Jesus Christ to those who believe.” A decision is difficult here. Though traditionally translated “faith in Jesus Christ,” an increasing number of NT scholars are arguing that pivsti" Cristou' (pisti" Cristou) and similar phrases in Paul (Rom 3:22, 26; Gal 2:16, 20; 3:22; Eph 3:12; Phil 3:9) involve a subjective genitive and mean “Christ’s faith” or “Christ’s faithfulness” (cf., e.g., G. Howard, “The ‘Faith of Christ’,” ExpTim 85 [1974]: 212-15; R. B. Hays, The Faith of Jesus Christ [SBLDS]; Morna D. Hooker, “Pivsti" Cristou',” NTS 35 [1989]: 321-42). Noteworthy among the arguments for the subjective genitive view is that when pivsti" takes a personal genitive it is almost never an objective genitive (cf. Matt 9:2, 22, 29; Mark 2:5; 5:34; 10:52; Luke 5:20; 7:50; 8:25, 48; 17:19; 18:42; 22:32; Rom 1:8; 12; 3:3; 4:5, 12, 16; 1 Cor 2:5; 15:14, 17; 2 Cor 10:15; Phil 2:17; Col 1:4; 2:5; 1 Thess 1:8; 3:2, 5, 10; 2 Thess 1:3; Titus 1:1; Phlm 6; 1 Pet 1:9, 21; 2 Pet 1:5). On the other hand, the objective genitive view has its adherents: A. Hultgren, “The Pistis Christou Formulations in Paul,” NovT 22 (1980): 248-63; J. D. G. Dunn, “Once More, PISTIS CRISTOU,” SBL Seminar Papers, 1991, 730-44. Most commentaries on Romans and Galatians usually side with the objective view.
sn On the phrase because of the faithfulness of Jesus Christ, ExSyn 116, which notes that the grammar is not decisive, nevertheless suggests that “the faith/faithfulness of Christ is not a denial of faith in Christ as a Pauline concept (for the idea is expressed in many of the same contexts, only with the verb pisteuvw rather than the noun), but implies that the object of faith is a worthy object, for he himself is faithful.” Though Paul elsewhere teaches justification by faith, this presupposes that the object of our faith is reliable and worthy of such faith.
⁵¹tn Or “the faithfulness [of Christ] came.”
⁵²tc Instead of the present participle sugkleiovmenoi (sunkleiomenoi; found in Ì⁴⁶ Í A B D* F G P Y 33 1739 al), C D1 0176 0278 Ï have the perfect sugkekleismevnoi (sunkekleismenoi). The syntactical implication of the perfect is that the cause or the means of being held in custody was confinement (“we were held in custody [by/because of] being confined”). The present participle of course allows for such options, but also allows for contemporaneous time (“while being confined”) and result (“with the result that we were confined”). Externally, the perfect participle has little to commend it, being restricted for the most part to later and Byzantine witnesses.
tn Grk “being confined.”
⁵³tn Or “disciplinarian,” “custodian,” or “guide.” According to BDAG 748 s.v. paidagwgov", “the man, usu. a slave…whose duty it was to conduct a boy or youth…to and from school and to superintend his conduct gener.; he was not a ‘teacher’ (despite the present mng. of the derivative ‘pedagogue’…When the young man became of age, the p. was no longer needed.” L&N 36.5 gives “guardian, leader, guide” here.
⁵⁴tn Or “be justified.”
⁵⁵tn See the note on the word “guardian” in v. 24. The punctuation of vv. 25, 26, and 27 is difficult to represent because of the causal connections between each verse. English style would normally require a comma either at the end of v. 25 or v. 26, but in so doing the translation would then link v. 26 almost exclusively with either v. 25 or v. 27; this would be problematic as scholars debate which two verses are to be linked. Because of this, the translation instead places a period at the end of each verse. This preserves some of the ambiguity inherent in the Greek and does not exclude any particular causal connection.
⁵⁶tn Or “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”
⁵⁷tn Grk “For as many of you as.”
⁵⁸tn See the note on the word “slave” in 1:10.
⁵⁹tn Grk “male and female.”
⁶⁰tn Grk “seed.” See the note on the first occurrence of the word “descendant” in 3:16.