1:19

But: There is a contrast here. The contrast is between whom Peter saw and whom he did not see. The Greek indicates this contrast with a conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as But.

I saw none of the other apostles except James: There are two ways to interpret the clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as I saw none of the other apostles except James :

(1) Paul considered James to be one of the apostles. He saw two of the apostles, Peter and James, but none of the other apostles. For example:

The only other apostle I saw was James (Contemporary English Version)

(2) Paul did not consider James to be one of the apostles. He saw the apostle Peter, but no other apostle. The only other person he saw was James. For example:

I didn’t see any other apostle. I only saw James, the Lord’s brother. (God’s Word)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). The majority of English versions follow this interpretation.

I saw none of the other apostles: Paul wrote this tell the Galatians that he had almost no contact with the apostles in Jerusalem. They did not teach the gospel to him.

The word “apostle” first occurs in 1:1a. See also apostle in the Glossary for more information.

James, the Lord’s brother: Church groups differ in what they believe about James and in what sense he was the Lord’s brother. The three main views are:

(1) James was the son of Joseph and Mary, born after Jesus.

(2) James was Jesus’ cousin.

(3) James was Jesus’ half-brother. He was the son of Joseph from a previous marriage.

If possible, use a general word for brother that could apply to any of the views above.

If your language must distinguish between “older” and “younger” brother, it is recommended that you use a term for “younger brother” here.

If your language does not use terms that distinguish male and female, you can use a term for “sibling” or “younger-sibling.”

the Lord’s brother: Paul used the title “Lord” to refer to Jesus. If this is not clear in your language, you could say:

the brother of the Lord Jesus

General Comment on 1:19

In some languages, it may be more natural to change the order of the clauses in this verse. You may need to say that Paul also saw James before mentioning that he did not see any other apostles. For example:

I also saw James, the Lord’s brother. But I did not see any of the other apostles at that time.

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