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NASB | Galatians 2:16 nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Galatians 2:16 yet we know that a man is not justified [and placed in right standing with God] by works of the Law, but [only] through faith in [God's beloved Son,] Christ Jesus. And even we [as Jews] have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the Law. By observing the Law no one will ever be justified [declared free of the guilt of sin and its penalty]. [Ps 143:2] |
Bible Question:
Justified by faith in Christ? or Justified by the faithfulness of Christ? David Stern in his commentary on the New Testament likes to translate this (and other passages in the Bible that say the same thing) as "justified by the faithfulness of the Messiah Jesus." rather than "faith in the Messiah.” It seems to me to be a more accurate translation more fitting with the whole of scripture. We are justified because of the Messiah's faithfulness and not our own, and when we place our trust in Him, his faithfulness is imputed to us. I wanted to know if any Greek scholars, or those with the time to look into it, can provide an argument for supporting or opposing this translation. MJH |
Bible Answer: Hi MJH, Well, since no scholars have opted to reply, I will share what little I am able to. New American Standard Bible: Gal 2:16 nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified. Young's Literal Translation: Gal 2:16 having known also that a man is not declared righteous by works of law, if not through the faith of Jesus Christ, also we in Christ Jesus did believe, that we might be declared righteous by the faith of Christ, and not by works of law, wherefore declared righteous by works of law shall be no flesh.' The phrase in question, "faith of Christ" (YLT) or "faith in Christ" (NASB) is from the Greek "pistews christou". The 'ou' ending denotes the Genetive/Ablative case, so this is denoting either possession or separation. This phrase could then be written as either "faith that comes from Christ", or "the faith possessed by Christ". Both occurances in this verse using this form. Normally, "faith in Christ" is in the Greek either "pistews en christw", as in Gal. 3:26 (The Greek preposition "en" is counterpart to our "in"), or using the preposition "eis", or into. So I think that the more literal tranlation would be "faith from Christ" or "Christ's faith". And this is as far as I can go right now base on my current knowledge. I hope this help, at least a little! Love in Christ, Mark |