King James Version
Galatians 6
18 verses with commentary
Bear One Another's Burdens
Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. if: or, although
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.</strong> Paul begins chapter 6 with pastoral instruction on church discipline. "Brethren" (<em>adelphoi</em>, ἀδελφοί)—fellow believers. "If a man be overtaken in a fault" (<em>ean kai prolēmphthē anthrōpos en tini paraptōmati</e...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
VI.
(1-5) Be charitable to the fallen, for you, too, may fall yourselves. Sympathise with each other. Indulge in no delusions as to your own superiority. Look each to his own work, and see that that is sound. He will find enough to do without entering into idle comparisons with others.
Galatians 6:2-3 are a sort of repetition, with some expansion, of Galatians 6:1. Deal considerately and kindly wi...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**30. glory of ... infirmities--**A striking contrast! Glorying or boasting of what others make matter of shame, namely, infirmities; for instance, his humbling mode of escape in a basket (2Co 11:33). A character utterly incompatible with that of an enthusiast (compare 2Co 12:5, 9, 10).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 6
Chapter Outline
The apostle, with others, proved themselves faithful ministers of Christ, by their unblamable life and behaviour.(1-10)
By affection for them, And by earnest concern, that they might have no fellowship with unbelievers and idolaters.(11-18)
**Verses 1-10**
The gospel is a word of grace sounding in our ears. The gospel day is a day of salvation, the means...
Read full commentary →Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.</strong> Paul commands mutual burden-bearing. "Bear ye one another's burdens" (<em>allēlōn ta barē bastazete</em>, ἀλλήλων τὰ βάρη βαστάζετε)—keep on bearing each other's heavy loads. <em>Baros</em> (βάρος) means heavy weight, burden too great for one person. <em>Bastazō</em> (βαστάζω) means to carry, bear weight, endure. Pres...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **Bear yo one another’s burdens.**—Take them upon yourselves by kindly sympathy. Our Lord Himself was said to “bear” the physical infirmities of those whom He healed. (Matthew 8:17 : “He bare our sicknesses.”)
**So fulfil.**—The reading here is somewhat doubtful, and the balance of authorities interesting. On the one hand, for the Received text adopted in our version is a large majority of the...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
31. This solemn asseveration refers to what follows. The persecution at Damascus was one of the first and greatest, and having no human witness of it to adduce to the Corinthians, as being a fact that happened long before and was known to few, he appeals to God for its truth. Luke (Ac 9:25) afterwards recorded it (compare Ga 1:20), [Bengel]. It may ALSO refer to the revelation in 2Co 12:1, standin...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 6
Chapter Outline
The apostle, with others, proved themselves faithful ministers of Christ, by their unblamable life and behaviour.(1-10)
By affection for them, And by earnest concern, that they might have no fellowship with unbelievers and idolaters.(11-18)
**Verses 1-10**
The gospel is a word of grace sounding in our ears. The gospel day is a day of salvation, the means...
Read full commentary →For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.</strong> Paul warns against pride. "For if a man think himself to be something" (<em>ei gar dokei tis einai ti</em>, εἰ γάρ δοκεῖ τις εἶναί τι)—if anyone supposes himself to be something, someone important or superior. <em>Dokeō</em> (δοκέω) means to think, suppose, imagine. "When he is nothing" (<em>mēde...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **He** **deceiveth himself.**—A peculiar word, perhaps coined by St. Paul: *puts himself under an hallucination;* persuades himself of the existence of that which has no reality.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**32. governor--**Greek, "Ethnarch": a Jewish officer to whom heathen rulers gave authority over Jews in large cities where they were numerous. He was in this case under Aretas, king of Arabia. Damascus was in a Roman province. But at this time, A.D. 38 or 39, three years after Paul's conversion, A.D. 36, Aretas, against whom the Emperor Tiberius as the ally of Herod Agrippa had sent an army under...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 6
Chapter Outline
The apostle, with others, proved themselves faithful ministers of Christ, by their unblamable life and behaviour.(1-10)
By affection for them, And by earnest concern, that they might have no fellowship with unbelievers and idolaters.(11-18)
**Verses 1-10**
The gospel is a word of grace sounding in our ears. The gospel day is a day of salvation, the means...
Read full commentary →But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.</strong> Paul prescribes self-examination. "But let every man prove his own work" (<em>to de ergon heautou dokimazeto hekastos</em>, τὸ δὲ ἔργον ἑαυτοῦ δοκιμαζέτω ἕκαστος)—let each person test, examine, approve his own work. <em>Dokimazō</em> (δοκιμάζω) means to test for genuineness...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4, 5) The best antidote for such false estimates of self is severe self-criticism. Let a man judge his own work, not by comparison with others, but by the ideal standard, then he will see what it is worth and how much he has to boast of. His boasting will be at least real, and not based upon any delusive comparisons. He must stand or fall by himself. He must bear the weight of his own virtues and...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 6
Chapter Outline
The apostle, with others, proved themselves faithful ministers of Christ, by their unblamable life and behaviour.(1-10)
By affection for them, And by earnest concern, that they might have no fellowship with unbelievers and idolaters.(11-18)
**Verses 1-10**
The gospel is a word of grace sounding in our ears. The gospel day is a day of salvation, the means...
Read full commentary →For every man shall bear his own burden.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For every man shall bear his own burden.</strong> The apparent paradox with verse 2. "For every man shall bear his own burden" (<em>hekastos gar to idion phortion bastasei</em>, ἕκαστος γὰρ τὸ ἴδιον φορτίον βαστάσει)—each person will carry his own load. <em>Phortion</em> (φορτίον) is different from <em>baros</em> (verse 2). <em>Phortion</em> is a soldier's pack, normal load each carries; <...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **Every man shall bear his own burden.**—The word for “burden” here is different from that which had been used above, though its meaning is very much the same. The distinction would be sufficiently represented if we were to translate in the one case *burden,* in the other *load.* The context, however, is quite different. In Galatians 6:2 the Christian is bidden to “bear the burdens” of others,...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 6
Chapter Outline
The apostle, with others, proved themselves faithful ministers of Christ, by their unblamable life and behaviour.(1-10)
By affection for them, And by earnest concern, that they might have no fellowship with unbelievers and idolaters.(11-18)
**Verses 1-10**
The gospel is a word of grace sounding in our ears. The gospel day is a day of salvation, the means...
Read full commentary →Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.</strong> Paul addresses financial support for ministers. "Let him that is taught in the word" (<em>ho katēchoumenos ton logon</em>, ὁ κατηχούμενος τὸν λόγον)—the one being instructed in the word. <em>Katēcheō</em> (κατηχέω) means to instruct, teach orally—we get "catechism" from this. "Communicate unt...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6-10) Special exhortation to liberality in the support of teachers, grounded upon the fact that we shall all receive, in the harvest at the end of the world, according as we have sown during the time of our probation here. The self-indulgent will find the flesh that he has indulged fall to dissolution, and there will be an end. On the other hand, he who in all his actions has sought the approval ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 12
2Co 12:1-21. Revelations in Which He Might Glory: But He Rather Glories in Infirmities, as Calling Forth Christ's Power: Signs of His Apostleship: His Disinterestedness: Not That He Is Excusing Himself to Them; but He Does All for Their Good, lest He Should Find Them Not Such as He Desired, and So Should Have to Be Severe at His Coming.
1. He proceeds to illustrate the "glorying in ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 6
Chapter Outline
The apostle, with others, proved themselves faithful ministers of Christ, by their unblamable life and behaviour.(1-10)
By affection for them, And by earnest concern, that they might have no fellowship with unbelievers and idolaters.(11-18)
**Verses 1-10**
The gospel is a word of grace sounding in our ears. The gospel day is a day of salvation, the means...
Read full commentary →Reaping What You Sow
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.</strong> Paul states universal spiritual law. "Be not deceived" (<em>mē planasthe</em>, μὴ πλανᾶσθε)—don't be led astray, don't wander from truth. Present imperative: stop being deceived. "God is not mocked" (<em>theos ou mukhtērizetai</em>, θεὸς οὐ μυκτηρίζεται)—God is not sneered at, not treated wit...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **Be not deceived; God is not mocked.**—It is all very well for you to make large professions to which you do not act up. These may deceive others, but do not let them deceive yourselves. Do not think that God will allow you thus to mock Him.
It might seem, perhaps, as if the language of this warning was almost too solemn for the occasion (an exhortation to liberality towards teachers), but th...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
2. Translate, "I know," not "I knew."
**a man--**meaning himself. But he purposely thus distinguishes between the rapt and glorified person of 2Co 12:2, 4, and himself the infirmity-laden victim of the "thorn in the flesh" (2Co 12:7). Such glory belonged not to him, but the weakness did. Nay, he did not even know whether he was in or out of the body when the glory was put upon him, so far was th...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 6
Chapter Outline
The apostle, with others, proved themselves faithful ministers of Christ, by their unblamable life and behaviour.(1-10)
By affection for them, And by earnest concern, that they might have no fellowship with unbelievers and idolaters.(11-18)
**Verses 1-10**
The gospel is a word of grace sounding in our ears. The gospel day is a day of salvation, the means...
Read full commentary →For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.</strong> Paul specifies the two sowings and reapings. "For he that soweth to his flesh" (<em>hoti ho speirōn eis tēn sarka heautou</em>, ὅτι ὁ σπείρων εἰς τὴν σάρκα ἑαυτοῦ)—the one sowing into his own flesh, investing in fleshly pursuits, gratifyin...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **He that soweth to his flesh.**—The seed sown is a man’s actions here on earth. If the object of those actions is merely self-indulgence, they are, as it were, sown in a field the owner of which is the flesh (*i.e.,* the lower, carnal self). The flesh alone benefits by them, and for it alone are they garnered up.
**Shall of the flesh reap corruption.**—If such has been a man’s conduct, he mus...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
3. Translate, "I know."
**out of--**Most of the oldest manuscripts read "apart from."
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 6
Chapter Outline
The apostle, with others, proved themselves faithful ministers of Christ, by their unblamable life and behaviour.(1-10)
By affection for them, And by earnest concern, that they might have no fellowship with unbelievers and idolaters.(11-18)
**Verses 1-10**
The gospel is a word of grace sounding in our ears. The gospel day is a day of salvation, the means...
Read full commentary →And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.</strong> Paul encourages perseverance. "And let us not be weary in well doing" (<em>to de kalon poiountes mē enkakōmen</em>, τὸ δὲ καλὸν ποιοῦντες μὴ ἐνκακῶμεν)—let us not grow tired, lose heart, become discouraged in doing good. <em>Enkakeō</em> (ἐνκακέω) means to lose heart, give in to evil, become e...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **And.**—Rather, *But.* There is something of a stress on “well-doing,” which continues the idea of “sowing to the Spirit” in the verse before: “But in well-doing, &c.”
**Be weary.**—Rather, *let us not be faint-hearted; lose heart.*
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**4. unspeakable--**not in themselves, otherwise Paul could not have heard them; but as the explanation states, "which it is not lawful ... to utter" [Alford]. They were designed for Paul's own consolation, and not for communication to others. Some heavenly words are communicable (Ex 34:6; Is 6:3). These were not so. Paul had not the power adequately to utter; nor if he had, would he have been per...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 6
Chapter Outline
The apostle, with others, proved themselves faithful ministers of Christ, by their unblamable life and behaviour.(1-10)
By affection for them, And by earnest concern, that they might have no fellowship with unbelievers and idolaters.(11-18)
**Verses 1-10**
The gospel is a word of grace sounding in our ears. The gospel day is a day of salvation, the means...
Read full commentary →As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.</strong> Paul applies the sowing principle practically. "As we have therefore opportunity" (<em>ara oun hōs kairon echomen</em>, ἄρα οὖν ὡς καιρὸν ἔχομεν)—so then, as we have opportune time. <em>Kairos</em> again: the right season, timely opportunity. Opportunities for goo...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) **As we have therefore** **opportunity.**—“Therefore” is emphatic, and should come first. It introduces a summary conclusion from the preceding argument. *Therefore* (or, *so then*)*, as we have opportunity;* wherever an opportunity offers.
**Them who are of the household of faith.**—It would seem, on the whole, that this translation might stand. It is true that the Greek word, meaning origin...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5. of myself--**concerning myself. Self is put in the background, except in respect to his infirmities. His glorying in his other self, to which the revelations were vouchsafed, was not in order to give glory to his fleshly self, but to bring out in contrast the "infirmities" of the latter, that Christ might have all the glory.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 6
Chapter Outline
The apostle, with others, proved themselves faithful ministers of Christ, by their unblamable life and behaviour.(1-10)
By affection for them, And by earnest concern, that they might have no fellowship with unbelievers and idolaters.(11-18)
**Verses 1-10**
The gospel is a word of grace sounding in our ears. The gospel day is a day of salvation, the means...
Read full commentary →Final Warning and Benediction
Ye see how large a letter I have written unto you with mine own hand.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Ye see how large a letter I have written unto you with mine own hand.</strong> Paul begins his personal conclusion. "Ye see how large a letter" (<em>idete pēlikois hymin grammasin egrapsa</em>, ἴδετε πηλίκοις ὑμῖν γράμμασιν ἔγραψα)—see with what large letters I wrote to you. <em>Gramma</em> (γράμμα) can mean letters (alphabet characters) or letter (epistle). "Large letters" could mean: (1)...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11-18) Concluding section of the Epistle, written in the Apostle’s own hand. These Judaising teachers only wish to have you circumcised as a matter of outside show, in order to disguise their own professed Christianity from their fellow Jews, and so escape persecution. They show that they really care nothing for circumcision, for they freely break the rest of the Law to which they affect to give ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6. For--**Not but that I might glory as to "myself" (2Co 12:5); "FOR if I should desire to glory, I shall not be a fool"; for I have things to glory, or boast of which are good matter for glorying of (not mere external fleshly advantages which when he gloried in [2Co 11:1-33] he termed such glorying "folly," 2Co 11:1, 16, 17).
**think of me--**Greek, "form his estimate respecting me."
**hear...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 11-18**
It is wrong for believers to join with the wicked and profane. The word unbeliever applies to all destitute of true faith. True pastors will caution their beloved children in the gospel, not to be unequally yoked. The fatal effects of neglecting Scripture precepts as to marriages clearly appear. Instead of a help meet, the union brings a snare. Those whose cross it is to be un...
Read full commentary →As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ.</strong> Paul exposes the Judaizers' motives. "As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh" (<em>hosoi thelousin euprosōpēsai en sarki</em>, ὅσοι θέλουσιν εὐπροσωπῆσαι ἐν σαρκί)—as many as want to make a good showing, present wel...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **To make a fair shew in the flesh.**—To obtain a reputation for religiousness in externals, like the hypocrites, who “love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men” (Matthew 6:5). The object of the Judaisers was by this means to keep in with their countrymen, the Jews, and even to gain favour amongst them by seeming to win over prosel...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**7. exalted above measure--**Greek, "overmuch uplifted." How dangerous must self-exaltation be, when even the apostle required so much restraint! [Bengel].
**abundance--**Greek, "the excess"; exceeding greatness.
**given ... me--**namely, by God (Job 5:6; Php 1:29).
**thorn in the flesh--**(Nu 33:55; Eze 28:24). Alford thinks it to be the same bodily affliction as in Ga 4:13, 14. It certain...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 11-18**
It is wrong for believers to join with the wicked and profane. The word unbeliever applies to all destitute of true faith. True pastors will caution their beloved children in the gospel, not to be unequally yoked. The fatal effects of neglecting Scripture precepts as to marriages clearly appear. Instead of a help meet, the union brings a snare. Those whose cross it is to be un...
Read full commentary →For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh.</strong> Paul exposes further hypocrisy. "For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law" (<em>oude gar hoi peritemnomenoi autoi nomon phylassousin</em>, οὐδὲ γὰρ οἱ περιτεμνόμενοι αὐτοὶ νόμον φυλάσσουσιν)—for not even those being circumcised th...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) Their insincerity is shown by the fact that they are not really careful to observe the Law. What they do is only to serve as a blind, that they may be able to point to your mutilated flesh as the visible sign of their success in gaining proselytes.
**They themselves who are circumcised.**—The expression in the Greek includes, not only those who were circumcised themselves, but also those who ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**8. For--**"concerning this thing."
**thrice--**To his first and second prayer no answer came. To his third the answer came, which satisfied his faith and led him to bow his will to God's will. So Paul's master, Jesus, thrice prayed on the Mount of Olives, in resignation to the Father's will. The thorn seems (from 2Co 12:9, and Greek, 2Co 12:7, "that he may buffet me") to have continued with Pa...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 11-18**
It is wrong for believers to join with the wicked and profane. The word unbeliever applies to all destitute of true faith. True pastors will caution their beloved children in the gospel, not to be unequally yoked. The fatal effects of neglecting Scripture precepts as to marriages clearly appear. Instead of a help meet, the union brings a snare. Those whose cross it is to be un...
Read full commentary →But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. by whom: or, whereby
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.</strong> Paul's magnificent contrast! "But God forbid that I should glory" (<em>emoi de mē genoito kauchasthai</em>, ἐμοὶ δὲ μὴ γένοιτο καυχᾶσθαι)—but may it never be that I boast! Emphatic denial. "Save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ" (<em>ei...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) **God forbid that** **I should glory.**—There is a stress upon the pronoun “I,” which, in the Greek, stands first, in emphatic contrast to the party who had been the subjects of the last verse. They make their boast in a mere external; but for me—far be it from me to make my boast in anything but the cross of Christ.
**The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ**—*i.e.,* “in the death and passion whi...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**9. said--**literally, "He hath said," implying that His answer is enough [Alford].
**is sufficient--**The trial must endure, but the grace shall also endure and never fail thee [Alford], (De 33:25). The Lord puts the words into Paul's mouth, that following them up he might say, "O Lord, Thy grace is sufficient for me" [Bengel].
**my strength--**Greek, "power."
**is made perfect--**has its ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 11-18**
It is wrong for believers to join with the wicked and profane. The word unbeliever applies to all destitute of true faith. True pastors will caution their beloved children in the gospel, not to be unequally yoked. The fatal effects of neglecting Scripture precepts as to marriages clearly appear. Instead of a help meet, the union brings a snare. Those whose cross it is to be un...
Read full commentary →For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.</strong> Paul restates his central thesis (echoing 5:6). "For in Christ Jesus" (<em>en gar Christō Iēsou</em>, ἐν γὰρ Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ)—in the sphere of union with Christ. "Neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision" (<em>oute peritomē ti estin oute akrobystia</em>, οὔτε περιτο...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(15) **In Christ Jesus.**—These words are omitted by the Vatican MS. and by the best editors. They would seem to have come in from the parallel passage in Galatians 5:6.
**Neither circumcision . . .**—We have had almost the same words in Galatians 5:6 and in 1Corinthians 7:19. It is interesting to note the different ways in which the sentence is completed:—
Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcis...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**10. take pleasure in--**too strongly. Rather as the Greek, "I am well contented in."
**infirmities--**the genus. Two pairs of species follow, partly coming from "Satan's messenger," partly from men.
**reproaches--**"insults."
**when--**in all the cases just specified.
**then--**then especially.
**strong--**"powerful" in "the power of Christ" (2Co 12:9; 2Co 13:4; He 11:34).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 11-18**
It is wrong for believers to join with the wicked and profane. The word unbeliever applies to all destitute of true faith. True pastors will caution their beloved children in the gospel, not to be unequally yoked. The fatal effects of neglecting Scripture precepts as to marriages clearly appear. Instead of a help meet, the union brings a snare. Those whose cross it is to be un...
Read full commentary →And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.</strong> Paul pronounces blessing. "And as many as walk according to this rule" (<em>kai hosoi tō kanonī toutō stoichēsousin</em>, καὶ ὅσοι τῷ κανόνι τούτῳ στοιχήσουσιν)—and as many as will walk by this rule/standard. <em>Kanōn</em> (κανών) means measuring rod, standard, rule—we get "canon"...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16) **According to this rule.**—The word for “rule” is the same that afterwards received a special application in the phrase, “Canon of Scripture.” It meant originally a carpenter’s rule, or the line that a carpenter works by—hence, a rule or standard; and, from that, the list of books coming up to a certain standard—not (as might be thought) which themselves supplied a standard.
The Apostle conf...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**11. in glorying--**omitted in the oldest manuscripts. "I am become a fool." He sounds a retreat [Bengel].
**ye--**emphatic. "It is YE who have compelled me; for I ought to have been commended by you," instead of having to commend myself.
**am I behind--**rather as Greek, "was I behind" when I was with you?
**the very chiefest--**rather, as in 2Co 11:5, "those overmuch apostles."
**though...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 11-18**
It is wrong for believers to join with the wicked and profane. The word unbeliever applies to all destitute of true faith. True pastors will caution their beloved children in the gospel, not to be unequally yoked. The fatal effects of neglecting Scripture precepts as to marriages clearly appear. Instead of a help meet, the union brings a snare. Those whose cross it is to be un...
Read full commentary →From henceforth let no man trouble me : for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.</strong> Paul's personal appeal for cessation of opposition. "From henceforth let no man trouble me" (<em>tou loipou kopous moi mēdeis parechetō</em>, τοῦ λοιποῦ κόπους μοι μηδεὶς παρεχέτω)—from now on, let no one cause me trouble, toil, difficulty. <em>Kopos</em> (κόπος) means labor, trouble, difficu...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17) The Apostle has done. He will not dally with these vexatious attacks upon himself and his authority any more. He dismisses them with an appeal which ought to be final. He points to the scars of wounds which he had received in his Master’s service. The branding-irons of Christ, he says, have imprinted these upon me. They show that I, like the slaves of a heathen temple, am devoted and consecra...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**12. Truly, &c.--**There is understood some such clause as this, "And yet I have not been commended by you."
**in all patience, in signs, &c.--**The oldest manuscripts omit "in." "Patience" is not one of the "signs," but the element IN which they were wrought: endurance of opposition which did not cause me to leave off working [Alford]. Translate, "In ... patience, BY signs," &c. Hi...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 11-18**
It is wrong for believers to join with the wicked and profane. The word unbeliever applies to all destitute of true faith. True pastors will caution their beloved children in the gospel, not to be unequally yoked. The fatal effects of neglecting Scripture precepts as to marriages clearly appear. Instead of a help meet, the union brings a snare. Those whose cross it is to be un...
Read full commentary →Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen. To the Galatians written from Rome.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.</strong> Paul concludes with blessing. "Brethren" (<em>adelphoi</em>, ἀδελφοί)—brothers, fellow believers. Despite the letter's stern rebukes, Paul concludes with family affection. "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit" (<em>hē charis tou kyriou hēmōn Iēsou Christou meta tou pneumatos hymōn</em>, ἡ χά...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(18) **With your spirit.**—The grace of God works especially on the “spirit,” or highest part, of man.
[The subscription, as it stands in our Bibles, appears for the first time in MSS. dating from about the beginning of the ninth century, though before this the Epistle had been described as written from Rome by Theodoret, Euthalius, and Jerome. We have seen that the choice really lies between Ephe...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**13. wherein you were inferior--**that is, were treated with less consideration by me than were other churches.
**I myself--**I made a gain of you neither myself, nor by those others whom I sent, Titus and others (2Co 12:17, 18).
**wrong--**His declining support from the Corinthians might be regarded as the denial to them of a privilege, and a mark of their spiritual inferiority, and of his l...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 11-18**
It is wrong for believers to join with the wicked and profane. The word unbeliever applies to all destitute of true faith. True pastors will caution their beloved children in the gospel, not to be unequally yoked. The fatal effects of neglecting Scripture precepts as to marriages clearly appear. Instead of a help meet, the union brings a snare. Those whose cross it is to be un...
Read full commentary →