Galatians 5:16-17

5:16 But I say, live ¹  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 desires ³  that are opposed to the flesh, for these are in opposition to ⁴  each other, so that you cannot do what you want.

Galatians 5:24

5:24 Now those who belong to Christ ⁵  have crucified the flesh ⁶  with its passions ⁷  and desires.

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

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

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

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

⁵ tc ‡ 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.

⁶ tn See the note on the word “flesh” in Gal 5:13.

⁷ tn The Greek term παθήμασιν (paqhmasin, translated “passions”) refers to strong physical desires, especially of a sexual nature (L&N 25.30).