1Verse 1Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through a man,+but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead+—Verse 2and all the brothers with me,+to the congregations in Galatia:+Verse 3Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ,Verse 4who gave Himself+for our sins, so that He might deliver us out of this present malignant age,+according to the will of our God and Father,Verse 5to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Paul is disappointed
Verse 6I am sadly surprised that you are turning away so quickly from the one who called you by the grace of Christ, to a different gospelVerse 7—it is not a mere variation, but certain people are unsettling you and wanting to distort the Gospel of the Christ.Verse 8Now even if we, or an angel out of heaven, should preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed!Verse 9As we have just said, I here emphatically repeat: If anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed!!+Verse 10Am I just now appealing to men, or to God?+Or am I trying to please men? You see, if I were still pleasing men I would not be a slave of Christ.+Verse 11Now I want you to know, brothers, that the Gospel preached by me is not according to man;Verse 12because I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather it came through a revelation from Christ.+
How he was before
Verse 13You have heard of my former conduct while in Judaism, how I was rabid in my persecution of God's Church and tried to annihilate it;Verse 14indeed I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age, being far more zealous for the traditions of my forefathers.
How he was recycled
Verse 15But when God—who set me apart from my mother's womb and called me through His grace—resolvedVerse 16to reveal His Son in me so that I might proclaim Him among the nations/Gentiles, I did not start by consulting with flesh and blood,Verse 17nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before I was; rather I went off into Arabia,+and then returned to Damascus.
A new life and ministry
Verse 18Subsequently, after three years,+I went up to Jerusalem to compare notes with Peter,+and stayed with him fifteen days.Verse 19(I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord's brother.+Verse 20Really, before God, I am not lying in what I write to you.)Verse 21Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia.Verse 22So I remained unknown by face to the congregations of Judea (those in Christ)+Verse 23—they just kept hearing that “He who once persecuted us now proclaims the faith he formerly tried to destroy.”Verse 24And they glorified God about me.