Verse 13 is introduced very abruptly in the Greek, without any connective. It is clear, however, from the context, that this verse provides the answer to the problem of the curse of the Law in the preceding verses (10-12). Accordingly, while most translations retain the abruptness, Good News Translation introduces the verse with but (compare Phillips “now Christ” and especially Knox “from this curse invoked by the Law Christ has ransomed us”). Whereas the Greek begins immediately with the statement of Christ’s act of redemption, followed by the means thereof, Good News Translation rearranges the clauses and starts by explaining the means by which Christ accomplished this deliverance from the curse of the Law, namely, by becoming a curse for us. The Greek follows this explanation of means by reference to the Old Testament passage in which Paul finds support for the surprising view that Christ became a curse, but Good News Translation separates this participial phrase from its scriptural support. In light of that Old Testament passage (anyone who is hanged …), the unexpressed premise here is that when Christ was hanged on the cross, he became accursed by God (compare Phillips “by himself becoming a curse for us when he was crucified”). Therefore, becoming a curse for us should be understood primarily in the sense that for our sake Jesus Christ suffered on the cross as one who was accursed by God, rather than in terms of any particular doctrine of atonement in which the phrase may be thought to defend. Again, the expression of means may be most effectively indicated in some languages as cause, for example, “But because he was condemned on our behalf….”
The verb translated redeemed (literally, “to buy up”) has here the primary meaning of “to effect deliverance” or “to secure the release of someone,” at some cost to the person who secures it in terms of effort, suffering, or loss. Again, it would seem much more profitable to put primary emphasis on this main component, that is, that by his death Christ has secured our release, or has set us free from the curse of the Law, rather than attempting to draw from this verse support for different doctrines of the atonement, and answers to such questions as “How much did Christ pay?” and “To whom did he pay it?”
For this type of context, Christ has redeemed us from may be expressed effectively as “Christ has caused us to be free from,” “Christ has delivered us from,” or “Christ has caused us no longer to be under (the condemnation) of.”
The curse that the Law brings is, of course, connected with verses 10-12; it is the curse that the Law brings to those who try to live by its precepts but who in fact cannot fulfill everything that it requires. It may be necessary to use a term such as “condemnation” rather than curse, since the latter term may carry connotations which go beyond the meaning of the Greek text itself. The curse that the Law brings may therefore be rendered as “the condemnation in accordance with the laws,” “condemnation resulting from the laws,” or “… from not obeying the laws.”
The quotation from the Old Testament that follows (Deut 21.23) gives, as indicated above, the reason why Christ’s hanging on the cross can be interpreted as his becoming accursed. In its original context the verse refers to the practice of hanging the bodies of criminals on trees and leaving them there; the Jews believed that to do so would defile their land. One can see how easy it was to include in the reference of this text those who later were put to death by means of the Roman practice of crucifixion, including Christ himself.
In rendering anyone who is hanged on a tree, it is important to avoid a wording which will suggest that Jesus himself was put to death by a rope being put around his neck. It may be necessary to modify this expression so as to read “anyone who is executed on a tree,” or “anyone who was executed and whose body was hung on a tree.”
It is not necessary to render tree by a term which will mean a live tree. The Greek term may refer simply to a “post,” and it may be more appropriate to employ a term which would also be applicable to a cross. To use an expression which must refer to a live tree would introduce an unnecessary inconsistency.
As in the case of verse 10, the phrase under God’s curse may be rendered as “condemned by God.”
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 .