Chapter 1

Paul’s Greeting to the Galatians

¹Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead—²and all the brothers with me,

To the churches of Galatia:

³Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,^{a 4}who gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, ⁵to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

No Other Gospel

⁶I am amazed how quickly you are deserting the One who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—⁷which is not even a gospel. Evidently some people are troubling you and trying to distort the gospel of Christ.

⁸But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be under a curse! ⁹As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be under a curse!

Paul Preaches the Gospel

¹⁰Am I now seeking the approval of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. ¹¹For I certify to you, brothers, that the gospel I preached was not devised by man.^{b 12}I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.

¹³For you have heard of my former way of life in Judaism, how severely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. ¹⁴I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers.

¹⁵But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by His grace, was pleased ¹⁶to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not rush to consult with flesh and blood, ¹⁷nor did I go up to Jerusalem to the apostles who came before me, but I went into Arabia and later returned to Damascus.

¹⁸Only after three years did I go up to Jerusalem to confer with Cephas,^c and I stayed with him fifteen days. ¹⁹But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s brother. ²⁰I assure you before God that what I am writing to you is no lie.

²¹Later I went to the regions of Syria and Cilicia. ²²I was personally unknown, however, to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. ²³They only heard the account: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” ²⁴And they glorified God because of me.