1 O you poor and silly and thoughtless and unreflecting and senseless Galatians! Who has fascinated or bewitched or cast a spell over you, unto whom—right before your very eyes—Jesus Christ (the Messiah) was openly and graphically set forth and portrayed as crucified?

O thoughtless Galatians, who did bewitch you, not to obey the truth -- before whose eyes Jesus Christ was described before among you crucified?

2 L et me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Spirit as the result of obeying the Law and doing its works, or was it by hearing and believing ?

this only do I wish to learn from you -- by works of law the Spirit did ye receive, or by the hearing of faith?

3 A re you so foolish and so senseless and so silly? Having begun with the Spirit, are you now reaching perfection on the flesh?

so thoughtless are ye! having begun in the Spirit, now in the flesh do ye end?

4 H ave you suffered so many things and experienced so much all for nothing (to no purpose)—if it really is to no purpose and in vain?

so many things did ye suffer in vain! if, indeed, even in vain.

5 T hen does He Who supplies you with His marvelous Spirit and works powerfully and miraculously among you do so on what the Law demands, or because of your believing in and adhering to and trusting in and relying on the message that you heard?

He, therefore, who is supplying to you the Spirit, and working mighty acts among you -- by works of law or by the hearing of faith ?

6 T hus Abraham believed in and adhered to and trusted in and relied on God, and it was reckoned and placed to his account and credited as righteousness (as conformity to the divine will in purpose, thought, and action).

according as Abraham did believe God, and it was reckoned to him -- to righteousness;

7 K now and understand that it is the people by faith who are sons of Abraham.

know ye, then, that those of faith -- these are sons of Abraham,

8 A nd the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify (declare righteous, put in right standing with Himself) the Gentiles in consequence of faith, proclaimed the Gospel to Abraham in the promise, saying, In you shall all the nations be blessed.

and the Writing having foreseen that by faith God doth declare righteous the nations did proclaim before the good news to Abraham --

9 S o then, those who are people of faith are blessed and made happy and favored by God with the believing and trusting Abraham.

`Blessed in thee shall be all the nations;' so that those of faith are blessed with the faithful Abraham,

10 A nd all who depend on the Law are under a curse and doomed to disappointment and destruction, for it is written in the Scriptures, Cursed (accursed, devoted to destruction, doomed to eternal punishment) be everyone who does not continue to abide (live and remain) by all the precepts and commands written in the Book of the Law and to practice them.

for as many as are of works of law are under a curse, for it hath been written, `Cursed every one who is not remaining in all things that have been written in the Book of the Law -- to do them,'

11 N ow it is evident that no person is justified (declared righteous and brought into right standing with God) through the Law, for the Scripture says, The man in right standing with God shall live by and out of faith and he who through and by faith is declared righteous and in right standing with God shall live.

and that in law no one is declared righteous with God, is evident, because `The righteous by faith shall live;'

12 B ut the Law does not rest on faith, for it itself says, He who does them shall live by them.

and the law is not by faith, but -- `The man who did them shall live in them.'

13 C hrist purchased our freedom from the curse (doom) of the Law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written, Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree (is crucified);

Christ did redeem us from the curse of the law, having become for us a curse, for it hath been written, `Cursed is every one who is hanging on a tree,'

14 T o the end that through Christ Jesus, the blessing to Abraham might come upon the Gentiles, so that we through faith might receive the promise of the Spirit.

that to the nations the blessing of Abraham may come in Christ Jesus, that the promise of the Spirit we may receive through the faith.

15 T o speak in terms of human relations, brethren, even a man makes a last will and testament (a merely human covenant), no one sets it aside or makes it void or adds to it when once it has been drawn up and signed (ratified, confirmed).

Brethren, as a man I say, even of man a confirmed covenant no one doth make void or doth add to,

16 N ow the promises (covenants, agreements) were decreed and made to Abraham and his Seed (his Offspring, his Heir). He does not say, And to seeds (descendants, heirs), as if referring to many persons, but, And to your Seed (your Descendant, your Heir), obviously referring to one individual, Who is Christ (the Messiah).

and to Abraham were the promises spoken, and to his seed; He doth not say, `And to seeds,' as of many, but as of one, `And to thy seed,' which is Christ;

17 T his is my argument: The Law, which began 430 years after the covenant, does not and cannot annul the covenant previously established (ratified) by God, so as to abolish the promise and make it void.

and this I say, A covenant confirmed before by God to Christ, the law, that came four hundred and thirty years after, doth not set aside, to make void the promise,

18 F or if the inheritance the Law, it no longer on the promise; however, God gave it to Abraham by virtue of His promise.

for if by law the inheritance, no more by promise, but to Abraham through promise did God grant.

19 W hat then was the purpose of the Law? It was added because of transgressions and of sin; and it was intended to be in effect until the Seed (the Descendant, the Heir) should come, to and concerning Whom the promise had been made. And it was arranged and ordained and appointed through the instrumentality of angels by the hand (in the person) of a go-between.

Why, then, the law? on account of the transgressions it was added, till the seed might come to which the promise hath been made, having been set in order through messengers in the hand of a mediator --

20 N ow a go-between (intermediary) has to do with and implies more than one party. Yet God is one Person.

and the mediator is not of one, and God is one --

21 I s the Law then contrary and opposed to the promises of God? Of course not! For if a Law had been given which could confer life, then righteousness and right standing with God would certainly have come by Law.

the law, then, against the promises of God? -- let it not be! for if a law was given that was able to make alive, truly by law there would have been the righteousness,

22 B ut the Scriptures shut up and imprisoned by sin, so that which was promised through faith in Jesus Christ (the Messiah) might be given (released, delivered, and committed) to those who believe.

but the Writing did shut up the whole under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ may be given to those believing.

23 N ow before the faith came, we were perpetually guarded under the Law, kept in custody in preparation for the faith that was destined to be revealed (unveiled, disclosed),

And before the coming of the faith, under law we were being kept, shut up to the faith about to be revealed,

24 S o that the Law served as our trainer until Christ, that we might be justified (declared righteous, put in right standing with God) by and through faith.

so that the law became our child-conductor -- to Christ, that by faith we may be declared righteous,

25 B ut now that the faith has come, we are no longer under a trainer (the guardian of our childhood).

and the faith having come, no more under a child-conductor are we,

26 F or in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith.

for ye are all sons of God through the faith in Christ Jesus,

27 F or as many as were baptized into Christ have put on (clothed yourselves with) Christ.

for as many as to Christ were baptized did put on Christ;

28 T here is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

there is not here Jew or Greek, there is not here servant nor freeman, there is not here male and female, for all ye are one in Christ Jesus;

29 A nd if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring and heirs according to promise.

and if ye of Christ then of Abraham ye are seed, and according to promise -- heirs.