Galatians 3:1
King James Version (KJV)
O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?
Translations
Galatians 3:1 - Amplified Bible
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?
Galatians 3:1 - American Standard Version
O foolish Galatians, who did bewitch you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was openly set forth crucified?
Galatians 3:1 - Bible in Basic English
O foolish Galatians, by what strange powers have you been tricked, to whom it was made clear that Jesus Christ was put to death on the cross?
Galatians 3:1 - Darby Bible
O senseless Galatians, who has bewitched you; to whom, as before your very eyes, Jesus Christ has been portrayed, crucified [among you]?
Galatians 3:1 - English Standard Version
O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified.
Galatians 3:1 - King James Version
O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?
Galatians 3:1 - La Biblia de las Americas
¡Oh, gálatas insensatos! ¿Quién os ha fascinado a vosotros, ante cuyos ojos Jesucristo fue presentado pùblicamente como crucificado?
Galatians 3:1 - The Message
You crazy Galatians! Did someone put a hex on you? Have you taken leave of your senses? Something crazy has happened, for it’s obvious that you no longer have the crucified Jesus in clear focus in your lives. His sacrifice on the cross was certainly set before you clearly enough.
Galatians 3:1 - New American Standard Bible
You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed {as} crucified?
Galatians 3:1 - Nueva Biblia Latinoamericana de Hoy
¡Oh, Gálatas insensatos! ¿Quién los ha fascinado a ustedes, ante cuyos ojos Jesucristo fue presentado pùblicamente como crucificado?
Galatians 3:1 - World English Bible
Foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you not to obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was openly set forth among you as crucified?
Galatians 3:1 - Young's Living Translation
O thoughtless Galatians, who did bewitch you, not to obey the truth -- before whose eyes Jesus Christ was described before among you crucified?
Galatians 3:1 - Additional Comments
What we have learned from the first 2 chapters:
1) There are false teachers in the Galatian churches preaching what Paul calls a different gospel (1:6), which is no gospel at all.
2) The opponents of Paul are discrediting his message by denying Paul's authority as an apostle. They say he has his gospel and apostleship secondhand and that the real authorities are the Jerusalem apostles.
3) Paul establishes by historical reports that his gospel and authority are not from any mere man, but came by revelation of Jesus Christ, and not only that, there is a deep unity of theology and faith between Paul and the Jerusalem apostles in spite of their independence.
4) The way Paul has defended his authority and his gospel show the kind of false teaching that is threatening the churches of Galatia. It appears that a Jewish group of professing Christians who claim to have James on their side (Gal 2:12) are teaching that it is not enough to trust Christ for righteousness. They said if you rely on faith alone you become a "Gentile sinner" and make Christ the agent of sin (2:17). Trusting in what Christ did for you has to be supplemented by what you can do for Christ. God's work plus your work equals justification. So the Judaizers required circumcision (2:3), dietary restrictions (2:12,13), and the keeping of feasts and holy days (4:10), and at least implied that by these works the Galatians could contribute their part to the transaction of justification.
- As far as Paul is concerned, if you buy into this mingling of faith and works you nullify the grace of God (2:21), you step out of sync with the truth of the gospel (2:14) and the cross is no longer a stumbling block to the Jews (5:11)
- As close as it may sound to the truth, as close as it may seem to be tied to the apostles, it is another gospel which is no gospel (1:7), and those who follow it will be accursed and cut off from Christ (1:8,9).
In this passage Paul confronts the Galatians with the folly and inconsistency of their behavior, as he did with Peter in 2:11,14. Twice Paul calls the Galatians foolish, in verses 1 and 3.. He explains what he means - "Who has bewitched you?" They are acting as if someone cast a spell on them. It's as if they have been hypnotized. They are irrational, out of touch with reality, mentally drunk.
The implication here is that it is the people who don't take Christ into account who are in a dreamworld. The real fairy tale is not the incarnation, death and resurrection of Christ, but the fantasy of godlessness. The most seriously bewitched people are those who don't believe in demons. The most deluding stupor in the world is caused by the sedative of secularism. If Christ is real it is not his followers who are fools.
Some people say, "If people are dead in their sins (Eph. 2:1) and blinded by the God of this age (2 Cor. 4:4), there is no point in reasoning with them. Only the Holy Spirit can open their eyes." But Paul reasons for six chapters with people so deluded he calls them bewitched. The reason is that the Holy Spirit does not work in a vacuum. He uses the word to break the spell of confusion and unbelief. We are to lay the truth out to people, and from there God does the work (2 Tim. 2:25,26). They can still fight it, and not "come to their senses".
So Paul begins to lay out the truth to the Galatians, telling them why they are so foolish. He tells them they are contradicting the work of Christ on the cross and they are contradicting the work of the Spirit in their lives. The death of Christ on the cross shows it is His sacrifice is utterly sufficient for our atonement.
My faith is in the all-sufficiency of Christ and never looks to itself with any expectancy of power or virtue. Therefore, when one holds to the law as a ladder to heaven on which to demonstrate our contribution of will or effort, we nullify the grace of God (2:21), we remove the stumbling block of the cross (5:11) and we show that we are bewitched and foolish (3:1,3). That, then, is the first reason Paul gives for why the action of the Galatians is so foolish: it contradicts the work of Christ on the cross.
Comments are closed.