Galatians 5:16-25

5:16 But I say, live¹ by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh.² 5:17 For the flesh has desires that are opposed to the Spirit, and the Spirit has desires³ that are opposed to the flesh, for these are in opposition to⁴ each other, so that you cannot do what you want. 5:18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 5:19 Now the works of the flesh⁵ are obvious:⁶ sexual immorality, impurity, depravity, 5:20 idolatry, sorcery,⁷ hostilities,⁸ strife,⁹ jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish rivalries, dissensions,¹⁰ factions, 5:21 envying,¹¹ murder,¹² drunkenness, carousing,¹³ and similar things. I am warning you, as I had warned you before: Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God!

5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit¹⁴ is love,¹⁵ joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,¹⁶ 5:23 gentleness, and¹⁷ self-control. Against such things there is no law. 5:24 Now those who belong to Christ¹⁸ have crucified the flesh¹⁹ with its passions²⁰ and desires. 5:25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also behave in accordance with²¹ the Spirit.

¹tn Grk “walk” (a common NT idiom for how one conducts one’s life or how one behaves).

²tn On the term “flesh” (once in this verse and twice in v. 17) see the note on the same word in Gal 5:13.

³tn The words “has desires” do not occur in the Greek text a second time, but are repeated in the translation for clarity.

⁴tn Or “are hostile toward” (L&N 39.1).

⁵tn See the note on the word “flesh” in Gal 5:13.

⁶tn Or “clear,” “evident.”

⁷tn Or “witchcraft.”

⁸tn Or “enmities,” “[acts of] hatred.”

⁹tn Or “discord” (L&N 39.22).

¹⁰tn Or “discord(s)” (L&N 39.13).

¹¹tn This term is plural in Greek (as is “murder” and “carousing”), but for clarity these abstract nouns have been translated as singular.

¹²tc ‡ φόνοι (fonoi, “murders”) is absent in such important mss as Ì⁴⁶ א B 33 81 323 945 pc sa, while the majority of mss (A C D F G Ψ 0122 0278 1739 1881 Ï lat) have the word. Although the pedigree of the mss which lack the term is of the highest degree, homoioteleuton may well explain the shorter reading. The preceding word has merely one letter difference, making it quite possible to overlook this term (φθόνοι φόνοι, fqonoi fonoi).

¹³tn Or “revelings,” “orgies” (L&N 88.287).

¹⁴tn That is, the fruit the Spirit produces.

¹⁵sn Another way to punctuate this is “love” followed by a colon (love: joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control). It is thus possible to read the eight characteristics following “love” as defining love.

¹⁶tn Or “reliability”; see BDAG 818 s.v. πίστις 1.a.

¹⁷tn “And” is supplied here as a matter of English style, which normally inserts “and” between the last two elements of a list or series.

¹⁸tc ‡ Some mss (א A B C P Ψ 0122¹ 0278 33 1175 1739 pc co) read “Christ Jesus” here, while many significant ones (Ì⁴⁶ D F G 0122*^,2 latt sy), as well as the Byzantine text, lack “Jesus.” The Byzantine text is especially not prone to omit the name “Jesus”; that it does so here argues for the authenticity of the shorter reading (for similar instances of probably authentic Byzantine shorter readings, see Matt 24:36 and Phil 1:14; cf. also W.-H. J. Wu, “A Systematic Analysis of the Shorter Readings in the Byzantine Text of the Synoptic Gospels” [Ph.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 2002]). On the strength of the alignment of Ì⁴⁶ with the Western and Byzantine texttypes, the shorter reading is preferred. NA²⁷ includes the word in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

¹⁹tn See the note on the word “flesh” in Gal 5:13.

²⁰tn The Greek term παθήμασιν (paqhmasin, translated “passions”) refers to strong physical desires, especially of a sexual nature (L&N 25.30).

²¹tn Or “let us also follow,” “let us also walk by.”