Galatians 5:2

Galatians 5:2 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.
• New International Version (NIV)Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing.

Context of Galatians 5:2

1It was for this freedom that Christ set us free [completely liberating us]; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery [which you once removed]. Notice, it is I, Paul, who tells you that if you receive circumcision [as a supposed requirement of salvation], Christ will be of no benefit to you [for you will lack the faith in Christ that is necessary for salvation]. 3Once more I solemnly affirm to every man who receives circumcision [as a supposed requirement of salvation], that he is under obligation and required to keep the whole Law. 4You have been severed from Christ, if you seek to be justified [that is, declared free of the guilt of sin and its penalty, and placed in right standing with God] through the Law; you have fallen from grace [for you have lost your grasp on God’s unmerited favor and blessing].

Galatians 5:2 word by word

Ἴδε ἐγὼ Παῦλος λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι ἐὰν περιτέμνησθε, Χριστὸς ὑμᾶς οὐδὲν ὠφελήσει·Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Beholdὁράωhoraō · to see: seeG3708
• Iἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• PaulΠαῦλοςPaulos · PaulG3972
• sayλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• unto youσύsu · youG4771
• thatὅτιhoti · that/since: thatG3754
• ifἐάνean · ifG1437
• ye be circumcisedπεριτέμνωperitemnō · to circumciseG4059
• ChristΧριστόςChristos · ChristG5547
• shall profitὠφελέωōpheleō · to helpG5623
• nothingοὐδείςoudeis · noneG3762

Cross-references for Galatians 5:2

• 1 Corinthians 16:21This greeting is in my own hand—Paul.
• 2 Corinthians 10:1Now I, Paul, urge you by the gentleness and graciousness of Christ—I who am meek [so they say] when with you face to face, but bold [outspoken and fearless] toward you when absent!
• 1 Thessalonians 2:18For we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again [wanted to come], but Satan hindered us.
• Philemon 1:9yet for love’s sake I prefer to appeal to you—since I am such a person as Paul, an old man, and now also a prisoner [for the sake] of Christ Jesus—
• Galatians 5:4You have been severed from Christ, if you seek to be justified [that is, declared free of the guilt of sin and its penalty, and placed in right standing with God] through the Law; you have fallen from grace [for you have lost your grasp on God’s unmerited favor and blessing].
• Galatians 2:3But [all went well, for] not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled [as some had anticipated] to be circumcised, despite the fact that he was a Greek.
• Acts 15:1Some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised in accordance with the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”
• Acts 16:3Paul wanted Timothy to go with him [as a missionary]; and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, since they all knew that his father was a Greek.
• Romans 9:31whereas Israel, [though always] pursuing the law of righteousness, did not succeed in fulfilling the law.
• Romans 10:2For I testify about them that they have a certain enthusiasm for God, but not in accordance with [correct and vital] knowledge [about Him and His purposes].
• Hebrews 4:2For indeed we have had the good news [of salvation] preached to us, just as the Israelites also [when the good news of the promised land came to them]; but the message they heard did not benefit them, because it was not united with faith [in God] by those who heard.

Commentaries on Galatians 5:2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2If ye be circumcised - By circumcision you take on you the whole obligation of the Jewish law, and consequently profess to seek salvation by means of its observances; and therefore Christ can profit you nothing; for, by seeking justification by the works of the law, you renounce justification by faith in Christ.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2Behold, I Paul say unto you - I, who at first preached the gospel to you; I, too, who have been circumcised, and who was formerly a strenuous assertor of the necessity of observing the laws of Moses; and I, too, who am charged (see Galatians 5:11) with still preaching the necessity of circumcision, now solemnly say to you, that if you are circumcised with a view to being justified by that in whole or in part, it amounts to a rejection of the doctrine of…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2Paul reminded the Galatians who it was that was speaking to them. He was the apostle of Jesus Christ who represented the Lord to non-Jewish people and first preached the good news to them.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. Behold--that is, Mark what I say. I Paul--Though you now think less of my authority, I nevertheless give my name and personal authority as enough by itself to refute all opposition of adversaries. if ye be circumcised--not as Alford, "If you will go on being circumcised." Rather, "If ye suffer yourselves to be circumcised," namely, under the notion of its being necessary to justification (Ga 5:4; Ac 15:1). Circumcision here is not regarded simply by…Read the comment

Topics related to Galatians 5:2

• Circumcision
• Works

In the dictionaries

• Christ
• Paul
• Christ, Messiah
• Paul, Saul
• Affection
• Bite
• Contrary
• Cross
• Crucify
• Debtor

Commentaries on Galatians 5

• 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