Galatians 2:18 BSB — MannaFest

Galatians 2:18

If I rebuild what I have already torn down, I prove myself to be a lawbreaker.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

For if I build up again those things which I destroyed, I prove myself a transgressor.

KJV

For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.

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Commentary

3 voices

Jerome

Commentary on Galatians (420)

(Vers. 17, 18.) Therefore, by the works of the Law, all flesh will not be justified. But if we seek to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found to be sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? Certainly not! For if the things that I destroyed, I build again, I make myself a transgressor. That flesh, of which it is written, 'All flesh is grass, and all its glory is like the flower of the field' (Isaiah 40:6), will not be justified by the works of the Law.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

Tertullian

Against Marcion Book V (220)

Justly, therefore, did he refuse to "build up again (the structure of the law) which he had overthrown." The law, indeed, had to be overthrown, from the moment when John "cried in the wilderness, Prepare ye the ways of the Lord," that valleys and hills and mountains may be filled up and levelled, and the crooked and the rough ways be made straight and smooth -in other words, that the difficulties of the law might be changed into the facilities of the gospel.

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)

As if he had said, The objection were just, if the gospel promised justification to men continuing in sin. Therefore if any who profess the gospel do not live according to it, they are sinners, it is certain, but not justified, and so the gospel is clear.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible (1832)

For 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.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

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.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

10 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
εἰ	ei	If	G1487 →
γὰρ	gar	for	G1063 →
ἃ	ha	that	G3739 →
κατέλυσα,	katelusa	I had torn down,	G2647 →
ταῦτα	tauta	these things	G3778 →
πάλιν	palin	again	G3825 →
οἰκοδομῶ,	oikodomō	I build,	G3618 →
παραβάτην	parabatēn	a transgressor	G3848 →
ἐμαυτὸν	emauton	myself	G1473 →
συνιστάνω·	sunistanō	I prove;	G4921 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

G3825palinagain139×

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Galatians 2:21
I do not set aside the grace of God. For if righteousness comes through the law, Christ died for nothing.
leads to
- Romans 11:6
  And if it is by grace, then it is no longer by works. Otherwise, grace would no longer be grace.
- Galatians 3:21
  Is the law, then, opposed to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come from the law.
- Hebrews 7:11
  Now if perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood (for on this basis the people received the law), why was there still need for another priest to appear—one in the order of…
- 1 Corinthians 15:14
  And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is worthless, and so is your faith.
- Galatians 2:16
  know that a man is not justified by works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in…
Through
Romans 14:15
If your brother is distressed by what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother, for whom Christ died.
leads to
- 1 Corinthians 8:11–12
  So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge.
- Philippians 2:2–4
  then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being united in spirit and purpose.
- Galatians 5:13
  For you, brothers, were called to freedom; but do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. Rather, serve one another in love.

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Rylands Library Papyrus P52 (earliest Gospel of John fragment) — Unknown scribe

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About Galatians

The Crucifixion — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)

Galatians: the study guide →Read chapter 2 →The featured study →

Continue: Galatians 2 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About Galatians

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About Galatians