EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Galatians 2:12
12When he first arrived in Antioch, Peter had been eating meals with the Gentile believers there. Then James sent some Jewish believers from Jerusalem to Antioch. After those men had arrived, Peter started to keep himself separate from the Gentiles. He stopped eating meals with them. He was afraid of those Jews who wanted to circumcise the Gentile believers.
Galatians 2:12 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision.
- New International Version (NIV)For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group.
- English Standard Version (ESV)For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party.
- New King James Version (NKJV)for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision.
Context of Galatians 2:12
10They only asked us to do this: We should remember to help the poor people among their group. That is something that I myself wanted very much to do. 11But later, when Peter came to Antioch, I spoke against him. I told him clearly that he had done something wrong. When he first arrived in Antioch, Peter had been eating meals with the Gentile believers there. Then James sent some Jewish believers from Jerusalem to Antioch. After those men had arrived, Peter started to keep himself separate from the Gentiles. He stopped eating meals with them. He was afraid of those Jews who wanted to circumcise the Gentile believers. 13The other Jewish believers in Antioch also did what Peter did. They became hypocrites like him. Even Barnabas agreed and he copied their example. 14But I could see that they were wrong to do this. They were not living in a way that agrees with God's true message. So I spoke to Peter in front of all of them. I said to him, ‘You were born as a Jew, but you have been living like a Gentile. As a believer, you no longer obey all the Jewish rules. So you should not try to make Gentile believers obey those Jewish rules.’
Read all of Galatians 2Galatians 2:12 word by word
πρὸ τοῦ γὰρ ἐλθεῖν τινας ἀπὸ Ἰακώβου μετὰ τῶν ἐθνῶν συνήσθιεν· ὅτε δὲ ἦλθον, ὑπέστελλεν καὶ ἀφώριζεν ἑαυτὸν φοβούμενος τοὺς ἐκ περιτομῆς·Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Forγάρgar · forG1063
- beforeπρόpro · beforeG4253
- thatὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- certainτιςtis · oneG5100
- cameἔρχομαιerchomai · to come/goG2064
- fromἀπόapo · away fromG575
- JamesἸάκωβοςIakōbos · JamesG2385
- he did eatσυνεσθίωsunesthiō · to eat withG4906
- withμετάmeta · with/afterG3326
- the Gentilesἔθνοςethnos · GentilesG1484
- butδέde · thenG1161
- whenὅτεhote ho te hē te tō te · whenG3753
- he withdrewὑποστέλλωhupostellō · to withdrawG5288
- andκαίkai · andG2532
- separatedἀφορίζωaphorizō · to separateG873
- himselfἑαυτοῦheautou · themselfG1438
- fearingφοβέωphobeō · to fearG5399
- were ofἐκek ex · out fromG1537
- the circumcisionπεριτομήperitomē · circumcisionG4061
Cross-references for Galatians 2:12
- Galatians 2:9James, Peter and John understood that God had given this special job to me. They are the leaders that the church in Jerusalem respects. And they were happy to accept Barnabas and me as their friends. They agreed that we should teach God's message to the Gentiles. They themselves would continue to teach the Jews.
- Acts 21:18The next day, we went with Paul to see James. The leaders of the believers were also there.
- Acts 10:28He said to them, ‘You all know that we Jews do not become friends with Gentiles. Our Jewish laws do not let us visit the homes of Gentiles. But God has now shown me something different. I should not say about anyone that God will not accept them.
- Acts 11:3So they said to Peter, ‘You stayed in the house of men who were not circumcised. You even ate meals with them!’
- Ephesians 2:15When his body died on the cross, Christ took away the power of the Jewish laws and rules. In that way, he made the two groups join together as one new group of people. As a result, he caused them to have peace.
- Ephesians 3:6This is the message of God's good news: Gentiles, as well as Jews, may receive the good things that God has prepared for his children. We may all belong to the same group of God's people, like we are his body. Everyone who is united with Christ Jesus receives the good things that God has promised.
- Isaiah 65:5They say to each other, “Keep away from me! Do not come near me! I am too holy for you!” These people are like smoke in my nose! They are like a fire that burns all day.’
- Luke 15:2The Pharisees and teachers of God's Law did not like this. ‘This man is friendly with people that do not obey God,’ they said. ‘He even eats with them in their homes.’
- 1 Thessalonians 5:22But keep away from any kind of bad thing.
- Proverbs 29:25If you are afraid of what people think about you, you will never feel safe. But if you trust in the Lord, he will keep you safe.
- Isaiah 57:11What idol are you so afraid of, that you choose to deceive me? You seem to have forgotten about me. You do not think about me at all. Have I been silent for too long? Is that why you no longer respect me?
- Matthew 26:69While all these things were happening, Peter was sitting outside in the yard. One of the girls who worked there went to him and she said, ‘You were also a friend of Jesus, the man from Galilee.’
Commentaries on Galatians 2:12
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12Before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles - Here was Peter's fault. He was convinced that God had pulled down the middle wall of partition that had so long separated the Jews and Gentiles, and he acted on this conviction, associating with the latter and eating with them; but when certain Jews came from James, who it appears considered the law still to be in force, lest he should place a stumbling-block before them he withdrew from…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12For before that certain came - Some of the Jews who had been converted to Christianity. They evidently observed in the strictest manner the rites of the Jewish religion. Came from James - See the note at Galatians 1:19. Whether they were sent by James, or whether they came of their own accord, is unknown. It is evident only that they had been intimate with James at Jerusalem, and they doubtless pleaded his authority. James had nothing to do with the…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 11-14Verses 11-14 Notwithstanding Peter's character, yet, when Paul saw him acting so as to hurt the truth of the gospel and the peace of the church, he was not afraid to reprove him. When he saw that Peter and the others did not live up to that principle which the gospel taught, and which they professed, namely, That by the death of Christ the partition wall between Jew and Gentile was taken down, and the observance of the law of Moses was no longer in force…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 12Peter ate with the non-Jewish believers because God had shown him it was right (Acts 10:9–16, 34–35). James's friends wanted to stop Jewish and non-Jewish believers from eating and meeting together freely. These people insisted that everyone should follow strict Jewish religious customs. They tried to force non-Jewish believers to follow Jewish rules about food and religious practices. he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1212. certain--men: perhaps James' view (in which he was not infallible, any more than Peter) was that the Jewish converts were still to observe Jewish ordinances, from which he had decided with the council the Gentiles should be free (Ac 15:19). Neander, however, may be right in thinking these self-styled delegates from James were not really from him. Ac 15:24 favors this. "Certain from James," may mean merely that they came from the Church at Jerusalem…Read the comment
Topics related to Galatians 2:12
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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