Galatians 5:15 BSB — MannaFest

Galatians 5:15

But if you keep on biting and devouring one another, watch out, or you will be consumed by one another.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.

KJV

But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.

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Commentary

3 voices

Jerome

Commentary on Galatians (420)

(Verse 15) But if you bite and devour one another, be careful that you are not consumed by one another. This can be understood simply as not tearing each other down, not seeking revenge with curses, not wanting to cause sorrow to the sorrowful, and being like animals, biting and being bitten, leading to destruction and consumption. However, it is better to understand this in the context of the entire letter and according to reason, rather than suddenly breaking into extraordinary commands. Let us refer everything to circumcision and observance of the Law.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

John Gill

1697–1771

Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748)

But if ye bite and devour one another,.... Another reason inducing to love is taken from the pernicious consequences of a contrary spirit and conduct. The allusion is to beasts of prey falling upon and devouring one another: for wolves or dogs to worry sheep is not strange; but for sheep to distress one another is unnatural.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Albert Barnes

1798–1870

Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)

But if ye bite - The word used here (δάκνω daknō), means, properly, to bite, to sting; and here seems to be used in the sense of contending and striving - a metaphor not improbably taken from dogs and wild beasts. And devour one another - As wild beasts do. The sense is, “if you contend with each other;” and the reference is, probably, to the strifes which would arise between the two parties in the churches - the Jewish and the Gentile converts.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

11 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
εἰ	ei	If	G1487 →
δὲ	de	however	G1161 →
ἀλλήλους	allēlous	one another	G240 →
δάκνετε	daknete	you bite	G1143 →
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
κατεσθίετε,	katesthiete	devour,	G2719 →
βλέπετε	blepete	do take heed	G991 →
μὴ	mē	lest	G3361 →
ὑπ᾽	hup᾽	by	G5259 →
ἀλλήλων	allēlōn	one another	G240 →
ἀναλωθῆτε.¶	analōthēte	you may be consumed.	G355 →

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

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
James 3:14
But if you harbor bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast in it or deny the truth.
leads to
- James 3:16
  For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every evil practice.
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- 1 Corinthians 13:4
  Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
- Philippians 2:3
  Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves.
- 1 Corinthians 3:3
  for you are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and dissension among you, are you not worldly? Are you not walking in the way of man?
Through
Galatians 5:26
Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying one another.
leads to
- James 3:14–16
  But if you harbor bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast in it or deny the truth.
- Philippians 2:1–3
  Therefore if you have any encouragement in Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and compassion,
- James 4:16
  As it is, you boast in your proud intentions. All such boasting is evil.
- 1 Corinthians 3:7
  So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.

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About Galatians

The Crucifixion — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)

Galatians: the study guide →Read chapter 5 →The featured study →

Continue: Galatians 5 →

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