1 S tand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

Christ made us free. Stay that way. Do not get chained all over again in the Law and its kind of religious worship.

2 B ehold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.

Listen to me! I, Paul, tell you that if you have the religious act of becoming a Jew done on you, Christ will be of no use to you at all.

3 F or I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.

I say it again. Every man who has the religious act of becoming a Jew done on him must obey every Law.

4 C hrist is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.

If you expect to be made right with God by obeying the Law, then you have turned away from Christ and His loving-favor.

5 F or we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.

We are waiting for the hope of being made right with God. This will come through the Holy Spirit and by faith.

6 F or in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.

If we belong to Jesus Christ, it means nothing to have or not to have gone through the religious act of becoming a Jew. But faith working through love is important.

7 Y e did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?

You were doing well. Who stopped you from obeying the truth?

8 T his persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you.

Whatever he used did not come from the One Who chose you to have life.

9 A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.

It only takes a little yeast to make the whole loaf of bread rise.

10 I have confidence in you through the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded: but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be.

I feel I can trust you because of what the Lord has done in your life. I believe you will not follow another way. Whoever is trying to lead you in the wrong way will suffer for it.

11 A nd I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased.

Christian brothers, if I would still preach that people must go through the religious act of becoming a Jew to be a Christian, I would not be suffering from those who are making it hard for me. If I preached like that, the Jews would have no reason to be against the cross of Christ.

12 I would they were even cut off which trouble you.

I wish those who are so willing to cut your bodies would complete the job by cutting themselves off from you.

13 F or, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.

Christian brother, you were chosen to be free. Be careful that you do not please your old selves by sinning because you are free. Live this free life by loving and helping others.

14 F or all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

You obey the whole Law when you do this one thing, “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.”

15 B ut if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.

But if you hurt and make it hard for each other, watch out or you may be destroyed by each other.

16 T his I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

I say this to you: Let the Holy Spirit lead you in each step. Then you will not please your sinful old selves.

17 F or the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

The things our old selves want to do are against what the Holy Spirit wants. The Holy Spirit does not agree with what our sinful old selves want. These two are against each other. So you cannot do what you want to do.

18 B ut if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

If you let the Holy Spirit lead you, the Law no longer has power over you.

19 N ow the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

The things your sinful old self wants to do are: sex sins, sinful desires, wild living,

20 i dolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

worshiping false gods, witchcraft, hating, fighting, being jealous, being angry, arguing, dividing into little groups and thinking the other groups are wrong, false teaching,

21 e nvyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

wanting something someone else has, killing other people, using strong drink, wild parties, and all things like these. I told you before and I am telling you again that those who do these things will have no place in the holy nation of God.

22 B ut the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

But the fruit that comes from having the Holy Spirit in our lives is: love, joy, peace, not giving up, being kind, being good, having faith,

23 m eekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

being gentle, and being the boss over our own desires. The Law is not against these things.

24 A nd they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

Those of us who belong to Christ have nailed our sinful old selves on His cross. Our sinful desires are now dead.

25 I f we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

If the Holy Spirit is living in us, let us be led by Him in all things.

26 L et us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

Let us not become proud in ways in which we should not. We must not make hard feelings among ourselves as Christians or make anyone jealous.