1 Paul, an apostle—not from men, nor through man, but through Jesus Christ,^[a] and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— ² and all the brothers^[b] who are with me, to the assemblies of Galatia: ³ Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, ⁴ who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us out of this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father— ⁵ to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

⁶ I marvel that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ to a different “good news”, ⁷ but there isn’t another “good news.” Only there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the Good News of Christ. ⁸ But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you any “good news” other than that which we preached to you, let him be cursed. ⁹ As we have said before, so I now say again: if any man preaches to you any “good news” other than that which you received, let him be cursed.

¹⁰ For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? For if I were still pleasing men, I wouldn’t be a servant of Christ.

¹¹ But I make known to you, brothers, concerning the Good News which was preached by me, that it is not according to man. ¹² For I didn’t receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came to me through revelation of Jesus Christ. ¹³ For you have heard of my way of living in time past in the Jews’ religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the assembly of God and ravaged it. ¹⁴ I advanced in the Jews’ religion beyond many of my own age among my countrymen, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers. ¹⁵ But when it was the good pleasure of God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through his grace, ¹⁶ to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I didn’t immediately confer with flesh and blood, ¹⁷ nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia. Then I returned to Damascus.

¹⁸ Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Peter, and stayed with him fifteen days. ¹⁹ But of the other apostles I saw no one except James, the Lord’s brother. ²⁰ Now about the things which I write to you, behold,^[c] before God, I’m not lying. ²¹ Then I came to the regions of Syria and Cilicia. ²² I was still unknown by face to the assemblies of Judea which were in Christ, ²³ but they only heard, “He who once persecuted us now preaches the faith that he once tried to destroy.” ²⁴ So they glorified God in me.

2 Then after a period of fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus also with me. ² I went up by revelation, and I laid before them the Good News which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately before those who were respected, for fear that I might be running, or had run, in vain. ³ But not even Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. ⁴ This was because of the false brothers secretly brought in, who stole in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage, ⁵ to whom we gave no place in the way of subjection, not for an hour, that the truth of the Good News might continue with you. ⁶ But from those who were reputed to be important—whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; God doesn’t show partiality to man—they, I say, who were respected imparted nothing to me, ⁷ but to the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the Good News for the uncircumcised, even as Peter with the Good News for the circumcised— ⁸ for he who worked through Peter in the apostleship with the circumcised also worked through me with the Gentiles— ⁹ and when they perceived the grace that was given to me, James and Cephas and John, those who were reputed to be pillars, gave to Barnabas and me the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcision. ¹⁰ They only asked us to remember the poor—which very thing I was also zealous to do.

¹¹ But when Peter came to Antioch, I resisted him to his face, because he stood condemned. ¹² For before some people came from James, he ate with the Gentiles. But when they came, he drew back and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. ¹³ And the rest of the Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy. ¹⁴ But when I saw that they didn’t walk uprightly according to the truth of the Good News, I said to Peter before them all, “If you, being a Jew, live as the Gentiles do, and not as the Jews do, why do you compel the Gentiles to live as the Jews do?

¹⁵ “We, being Jews by nature and not Gentile sinners, ¹⁶ yet knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because no flesh will be justified by the works of the law. ¹⁷ But if while we sought to be justified in Christ, we ourselves also were found sinners, is Christ a servant of sin? Certainly not! ¹⁸ For if I build up again those things which I destroyed, I prove myself a law-breaker. ¹⁹ For I through the law died to the law, that I might live to God. ²⁰ I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. That life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself up for me. ²¹ I don’t reject the grace of God. For if righteousness is through the law, then Christ died for nothing!”

22 “Brothers and fathers, listen to the defense which I now make to you.”

² When they heard that he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, they were even more quiet.

He said, ³ “I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, instructed according to the strict tradition of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God, even as you all are today. ⁴ I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women, ⁵ as also the high priest and all the council of the elders testify, from whom also I received letters to the brothers, and traveled to Damascus to bring them also who were there to Jerusalem in bonds to be punished.

⁶ “As I made my journey and came close to Damascus, about noon suddenly a great light shone around me from the sky. ⁷ I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ ⁸ I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you persecute.’

⁹ “Those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid, but they didn’t understand the voice of him who spoke to me. ¹⁰ I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ The Lord said to me, ‘Arise, and go into Damascus. There you will be told about all things which are appointed for you to do.’ ¹¹ When I couldn’t see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of those who were with me, I came into Damascus.

¹² “One Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well reported of by all the Jews who lived in Damascus, ¹³ came to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ In that very hour I looked up at him. ¹⁴ He said, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know his will, and to see the Righteous One, and to hear a voice from his mouth. ¹⁵ For you will be a witness for him to all men of what you have seen and heard. ¹⁶ Now why do you wait? Arise, be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.’

¹⁷ “When I had returned to Jerusalem and while I prayed in the temple, I fell into a trance ¹⁸ and saw him saying to me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not receive testimony concerning me from you.’ ¹⁹ I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue those who believed in you. ²⁰ When the blood of Stephen, your witness, was shed, I also was standing by, consenting to his death, and guarding the cloaks of those who killed him.’

²¹ “He said to me, ‘Depart, for I will send you out far from here to the Gentiles.’ ”

²² They listened to him until he said that; then they lifted up their voice and said, “Rid the earth of this fellow, for he isn’t fit to live!”

²³ As they cried out, threw off their cloaks, and threw dust into the air, ²⁴ the commanding officer commanded him to be brought into the barracks, ordering him to be examined by scourging, that he might know for what crime they shouted against him like that. ²⁵ When they had tied him up with straps, Paul asked the centurion who stood by, “Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman, and not found guilty?”

²⁶ When the centurion heard it, he went to the commanding officer and told him, “Watch what you are about to do, for this man is a Roman!”

²⁷ The commanding officer came and asked him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?”

He said, “Yes.”

²⁸ The commanding officer answered, “I bought my citizenship for a great price.”

Paul said, “But I was born a Roman.”

²⁹ Immediately those who were about to examine him departed from him, and the commanding officer also was afraid when he realized that he was a Roman, because he had bound him. ³⁰ But on the next day, desiring to know the truth about why he was accused by the Jews, he freed him from the bonds and commanded the chief priests and all the council to come together, and brought Paul down and set him before them.