1 O foolish Galatians! ^uWho has bewitched you? It was ^vbefore your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you ^wreceive the Spirit by works of the law or by ^xhearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? ^yHaving begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by¹ the flesh? 4 Did you suffer² so many things ^zin vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and ^aworks ^bmiracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— 6 just as Abraham ^c“believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?

7 Know then that ^dit is ^ethose of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that ^fGod would justify³ the Gentiles by faith, ^gpreached the gospel ^hbeforehand to Abraham, saying, ⁱ“In you shall all the nations be blessed.” 9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

10 For all who rely on works of the law are ^junder a curse; for it is written, ^k“Cursed be everyone who does not abide by ^lall things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” 11 Now it is evident that ^mno one is justified before God by the law, for ⁿ“The righteous shall live by faith.”⁴ 12 But the law is not of faith, rather ^o“The one who does them shall live by them.” 13 Christ ^predeemed us from the curse of the law by ^qbecoming a curse for us—for it is written, ^r“Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a ^stree”— 14 ^tso that in Christ Jesus the ^ublessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive ^vthe promised Spirit⁵ through faith.

15 ^wTo give a human example, brothers:⁶ even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. 16 Now ^xthe promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, ^y“And to your offspring,” ^zwho is Christ. 17 This is what I mean: ^athe law, which came ^b430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. 18 For if the ^cinheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.

19 Why then the law? ^dIt was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was ^eput in place through angels ^fby an ^gintermediary. 20 Now an ^hintermediary implies more than one, but ⁱGod is one.

21 Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then ^jrighteousness would indeed be by the law. 22 But the Scripture ^kimprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by ^lfaith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

23 Now before faith came, we were held captive ^munder the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. 24 So then, the law was our guardian ⁿuntil Christ came, in order that we might be ^ojustified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as were ^pbaptized into Christ have ^qput on Christ. 28 There is ^rneither Jew nor Greek, there is ^sneither slave⁷ nor free, there is ^tno male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And ^uif you are ^vChrist’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.