¹You foolish Galatians! Who has cast a spell on you? Before your eyes Jesus Christ was vividly portrayed as crucified! ²The only thing I want to learn from you is this: Did you receive the Spirit by doing the works of the law or by believing what you heard? ³Are you so foolish? Although you began with the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by human effort? ⁴Have you suffered so many things for nothing?—if indeed it was for nothing. ⁵Does God then give you the Spirit and work miracles among you by your doing the works of the law or by your believing what you heard? ⁶Just as Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness, ⁷so then, understand that those who believe are the sons of Abraham. ⁸And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, proclaimed the gospel to Abraham ahead of time, saying, “All the nations will be blessed in you.” ⁹So then those who believe are blessed along with Abraham the believer. ¹⁰For all who rely on doing the works of the law are under a curse because it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not keep on doing everything written in the book of the law.” ¹¹Now it is clear no one is justified before God by the law because the righteous one will live by faith. ¹²But the law is not based on faith, but the one who does the works of the law will live by them. ¹³Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us (because it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”) ¹⁴in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham would come to the Gentiles, so that we could receive the promise of the Spirit by faith. ¹⁵Brothers and sisters, I offer an example from everyday life: When a covenant has been ratified, even though it is only a human contract, no one can set it aside or add anything to it.¹⁶Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his descendant. Scripture does not say, “and to the descendants,” referring to many, but “and to your descendant,” referring to one, who is Christ. ¹⁷What I am saying is this: The law that came 430 years later does not cancel a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to invalidate the promise. ¹⁸For if the inheritance is based on the law, it is no longer based on the promise, but God graciously gave it to Abraham through the promise. ¹⁹Why then was the law given? It was added because of transgressions, until the arrival of the descendant to whom the promise had been made. It was administered through angels by an intermediary. ²⁰Now an intermediary is not for one party alone, but God is one. ²¹Is the law therefore opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that was able to give life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. ²²But the scripture imprisoned everything under sin so that the promise could be given—because of the faithfulness of Jesus Christ—to those who believe. ²³Now before faith came we were held in custody under the law, being kept as prisoners until the coming faith would be revealed. ²⁴Thus the law had become our guardian until Christ, so that we could be declared righteous by faith. ²⁵But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian. ²⁶For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith. ²⁷For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. ²⁸There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female—for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to the promise.