Galatians 2:15

Galatians 2:15 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles,
• New International Version (NIV)“We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles
• English Standard Version (ESV)We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners;
• New King James Version (NKJV)We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles,

Context of Galatians 2:15

13The rest of the Jews joined him in this hypocrisy [ignoring their knowledge that Jewish and Gentile Christians were united, under the new covenant, into one faith], with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. 14But when I saw that they were not being straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I told Cephas (Peter) in front of everyone, “If you, being a Jew, live [as you have been living] like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how is it that you are [now virtually] forcing the Gentiles to live like Jews [if they want to eat with you]?” [I went on to say] “We are Jews by birth and not sinners from among the Gentiles; 16yet we know that a man is not justified [and placed in right standing with God] by works of the Law, but [only] through faith in [God’s beloved Son,] Christ Jesus. And even we [as Jews] have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the Law. By observing the Law no one will ever be justified [declared free of the guilt of sin and its penalty]. 17But if, while we seek to be justified in Christ [by faith], we ourselves are found to be sinners, does that make Christ an advocate or promoter of our sin? Certainly not!

Galatians 2:15 word by word

ἡμεῖς φύσει Ἰουδαῖοι καὶ οὐκ ἐξ ἐθνῶν ἁμαρτωλοί·Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Weἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• JewsἸουδαῖοςIoudaios · JewG2453
• by natureφύσιςphusis · natureG5449
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• notοὐou · noG3756
• sinnersἁμαρτωλόςhamartōlos · sinfulG268
• ofἐκek ex · out fromG1537
• the Gentilesἔθνοςethnos · GentilesG1484

Cross-references for Galatians 2:15

• Matthew 3:7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the [divine] wrath and judgment to come?
• John 8:39They answered, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you are [truly] Abraham’s children, then do the works of Abraham and follow his example.
• Romans 4:16Therefore, [inheriting] the promise depends entirely on faith [that is, confident trust in the unseen God], in order that it may be given as an act of grace [His unmerited favor and mercy], so that the promise will be [legally] guaranteed to all the descendants [of Abraham]—not only for those [Jewish believers] who keep the Law, but also for those [Gentile believers] who share the faith of Abraham, who is the [spiritual] father of us all—
• Ephesians 2:3Among these [unbelievers] we all once lived in the passions of our flesh [our behavior governed by the sinful self], indulging the desires of human nature [without the Holy Spirit] and [the impulses] of the [sinful] mind. We were, by nature, children [under the sentence] of [God’s] wrath, just like the rest [of mankind].
• Matthew 9:11When the Pharisees saw this, they asked His disciples, “Why does your Master eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
• Mark 7:26Now the woman was a Gentile (Greek), a Syrophoenician by nationality. And she kept pleading with Him to drive the demon out of her daughter.
• Acts 22:21And the Lord said to me, ‘Go, I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ ”
• Romans 3:9Well then, are we [Jews] better off than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks (Gentiles) are under the control of sin and subject to its power.
• Ephesians 2:11Therefore, remember that at one time you Gentiles by birth, who are called “Uncircumcision” by those who called themselves “Circumcision,” [itself a mere mark] which is made in the flesh by human hands—

Commentaries on Galatians 2:15

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 15We who are Jews by nature - We who belong to the Jewish nation - who have been born, bred, and educated Jews. And not sinners of the Gentiles - ̔· Not without the knowledge of God, as they have been. ̔ often signifies a heathen, merely one who had no knowledge of the true God. But among the nations or Gentiles many Jews sojourned; who in Scripture are known by the name of Hellenists, and these were distinguished from those who were termed ̔, sinners of…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15We who are Jews by nature - It has long been a question whether this and the following verses are to be regarded as a part of the address of Paul to Peter, or the words of Paul as a part of the Epistle to the Galatians. A great variety of opinion has prevailed in regard to this. Grotius says, “Here the narrative of Paul being closed, he pursues his argument to the Galatians.” In this opinion Bloomfield and many others concur. Rosenmuller and many others…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-19Verses 15-19 Paul, having thus shown he was not inferior to any apostle, not to Peter himself, speaks of the great foundation doctrine of the gospel. For what did we believe in Christ? Was it not that we might be justified by the faith of Christ? If so, is it not foolish to go back to the law, and to expect to be justified by the merit of moral works, or sacrifices, or ceremonies? The occasion of this declaration doubtless arose from the ceremonial law…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 15Gentiles were considered "sinners" because they did not have the law and could not obey God's commands. Paul used Jewish thinking categories (compare Matthew 15:21–28; 26:45; Luke 6:32–34; 18:9–14) with strong irony, emphasizing that everyone is sinful (Galatians 2:16; Romans 3:23).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 15-1615-16. Connect these verses together, and read with most of the oldest manuscripts "But" in the beginning of Ga 2:16: "We (I and thou, Peter) by nature (not by proselytism), Jews, and not sinners as (Jewish language termed the Gentiles) from among the Gentiles, YET (literally, 'BUT') knowing that ... even we (resuming the 'we' of Ga 2:15, 'we also,' as well as the Gentile sinners; casting away trust in the law), have believed," &c.Read the comment

Topics related to Galatians 2:15

• Antioch
• Gentiles
• Justification

In the dictionaries

• Add
• Blame
• Bondage
• Conference
• Crucify
• Forward
• Live
• Peter
• Pillar
• Remember

Commentaries on Galatians 2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings