SIL Translator’s Notes on Galatians 5:14

5:14a

In 5:14, Paul gives the reason why the Galatians should serve one another through love. They should do it because love is a fulfilment of the law. Paul introduces this reason with a Greek conjunction that most English versions translate as “for.”

Another way to begin this verse is:

?You should do this? because

The Berean Standard Bible has not translated this conjunction, and some other versions, such as the Contemporary English Version and New Century Version, also do not translate it. In some languages, it will not be necessary to translate this conjunction either. Connect 5:14a to 5:13c in a way that is natural in your language.

The entire law is fulfilled in a single decree: There are two ways to interpret the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as fulfilled :

(1) It means fulfilled. According to this interpretation, obeying the command to “love your neighbor” satisfies the requirements of the entire law. For example:

For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command (New International Version (2011))

(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version (2011), English Standard Version, Revised Standard Version, New American Standard Bible, King James Version, New Century Version)

(2) It means sums up. According to this interpretation, the command to “love your neighbor” is a summary of other laws such as “do not steal,” “do not murder,” and “do not commit adultery.” For example:

The entire law is summed up in a single command (New International Version)

(New International Version, Good News Translation, NET Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New Revised Standard Version, God’s Word, Contemporary English Version, New Living Translation (2004), Revised English Bible, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). This word is often translated as “fulfilled,” and many commentators follow this interpretation.

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

This one law fulfills/covers all the laws ?of Moses?
-or-
Keeping this one law satisfies the requirements of the entire law ?of Moses?
-or-
if you obey this one command, it is the same as obeying the entire law ?of Moses?

in a single decree: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as in a single decree means “in one statement” or “in one command.”

Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

in a single statement (God’s Word)
-or-
in a single command (New International Version)

5:14b

Love your neighbor as yourself: This clause is a quotation from Lev. 19:18.

Some other ways to translate this quotation are:

You must love your neighbor as you love yourself.
-or-
Love your neighbor as much as ?you love? yourself.
-or-
In the way that you love yourself, show love also to your neighbor.

This same clause occurs in Matthew 19:19, 22:39, Mark 12:31, and Luke 10:27. You should translate it here as you did there.

your neighbor: The word neighbor refers to people who are around you. It does not only refer to the person who lives close to you.

Some other ways to translate this word are:

those you live among
-or-
others
-or-
your fellow man

General Comment on 5:14

In some languages, it will be more natural to change the order of some of the phrases in this verse. For example:

If you keep the command “love your neighbor as yourself,” you have fulfilled the entire law.

© 2016 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

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