English Standard Version
Galatians 5:16
16But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
Galatians 5:16 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
- New International Version (NIV)So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
- New King James Version (NKJV)I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
- New Living Translation (NLT)So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.
Context of Galatians 5:16
14For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." 15But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Read all of Galatians 5Galatians 5:16 word by word
Λέγω δέ, πνεύματι περιπατεῖτε καὶ ἐπιθυμίαν σαρκὸς οὐ μὴ τελέσητε.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Galatians 5:16
- Galatians 3:17This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void.
- 1 Corinthians 7:29This is what I mean, brothers: the appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none,
- Galatians 5:25If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.
- Galatians 6:8For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
- Romans 8:1There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
- 1 Peter 1:22Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,
- 1 Peter 4:6For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does.
- Jude 1:19It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit.
- Galatians 5:19Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,
- Romans 6:12Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.
- Romans 13:13Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy.
- 2 Corinthians 7:1Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.
- 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.
- Colossians 2:11In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,
- Colossians 3:5Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
- 1 Peter 1:14As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance,
Commentaries on Galatians 5:16
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16Walk in the Spirit - Get back that Spirit of God which you have grieved and lost; take up that spiritual religion which you have abandoned. Ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh - If the Spirit of God dwell in and rule your heart, the whole carnal mind will be destroyed; and then, not only carnal ordinances will be abandoned, but also the works and propensities of the flesh.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16This I say then - This is the true rule about overcoming the propensities of your carnal natures, and of avoiding the evils of strife and contention. Walk - The Christian life is often represented as a journey, and the word walk, in the scripture, is often equivalent to live; Mark 7:5. See the notes at Romans 4:12; Romans 6:4, note; Romans 8:1, note. In the Spirit - Live under the influences of the Holy Spirit; admit those influences fully into your…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 16-26Verses 16-26 If it be our care to act under the guidance and power of the blessed Spirit, though we may not be freed from the stirrings and oppositions of the corrupt nature which remains in us, it shall not have dominion over us. Believers are engaged in a conflict, in which they earnestly desire that grace may obtain full and speedy victory. And those who desire thus to give themselves up to be led by the Holy Spirit, are not under the law as a covenant…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16-26A faith without laws will not cause moral ruin. The Holy Spirit guides people, changing their hearts to follow God's will and not sin (see Jeremiah 31:33; Hebrews 8:10).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 16-1816. This I say then--Repeating in other words, and explaining the sentiment in Ga 5:13, What I mean is this." Walk in the Spirit--Greek, "By (the rule of) the (Holy) Spirit." Compare Ga 5:16-18, 22, 25; Ga 6:1-8, with Ro 7:22; 8:11. The best way to keep tares out of a bushel is to fill it with wheat. the flesh--the natural man, out of which flow the evils specified (Ga 5:19-21). The spirit and the flesh mutually exclude one another. It is promised, not…Read the comment
Topics related to Galatians 5:16
In the dictionaries
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries