English Standard Version
Galatians 2:15
15We ourselves 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
- New King James Version (NKJV)We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles,
- New Living Translation (NLT)“You and I are Jews by birth, not ‘sinners’ like the Gentiles.
Context of Galatians 2:15
13And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. 14But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, "If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?" We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; 16yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. 17But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly 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 3:7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
- John 8:39They answered him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works Abraham did,
- Romans 4:16That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,
- Ephesians 2:3among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
- Matthew 9:11And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"
- Mark 7:26Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter.
- Acts 22:21And he said to me, 'Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.'"
- Romans 3:9What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin,
- Ephesians 2:11Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called "the uncircumcision" by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by 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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries