World English Bible · Under Rome
Galatians 2
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Then after a period of fourteen years I went up again to with , taking also with me. I went up by , and I laid before them the which I preach among the , but privately before those who were respected, for fear that I might be running, or had run, in . But not even , who was with me, being a , was compelled to be . This was because of the false brothers secretly brought in, who stole in to spy out our which we have in Christ , that they might bring us into bondage, to whom we gave no place in of subjection, not for an hour, that the truth of the might continue with you. But from those who were reputed to be important—whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; doesn't show partiality to man—they, I say, who were respected imparted nothing to me, but to the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the for the , even as with the for the — for he who worked through in the apostleship with the also worked through me with the — and when they perceived the that was given to me, and and John, those who were reputed to be pillars, gave to and me of fellowship, that we should go to the , and they to the . They only asked us to remember —which very thing I was also to do. But when came to , I resisted him to , because he stood condemned. For before some people came from , he ate with the . But when they came, he drew back and separated himself, fearing those who were of the . And the rest of the joined him in his , so that even was with their . But when I saw that they didn't walk uprightly according to the truth of the , I said to before them all, "If you, being a , live as the do, and not as the do, why do you compel the to live as the do? "We, being by nature and not , yet knowing that a man is not by the but through in , even we in Christ , that we might be by in Christ and not by the , because no will be by the . But if while we sought to be in Christ, we ourselves also were found , is Christ a ? Certainly not! For if I build up again those things which I destroyed, I prove myself a law-breaker. For I through to , that I might live to . I have been with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. That life which I now live in , I live by in the Son of , who loved me and gave himself up for me. I don't reject the of . For if is through , then Christ for nothing!"
A public domain modern English translation, free to read and share. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.