King James Version KJV
Good News Translation GNT
1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
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Freedom is what we have - Christ has set us free! Stand, then, as free people, and do not allow yourselves to become slaves again.
2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.
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Listen! I, Paul, tell you that if you allow yourselves to be circumcised, it means that Christ is of no use to you at all.
3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.
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Once more I warn any man who allows himself to be circumcised that he is obliged to obey the whole Law.
4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.
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Those of you who try to be put right with God by obeying the Law have cut yourselves off from Christ. You are outside God's grace.
5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.
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As for us, our hope is that God will put us right with him; and this is what we wait for by the power of God's Spirit working through our faith.
6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.
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For when we are in union with Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor the lack of it makes any difference at all; what matters is faith that works through love.
7 Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?
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You were doing so well! Who made you stop obeying the truth? How did he persuade you?
8 This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you.
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It was not done by God, who calls you.
9 A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.
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"It takes only a little yeast to make the whole batch of dough rise," as they say.
10 I have confidence in you through the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded: but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be.
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But I still feel confident about you. Our life in union with the Lord makes me confident that you will not take a different view and that whoever is upsetting you will be punished by God.
11 And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased.
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But as for me, my friends, if I continue to preach that circumcision is necessary, why am I still being persecuted? If that were true, then my preaching about the cross of Christ would cause no trouble.
12 I would they were even cut off which trouble you.
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I wish that the people who are upsetting you would go all the way; let them go on and castrate themselves!
13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
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As for you, my friends, you were called to be free. But do not let this freedom become an excuse for letting your physical desires control you. Instead, let love make you serve one another.
14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
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For the whole Law is summed up in one commandment: "Love your neighbor as you love yourself."
15 But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.
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But if you act like wild animals, hurting and harming each other, then watch out, or you will completely destroy one another.
16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
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What I say is this: let the Spirit direct your lives, and you will not satisfy the desires of the human nature.
17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
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For what our human nature wants is opposed to what the Spirit wants, and what the Spirit wants is opposed to what our human nature wants. These two are enemies, and this means that you cannot do what you want to do.
18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
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If the Spirit leads you, then you are not subject to the Law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
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What human nature does is quite plain. It shows itself in immoral, filthy, and indecent actions;
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
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in worship of idols and witchcraft. People become enemies and they fight; they become jealous, angry, and ambitious. They separate into parties and groups;
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
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they are envious, get drunk, have orgies, and do other things like these. I warn you now as I have before: those who do these things will not possess the Kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
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But the Spirit produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
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humility, and self-control. There is no law against such things as these.
24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
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And those who belong to Christ Jesus have put to death their human nature with all its passions and desires.
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
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The Spirit has given us life; he must also control our lives.
26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.
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We must not be proud or irritate one another or be jealous of one another.
The King James Version is in the public domain.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.