Christian Standard Bible
Galatians 2:15
15We are Jews by birth and not “Gentile sinners,”
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
13Then the rest of the Jews joined his hypocrisy, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. 14But when I saw that they were deviating from the truth of the gospel, I told Cephas in front of everyone, “If you, who are a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel Gentiles to live like Jews?” We are Jews by birth and not “Gentile sinners,” 16and yet because we know that a person is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we ourselves have believed in Christ Jesus. This was so that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no human being will be justified. 17But if we ourselves are also found to be “sinners” while seeking to be justified by Christ, is Christ then a promoter of sin? Absolutely not!
Read all of Galatians 2Galatians 2:15 word by word
ἡμεῖς φύσει Ἰουδαῖοι καὶ οὐκ ἐξ ἐθνῶν ἁμαρτωλοί·Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Galatians 2:15
- Matthew 3:7When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?
- John 8:39“Our father is Abraham,” they replied. “If you were Abraham’s children,” Jesus told them, “you would do what Abraham did.
- Romans 4:16This is why the promise is by faith, so that it may be according to grace, to guarantee it to all the descendants — not only to the one who is of the law but also to the one who is of Abraham’s faith. He is the father of us all.
- Ephesians 2:3We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also.
- Matthew 9:11When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
- Mark 7:26The woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth, and she was asking him to cast the demon out of her daughter.
- Acts 22:21“He said to me, ‘Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”
- Romans 3:9What then? Are we any better off? Not at all! For we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin,
- Ephesians 2:11So, then, remember that at one time you were Gentiles in the flesh — called “the uncircumcised” by those called “the circumcised,” which is done 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
In the dictionaries
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
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