Galatians 2:4

2:4 Now this matter arose ¹  because of the false brothers with false pretenses ²  who slipped in unnoticed to spy on ³  our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, to make us slaves. ⁴ 

Galatians 2:12-14

2:12 Until ⁵  certain people came from James, he had been eating with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he stopped doing this ⁶  and separated himself ⁷  because he was afraid of those who were pro-circumcision. ⁸  2:13 And the rest of the Jews also joined with him in this hypocrisy, so that even Barnabas was led astray with them ⁹  by their hypocrisy. 2:14 But when I saw that they were not behaving consistently with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas ¹⁰  in front of them all, “If you, although you are a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you try to force ¹¹  the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

---

¹ tn No subject and verb are expressed in vv. 4-5, but the phrase “Now this matter arose,” implied from v. 3, was supplied to make a complete English sentence.

² tn The adjective παρεισάκτους (pareisaktou"), which relates to someone joining a group with false motives or false pretenses, applies to the “false brothers.” Although the expression “false brothers with false pretenses” is somewhat redundant, it captures the emphatic force of Paul’s expression, which labels both these “brothers” as false (ψευδαδέλφους, yeudadelfou") as well as their motives. See L&N 34.29 for more information.

³ tn The verb translated here as “spy on” (κατασκοπέω, kataskopew) can have a neutral nuance, but here the connotation is certainly negative (so F. F. Bruce, Galatians [NIGTC], 112-13, and E. Burton, Galatians [ICC], 83).

⁴ tn Grk “in order that they might enslave us.” The ἵνα (Jina) clause with the subjunctive verb καταδουλώσουσιν (katadoulwsousin) has been translated as an English infinitival clause.

⁵ tn The conjunction γάρ has not been translated here.

⁶ tn Grk “he drew back.” If ἑαυτόν (Jeauton) goes with both ὑπέστελλεν (Jupestellen) and ἀφώριζεν (afwrizen) rather than only the latter, the meaning would be “he drew himself back” (see BDAG 1041 s.v. ὑποστέλλω 1.a).

⁷ tn Or “and held himself aloof.”

⁸ tn Grk “the [ones] of the circumcision,” that is, the group of Jewish Christians who insisted on circumcision of Gentiles before they could become Christians.

⁹ tn The words “with them” are a reflection of the σύν- (sun-) prefix on the verb συναπήχθη (sunaphcqh; see L&N 31.76).

¹⁰ sn Cephas. This individual is generally identified with the Apostle Peter (L&N 93.211).

¹¹ tn Here ἀναγκάζεις (anankazei") has been translated as a conative present (see ExSyn 534).