Galatians 6
1 a Family, even if a person is caught regarding some kind of sidestepping, you who are in line with the Life-breath restore them with a gentle spirit-breath. Examine yourself so you will not also be tested.b 2 Carry each other’s burdens,c and in that way you will completely live out Christ’s Torah. 3 You see, if someone supposesd to be something while not being that something,e they deceive themselves, 4 but each person should assess the authenticity of their own actions, and then they will have something to affirm that is only about themselves and not about someone else. 5 You see, each person must carryf their owng load.h 6 Whoever is taught the message must be given a share of all its benefits along with whoever teaches it. 7 Do not wander from the Path; God is not snubbed. Whatever someone plants, this is what they harvest 8 since whoever plants for the advantage of their own bodily impulses will harvest from their bodily impulses something shortlived, but whoever plants for the Life-breath harvests from the Life-breath agelong life. 9 May we who are producing something worthwhilei not get worn out because those of us who do not give up will harvest at the exact right moment. 10 So therefore, may we work like now is that moment to bring to reality things that benefit everyone, and especially for the household of the faithful.
11 Look at how big the letters are that I am writing to you with my own hand! 12 The people who want to put on a good show regarding the physical bodyj are forcing you to get circumcised, only so that they will not be targeted for the sake of Christ’s cross. 13 That is because those who are circumcised do not observe Torah themselves, but instead, they want you to be circumcised so that they take pride from what happens to your body.k 14 But for me, it is not possible to take pride without the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world system has been crucified to me and I to the world system. 15 Neither circumcision nor having a foreskin means anything;l on the contrary, what means something is new creation!m 16 Peace and compassion on whoever walks in line with this standard, on God’s Israel.
17 No one else torture me.n I already carry Jesus’ scars on my body.
18 May the generosity of our lord Jesus Christ be with your life-breath, Family. Amen.
FOOTNOTES:
a This seems to be closely connected with the end of chapter 5. I think it would be best to format it as a continuation of the same paragraph. Unfortunately, the software won’t allow a section break within the middle of a paragraph.
b Compare Galatians 5:25-6:1 (and context) with Matthew 7:1-6.
c Compare with Matthew 7:12 (and context); 9:2; 11:28-30; Matthew 23 (especially verses 2-5)
d Or ‘appears/seems’
e Literally, ‘being nothing,’ but the context implies the opposite of being the specific something in mind, not just being useless, unimportant, or worthless as a person, as the English ‘they are nothing’ implies.
f Or ‘will carry.’
g This verse seems to contradict verse 2. Perhaps a more interpretive rendering would be more appropriate. Usually, a metaphor used this close would imply it is referring to the same thing, but that cannot be the case here based on what the other verses in this paragraph say. Helping each other with burdens is how to be faithful to Christ (verse 2). If someone thinks they are faithful but do not response people with a gentle life-breath, carrying their burdens with them, then they are not actually faithful (verse 3). Each person must evaluate themselves, not be focused on evaluating others (verse 4). Each person must be responsible for their own faithfulness, not trying to be responsible to carry what others are responsible to carry (verse 5). It’s about trying to control others, not about refusing to share someone’s burden with them. One detail that hints at distinguishing these ideas is small but appears in the next word (and next footnote).
h This is the same word that appears in Matthew 11:30 and Matthew 23:4; however, the word in Galatians 6:2, translated as ‘burden’ is different. They both refer to what is being carried, something transported, as a metaphor. The word baros in Galatians 6:2 emphasizes the heaviness, the difficulty in carrying it. The word here is phortion, and it is less evaluative and is generically referring to a load, cargo, freight, or anything carried or transported.
i ‘Something worthwhile’ is translating kalos, which is traditionally translated as ‘good’ in the Bible but has a wide range of possible positive meanings and is more appropriately translated with something that fits the context. Some of the options are ‘beautiful’ (which is the most literal meaning), ‘of good quality,’ ‘fertile,’ ‘useful,’ ‘profitable,’ ‘excellent,’ ‘pleasant,’ ‘honorable,’ ‘benefit,’ ‘proper,’ and more.
j ‘physical body’ is translating sarx here, traditionally, ‘flesh.’
k Literally, ‘for your body (flesh).’
l Literally, ‘is anything.’
m Compare to Galatians 5:6
n More literally, ‘No one else cause me a beating.’ It seems he’s tired of dealing with their pettiness, having already been tortured in a literal, physical sense.