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Last of all, as to one born abnormally, he appeared to me.(A) For I am the least[a] of the apostles, not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.(B) 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been ineffective. Indeed, I have toiled harder than all of them; not I, however, but the grace of God [that is] with me.

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Footnotes

  1. 15:9–11 A persecutor may have appeared disqualified (ouk…hikanos) from apostleship, but in fact God’s grace has qualified him. Cf. the remarks in 2 Corinthians about his qualifications (2 Cor 2:16; 3:5) and his greater labors (2 Cor 11:23). These verses are parenthetical, but a nerve has been touched (the references to his abnormal birth and his activity as a persecutor may echo taunts from Paul’s opponents), and he is instinctively moved to self-defense.

and last of all he appeared to me also,(A) as to one abnormally born.

For I am the least of the apostles(B) and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted(C) the church of God.(D) 10 But by the grace(E) of God I am what I am, and his grace to me(F) was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them(G)—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.(H)

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16 to reveal his Son to me,(A) so that I might proclaim him to the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult flesh and blood,[a]

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Footnotes

  1. 1:16 Flesh and blood: human authorities (cf. Mt 16:17; 1 Cor 15:50). Paul’s apostleship comes from God (Gal 1:1).

16 to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles,(A) my immediate response was not to consult any human being.(B)

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[a]On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter to the circumcised,(A) for the one who worked in Peter for an apostolate to the circumcised worked also in me for the Gentiles, and when they recognized the grace bestowed upon me, James and Cephas and John,[b] who were reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas their right hands in partnership, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.(B)

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Footnotes

  1. 2:7–9 Some think that actual “minutes” of the meeting are here quoted. Paul’s apostleship to the Gentiles (Gal 1:16) is recognized alongside that of Peter to the Jews. Moreover, the right to proclaim the gospel without requiring circumcision and the Jewish law is sealed by a handshake. That Paul and colleagues should go to the Gentiles did not exclude his preaching to the Jews as well (Rom 1:13–16) or Cephas to Gentile areas.
  2. 2:9 James and Cephas and John: see notes on Gal 1:18, 19; on Peter and John as leaders in the Jerusalem church, cf. Acts 3:1 and Acts 8:14. The order here, with James first, may reflect his prominence in Jerusalem after Peter (Cephas) departed (Acts 12:17).

On the contrary, they recognized that I had been entrusted with the task(A) of preaching the gospel to the uncircumcised,[a](B) just as Peter(C) had been to the circumcised.[b] For God, who was at work in Peter as an apostle(D) to the circumcised, was also at work in me as an apostle(E) to the Gentiles. James,(F) Cephas[c](G) and John, those esteemed as pillars,(H) gave me and Barnabas(I) the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me.(J) They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles,(K) and they to the circumcised.

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Footnotes

  1. Galatians 2:7 That is, Gentiles
  2. Galatians 2:7 That is, Jews; also in verses 8 and 9
  3. Galatians 2:9 That is, Peter; also in verses 11 and 14