Galatians 2:19

Galatians 2:19 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.
• New International Version (NIV)“For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God.
• English Standard Version (ESV)For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God.
• New King James Version (NKJV)For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God.

Context of Galatians 2:19

17So then, we Jews become right with God when we believe in Christ. That means that we no longer obey all the Jewish rules. But that does not mean that Christ causes us to do wrong things. Certainly, it does not mean that! 18Instead, I would really be doing something wrong if I tried to obey all those rules again. I would be building again something that I had destroyed. That would really be against God's Law. But God's Law showed me that I could never obey all its rules. So I became like a dead person, free from the authority of those rules. That means that I can now live to please God. 20Christ died on the cross on my behalf. It is like I died there with him. So I do not live my own life any more. Instead, Christ lives in me. The life that I live now in my body, I live because I trust what he has done for me. He has loved me so much that he died on my behalf. 21So I do not refuse to accept the kind gift of God. If the rules of God's Law could make me right with him, then Christ would have died for no reason!

Galatians 2:19 word by word

ἐγὼ γὰρ διὰ νόμου νόμῳ ἀπέθανον, ἵνα θεῷ ζήσω. Χριστῷ συνεσταύρωμαι·Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Forγάρgar · forG1063
• Iἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• throughδιάdia · through/because ofG1223
• the lawνόμοςnomos · lawG3551
• am deadἀποθνήσκωapothnēskō · to dieG599
• thatἵναhina · in order that/toG2443
• I might liveζάωzaō · to liveG2198
• unto Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316

Cross-references for Galatians 2:19

• Galatians 3:10But some people try to obey all the rules of God's Law. They think that they will become right with God if they do this very well. But God will speak against people like that and he will punish them. It is written in the Bible: ‘God will punish everyone who does not always obey all the rules in his Law completely.’
• Romans 3:19So, we know that God's Law belongs to the Jews. God told them to obey everything that his Law teaches. As a result, nobody can say: ‘God should not punish me.’ Everybody in the world must stand in front of God and he will judge them.
• Romans 4:15The rules in Moses' Law say that God will punish people who do not obey those rules. But without any rules, there is nothing for people to obey.
• Romans 5:20God gave his Law to Moses to show more clearly that people were doing wrong things. But when people did more and more wrong things, God continued to be kind in more and more ways.
• Romans 7:7So someone might say, ‘God's Law must be bad.’ No! Certainly, it is not bad! Without that law, I would not have known what sin really is. One rule says, ‘You must not want to take things for yourself that belong to other people.’ Without that command, I would not have known that it is wrong to want other people's things.
• Romans 8:2If you belong to Christ Jesus, God's Spirit has given you a new life. God's Spirit now rules in your life and he has made you free. Sin and death no longer have authority over you.
• Romans 10:4God gave his Law to Israel's people for a purpose. But Christ has finished that purpose. So now, every person who believes in Christ becomes right with God.
• Romans 6:2No! Certainly we should not do that! Sin does not rule our lives any longer. That old life is dead! So it is not right that we should continue to do wrong things.
• Romans 7:4My friends, it is like that for you too. When Christ's body died on the cross, it is as if you also died with him. Because of that, you are no longer under the authority the law. Now you are free to belong to someone else. You belong to Christ, whom God raised up after his death. As a result, we can live in a good way that will please God.
• Colossians 2:20Remember that your old nature has died with Christ. So the powerful spirits that rule this world no longer have any authority over you. You do not need to serve them, because you do not belong to this world now. You do not need to obey their rules.
• Colossians 3:3Remember that your old nature has died. God is keeping your new life safe with Christ.
• 1 Peter 2:24When Christ died on the cross, he carried our sins in his own body. He took this punishment so that sin would no longer rule over us. Instead, we can now do the right things that God wants us to do. Because people hurt Christ's body, you have now become well.
• Galatians 2:20Christ died on the cross on my behalf. It is like I died there with him. So I do not live my own life any more. Instead, Christ lives in me. The life that I live now in my body, I live because I trust what he has done for me. He has loved me so much that he died on my behalf.
• Romans 14:7None of us lives only to please ourselves. And we do not die to please ourselves.
• 1 Corinthians 10:31Whatever you are doing, show that God is great. When you eat anything, or you drink anything, do it all in a way that praises God.
• 2 Corinthians 5:15He died on behalf of all people. So, while we live, we no longer live to please ourselves. Instead, we live to please Christ. He is the one that died on our behalf. He is the one that God raised up, to live again.

Commentaries on Galatians 2:19

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 19For I through the law am dead to the law - In consequence of properly considering the nature and requisitions of the law, I am dead to all hope and expectation of help or salvation from the law, and have been obliged to take refuge in the Gospel of Christ. Or, probably the word , Law, is here put for a system of doctrine; as if he had said, I through the Gospel am dead to the law. The law itself is consigned to death, and another, the Gospel of Christ, is…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 19For I through the law - On this passage the commentators are by no means agreed. It is agreed that in the phrase “am dead to the law,” the Law of Moses is referred to, and that the meaning is, that Paul had become dead to that as a ground or means of justification. He acted as though it were not; or it ceased to have influence over him. A dead man is insensible to all around him. He hears nothing; sees nothing; and nothing affects him. So when we are said…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. 19For through the law: Trying to please God by following the law always leads to sin (5:2–4; see Rom 7:5, 8–11). Living by the Spirit leads away from sin (Galatians 5:16, 22–24). I died to the law: "Dying to the law" means stopping the attempt to meet all its demands. Those who trust in Christ share in his death (2:20). They are no longer judged by the law (see Romans 6:2, 10–11; 7:2–6) and do not see the law as a way to be saved. Instead, Christians live…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1919. Here Paul seems to pass from his exact words to Peter, to the general purport of his argument on the question. However, his direct address to the Galatians seems not to be resumed till Ga 3:1, "O foolish Galatians," &c. For--But I am not a "transgressor" by forsaking the law. "For," &c. Proving his indignant denial of the consequence that "Christ is the minister of sin" (Ga 2:17), and of the premises from which it would follow. Christ, so far from…Read the comment

Topics related to Galatians 2:19

• Justification
• Works

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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