1 P aul, an apostle— not from men nor by or through any man, but by and through Jesus Christ (the Messiah) and God the Father, Who raised Him from among the dead—

This letter is from Paul. I am a missionary sent by Jesus Christ and God the Father Who raised Jesus from the dead. I am not sent by men or by any one man.

2 A nd all the brethren who are with me, to the churches of Galatia:

All the Christians join me in writing to you who are in the churches in the country of Galatia.

3 G race and spiritual blessing be to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah),

May you have loving-favor and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

4 W ho gave (yielded) Himself up '> to atone] for our sins '> to save and sanctify us], in order to rescue and deliver us from this present wicked age and world order, in accordance with the will and purpose and plan of our God and Father—

He gave Him-self to die for our sins. He did this so we could be saved from this sinful world. This is what God wanted Him to do.

5 T o Him the glory through all the ages of the ages and the eternities of the eternities! Amen (so be it).

May He have all the honor forever. Let it be so. Men Must Not Change the Good News

6 I am surprised and astonished that you are so quickly turning renegade and deserting Him Who invited and called you by the grace (unmerited favor) of Christ (the Messiah) to a different gospel.

I am surprised you are leaving Christ so soon. You were chosen through His loving-favor. But now you are turning and listening to another kind of good news.

7 N ot that there is any other, but there are some who are troubling and disturbing and bewildering you '> with a different kind of teaching which they offer as a gospel] and want to pervert and distort the Gospel of Christ (the Messiah).

No! There is not another kind of good news. There are some who would like to lead you in the wrong way. They want to change the Good News about Christ.

8 B ut even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to and different from that which we preached to you, let him be accursed (anathema, devoted to destruction, doomed to eternal punishment)!

Even if we or an angel from heaven should preach another kind of good news to you that is not the one we preached, let him be cursed.

9 A s we said before, so I now say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel different from or contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed (anathema, devoted to destruction, doomed to eternal punishment)!

As we said before, I will say it again. If any man is preaching another good news to you which is not the one you have received, let him be cursed. This Good News Is from God

10 N ow am I trying to win the favor of men, or of God? Do I seek to please men? If I were still seeking popularity with men, I should not be a bond servant of Christ (the Messiah).

Do you think I am trying to get the favor of men, or of God? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant owned by Christ.

11 F or I want you to know, brethren, that the Gospel which was proclaimed and made known by me is not man’s gospel.

Christian brothers, I want you to know the Good News I preached to you was not made by man.

12 F or indeed I did not receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but through a revelation by Jesus Christ (the Messiah).

I did not receive it from man. No one taught it to me. I received it from Jesus Christ as He showed it to me.

13 Y ou have heard of my earlier career and former manner of life in the Jewish religion (Judaism), how I persecuted and abused the church of God furiously and extensively, and to make havoc of it and destroy it.

You have heard of my old life when I followed the Jewish religion. I made it as hard as I could for the Christians and did everything I could to destroy the Christian church.

14 A nd I outstripped many of the men of my own generation among the people of my race in Judaism, so extremely enthusiastic and zealous I was for the traditions of my ancestors.

I had learned more about the Jewish religion than many of the Jews my age. I had a much stronger desire than they to follow the ways of our early fathers.

15 B ut when He, Who had chosen and set me apart before I was born and had called me by His grace (His undeserved favor and blessing), saw fit and was pleased

But God chose me before I was born. By His loving-favor He called me to work for Him.

16 T o reveal (unveil, disclose) His Son within me so that I might proclaim Him among the Gentiles (the non-Jewish world) as the glad tidings (Gospel), immediately I did not confer with flesh and blood.

His Son was to be seen in me. He did this so I could preach about Christ to the people who are not Jews. When this happened, I did not talk to men.

17 N or did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles (special messengers of Christ) before I was, but I went away and retired into Arabia, and afterward I came back again to Damascus.

I did not even go to Jerusalem to talk to those who were missionaries before me. Instead, I went to the country of Arabia. Later I returned to the city of Damascus.

18 T hen three years later, I did go up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas (Peter), and remained with him for fifteen days.

Three years later I went to Jerusalem to meet Peter. I stayed with him fifteen days.

19 B ut I did not see any of the other apostles (the special messengers of Christ) except James the brother of our Lord.

I did not see any of the other missionaries except James, the Lord’s brother.

20 N ow, I write this as if I were standing before the bar of God; I do not lie.

I am writing the truth. God knows I am not lying.

21 T hen I went into the districts (countries, regions) of Syria and Cilicia.

I went from Jerusalem to the countries of Syria and Cilicia.

22 A nd so far I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Christ in Judea (the country surrounding Jerusalem).

None of the Christians in the churches in the country of Judea had ever seen me.

23 T hey were only hearing it said, He who used to persecute us is now proclaiming the very faith he once reviled and which he set out to ruin and tried with all his might to destroy.

The only thing they heard was, “The one who tried to destroy the Christian church is now preaching the Good News!”

24 A nd they glorified God in me.

And they gave thanks to God because of me.