1:8–9
In these verses, Paul strongly condemned anyone who teaches a false gospel. The true gospel is the only gospel. It is more important than any person.
No one, including Paul, may change the gospel. Paul said that God would curse anyone who would change the gospel. He emphasized this by stating a situation that was not real. Neither Paul nor the brothers with him had preached a different gospel to the Galatians.
This contrasts with the real situation of the false teachers who were teaching a false gospel. Paul was warning those who were listening to the false teachers.
1:8
Before you translate 1:8, carefully consider what is the most natural order in your language for the clauses in this verse. In some languages, it may be more natural to change the order of some of the clauses. Compare the order of the clause in the Berean Standard Bible and God’s Word:
a But even if we or an angel from heaven b should preach a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, c let him be under a curse! (Berean Standard Bible)
b Whoever tells you good news that is different from the Good News we gave you c should be condemned to hell, a even if he is one of us or an angel from heaven. (God’s Word)
See other examples in the Display under 1:8a–c reordered.
1:8a
But: There is a contrast here. The contrast is between the “gospel of Christ” that Paul preached and the “different gospel” that some men were preaching. With this contrast, Paul continued to show that there is only one gospel.
Some English versions indicate this contrast with the conjunction But. Other English versions do not translate this conjunction here. However, the contrast is still shown by the expressions for the true gospel and the false gospel.
even if: The phrase even if introduces a situation that is not real. The following situation never happened. The Greek grammar clearly shows that what follows is a hypothetical statement.
Some other ways to translate this are:
suppose
-or-
consider/imagine ?the false situation in which?
-or-
if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you ?but we have not done that?
we: The pronoun we refers to Paul and his companions. Paul used it to emphasize that he himself is included. This pronoun does not include the Galatians.
an angel from heaven: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as angel means “messenger.” It can be either a human messenger or a divine messenger. The phrase from heaven shows that here it refers to a divine messenger.
Here, heaven is a figure of speech that represents God who lives in heaven. So the phrase angel from heaven refers to a “messenger from heaven” or “messenger from God.”
Some ways to translate this phrase are:
• Use a descriptive word or phrase. For example:
messenger from heaven/God
-or-
?good/holy? spirit-being from above
• Use a local term that fits the biblical meaning. If you use a term for angel that people cannot confuse with an ordinary messenger, then it would not be necessary to add from heaven. For example:
angel
• In some areas the churches may already be using a borrowed term or a transliterated word for angel. Be sure that this term fits the biblical meaning. If some people do not understand the right meaning from this term, you may need to indicate the meaning with a descriptive phrase. For example:
an angelos messenger from heaven
-or-
a sacred angelos spirit from above
Be sure that your term for angel is different from your terms for “prophet” and “apostle.”
See also angel in the Glossary for more information.
1:8b
should preach a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as contrary to can also be translated as “that is opposed to” or “that does not agree with.”
Some other ways to translate this clause are:
should preach to you a gospel that is different from the one we preached to you (Good News Translation)
-or-
should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you (New International Version)
-or-
should preach/teach you a doctrine that does not agree with the gospel we already taught you
1:8c
let him be under a curse: This clause is a type of prayer. Paul asked God to punish or condemn the person who changed the true gospel and preached another gospel.
Some other ways to translate this clause are:
may he be cursed
-or-
Let God’s curse fall on anyone (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
I pray that God will punish (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
may he be condemned to hell (Good News Translation)
Paul was not casting a spell on someone. Do not use an expression in your language that would imply casting a spell.
him: The pronoun him refers to anyone who might preach a false gospel.
Some ways to translate this more clearly are:
that person
-or-
that messenger
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