Galatians 2:18

Galatians 2:18 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.
• New International Version (NIV)If I rebuild what I destroyed, then I really would be a lawbreaker.
• English Standard Version (ESV)For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor.
• New King James Version (NKJV)For if I build again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.

Context of Galatians 2:18

16Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law.” 17But suppose we seek to be made right with God through faith in Christ and then we are found guilty because we have abandoned the law. Would that mean Christ has led us into sin? Absolutely not! Rather, I am a sinner if I rebuild the old system of law I already tore down. 19For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me. So I died to the law—I stopped trying to meet all its requirements—so that I might live for God. 20My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Galatians 2:18 word by word

εἰ γὰρ ἃ κατέλυσα, ταῦτα πάλιν οἰκοδομῶ, παραβάτην ἐμαυτὸν συνιστάνω·Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Forγάρgar · forG1063
• ifεἰei · ifG1487
• I buildοἰκοδομέωoikodomeō · to buildG3618
• againπάλινpalin · againG3825
• the thingsοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
• whichὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
• I destroyedκαταλύωkataluō · to destroy/lodgeG2647
• I makeσυνίστημι, συνιστάωsunistaō sunistanō sunistēmi · to commendG4921
• myselfἐμαυτοῦemautou emautō emauton · myselfG1683
• a transgressorπαραβάτηςparabatēs · transgresorG3848

Cross-references for Galatians 2:18

• Galatians 2:4Even that question came up only because of some so-called believers there—false ones, really—who were secretly brought in. They sneaked in to spy on us and take away the freedom we have in Christ Jesus. They wanted to enslave us and force us to follow their Jewish regulations.
• Galatians 4:9So now that you know God (or should I say, now that God knows you), why do you want to go back again and become slaves once more to the weak and useless spiritual principles of this world?
• Galatians 5:11Dear brothers and sisters, if I were still preaching that you must be circumcised—as some say I do—why am I still being persecuted? If I were no longer preaching salvation through the cross of Christ, no one would be offended.
• Romans 14:15And if another believer is distressed by what you eat, you are not acting in love if you eat it. Don’t let your eating ruin someone for whom Christ died.
• 1 Corinthians 8:11So because of your superior knowledge, a weak believer for whom Christ died will be destroyed.

Commentaries on Galatians 2:18

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18For if I build again the things which I destroyed - If I act like a Jew, and enjoin the observance of the law on the Gentiles, which I have repeatedly asserted and proved to be abolished by the death of Christ, then I build up what I destroyed, and thus make myself a transgressor, by not observing the law in that way in which I appear to enjoin the observance of it upon others.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18For if I build again the things which I destroyed - Paul here uses the first person; but he evidently intends it as a general proposition, and means that if anyone does it he becomes a transgressor. The sense is, that if a man, having removed or destroyed that which was evil, again introduces it or establishes it, he does wrong, and is a transgressor of the Law of God. The particular application here, as it seems to me, is to the subject of circumcision…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. 18I prove myself to be a lawbreaker: Abandoning faith and returning to the law places a person under the law's authority, where everyone faces God’s judgment (Romans 3:10–12, 23–24; see Hebrews 6:1–8). This act is a serious sin against Christ (Galatians 5:2–4; compare Hebrews 6:4–6). See also study note on 2:19. If I rebuild: This refers to insisting on following Jewish laws about food and circumcision (Galatians 2:11–13). When Jesus died on the cross, he…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1818. Greek, "For if the things which I overthrew (by the faith of Christ), those very things I build up again (namely, legal righteousness, by subjecting myself to the law), I prove myself (literally, 'I commend myself') a transgressor." Instead of commending yourself as you sought to do (Ga 2:12, end), you merely commend yourself as a transgressor. The "I" is intended by Paul for Peter to take to himself, as it is his case, not Paul's own, that is…Read the comment

Topics related to Galatians 2:18

• Justification

In the dictionaries

• Add
• Blame
• Bondage
• Conference
• Crucify
• Forward
• Live
• Pillar
• Remember
• Withstand

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