The Bible in Basic English BBE
Good News Translation GNT
1 O foolish Galatians, by what strange powers have you been tricked, to whom it was made clear that Jesus Christ was put to death on the cross?
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You foolish Galatians! Who put a spell on you? Before your very eyes you had a clear description of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross!
2 Give me an answer to this one question, Did the Spirit come to you through the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
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Tell me this one thing: did you receive God's Spirit by doing what the Law requires or by hearing the gospel and believing it?
3 Are you so foolish? having made a start in the Spirit, will you now be made complete in the flesh?
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How can you be so foolish! You began by God's Spirit; do you now want to finish by your own power?
4 Did you undergo such a number of things to no purpose? if it is in fact to no purpose.
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Did all your experience mean nothing at all? Surely it meant something!
5 He who gives you the Spirit, and does works of power among you, is it by the works of law, or by the hearing of faith?
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Does God give you the Spirit and work miracles among you because you do what the Law requires or because you hear the gospel and believe it?
6 Even as Abraham had faith in God, and it was put to his account as righteousness.
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Consider the experience of Abraham; as the scripture says, "He believed God, and because of his faith God accepted him as righteous."
7 Be certain, then, that those who are of faith, the same are sons of Abraham.
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You should realize, then, that the real descendants of Abraham are the people who have faith.
8 And the holy Writings, seeing before the event that God would give the Gentiles righteousness by faith, gave the good news before to Abraham, saying, In you will all the nations have a blessing.
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The scripture predicted that God would put the Gentiles right with himself through faith. And so the scripture announced the Good News to Abraham: "Through you God will bless all people."
9 So then those who are of faith have a part in the blessing of Abraham who was full of faith.
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Abraham believed and was blessed; so all who believe are blessed as he was.
10 For all who are of the works of the law are under a curse: because it is said in the Writings, A curse is on everyone who does not keep on doing all the things which are ordered in the book of the law.
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Those who depend on obeying the Law live under a curse. For the scripture says, "Whoever does not always obey everything that is written in the book of the Law is under God's curse!"
11 Now that no man gets righteousness by the law in the eyes of God, is clear; because, The upright will be living by faith.
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Now, it is clear that no one is put right with God by means of the Law, because the scripture says, "Only the person who is put right with God through faith shall live."
12 And the law is not of faith; but, He who does them will have life by them.
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But the Law has nothing to do with faith. Instead, as the scripture says, "Whoever [does] everything the Law requires will live."
13 Christ has made us free from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us: because it is said in the Writings, A curse on everyone who is put to death by hanging on a tree:
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But by becoming a curse for us Christ has redeemed us from the curse that the Law brings; for the scripture says, "Anyone who is hanged on a tree is under God's curse."
14 So that on the Gentiles might come the blessing of Abraham in Christ Jesus; in order that we through faith might have the Spirit which God had undertaken to give.
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Christ did this in order that the blessing which God promised to Abraham might be given to the Gentiles by means of Christ Jesus, so that through faith we might receive the Spirit promised by God.
15 Brothers, as men would say, even a man's agreement, when it has been made certain, may not be put on one side, or have additions made to it.
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My friends, I am going to use an everyday example: when two people agree on a matter and sign an agreement, no one can break it or add anything to it.
16 Now to Abraham were the undertakings given, and to his seed. He says not, And to seeds, as of a great number; but as of one, he says, And to your seed, which is Christ.
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Now, God made his promises to Abraham and to his descendant. The scripture does not use the plural "descendants," meaning many people, but the singular "descendant," meaning one person only, namely, Christ.
17 Now this I say: The law, which came four hundred and thirty years after, does not put an end to the agreement made before by God, so as to make the undertaking without effect.
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What I mean is that God made a covenant with Abraham and promised to keep it. The Law, which was given four hundred and thirty years later, cannot break that covenant and cancel God's promise.
18 Because if the heritage is by the law, it is no longer dependent on the word of God; but God gave it to Abraham by his word.
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For if God's gift depends on the Law, then it no longer depends on his promise. However, it was because of his promise that God gave that gift to Abraham.
19 What then is the law? It was an addition made because of sin, till the coming of the seed to whom the undertaking had been given; and it was ordered through angels by the hand of a go-between.
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What, then, was the purpose of the Law? It was added in order to show what wrongdoing is, and it was meant to last until the coming of Abraham's descendant, to whom the promise was made. The Law was handed down by angels, with a man acting as a go-between.
20 Now a go-between is not a go-between of one; but God is one.
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But a go-between is not needed when only one person is involved; and God is one.
21 Is the law then against the words of God? in no way; because if there had been a law which was able to give life, truly righteousness would have been by the law.
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Does this mean that the Law is against God's promises? No, not at all! For if human beings had received a law that could bring life, then everyone could be put right with God by obeying it.
22 However, the holy Writings have put all things under sin, so that that for which God gave the undertaking, based on faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who have such faith.
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But the scripture says that the whole world is under the power of sin; and so the gift which is promised on the basis of faith in Jesus Christ is given to those who believe.
23 But before faith came, we were kept in prison under the law, waiting for the revelation of the faith which was to come.
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But before the time for faith came, the Law kept us all locked up as prisoners until this coming faith should be revealed.
24 So the law has been a servant to take us to Christ, so that we might have righteousness by faith.
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And so the Law was in charge of us until Christ came, in order that we might then be put right with God through faith.
25 But now that faith is come, we are no longer under a servant.
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Now that the time for faith is here, the Law is no longer in charge of us.
26 Because you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
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It is through faith that all of you are God's children in union with Christ Jesus.
27 For all those of you who were given baptism into Christ did put on Christ.
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You were baptized into union with Christ, and now you are clothed, so to speak, with the life of Christ himself.
28 There is no Jew or Greek, servant or free, male or female: because you are all one in Jesus Christ.
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So there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles, between slaves and free people, between men and women; you are all one in union with Christ Jesus.
29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and yours is the heritage by the right of God's undertaking given to Abraham.
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If you belong to Christ, then you are the descendants of Abraham and will receive what God has promised.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.