Rebuild and tore down are figures of speech derived from the construction of buildings, but the Greek text does not specify what is being rebuilt or what was previously torn down. The reference may be (1) to the statutes of the Law which Paul had declared as no longer valid for the Christian (New American Bible “If … I were to build up the very things I had demolished”); (2) to the whole system of man being put right with God by means of obedience to the Law (New English Bible “If I start building up again a system which I have pulled down”; Phillips “But if I attempt to build again the whole structure of justification by the law”); or (3) to one’s favorable attitude toward the Jewish idea of being put right with God by means of law (Jerusalem Bible “If I were to return to a position I had already abandoned”).

Breaks the Law translates a Greek word which literally means “transgressor” or “law-breaker,” here used in its moral sense, one who disobeys the moral spirit of the law, and therefore practically equivalent to “wrongdoer,” “evil-doer,” or “sinner” in the ethical sense. In order to emphasize the ethical sense of “transgressor” in this context, one may say “I really am doing what is wrong,” or “I am really then a sinner.” This will serve to contrast actual sin from the sin mentioned in verse 17.

The point of Paul here is that contrary to the assertion that Christ is made an agent of sin, it is only when a person returns to the old Jewish system of works of law that he becomes a sinner in terms of the Law.

Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Galatians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1976. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .