English Standard Version ESV
New Revised Standard NRS
1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
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For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
2 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you.
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Listen! I, Paul, am telling you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you.
3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law.
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Once again I testify to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obliged to obey the entire law.
4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.
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You who want to be justified by the law have cut yourselves off from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.
5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.
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For through the Spirit, by faith, we eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.
6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.
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For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that counts is faith working through love.
7 You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?
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You were running well; who prevented you from obeying the truth?
8 This persuasion is not from him who calls you.
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Such persuasion does not come from the one who calls you.
9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump.
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A little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough.
10 I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is.
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I am confident about you in the Lord that you will not think otherwise. But whoever it is that is confusing you will pay the penalty.
11 But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed.
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But my friends, why am I still being persecuted if I am still preaching circumcision? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed.
12 I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!
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I wish those who unsettle you would castrate themselves!
13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
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For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another.
14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ”
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For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
15 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.
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If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
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Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh.
17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.
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For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want.
18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
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But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,
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Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness,
20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions,
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idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions,
21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
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envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
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By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
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gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things.
24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
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And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.
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If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.
26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
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Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2025
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.