Galatians 5:12 kjv
I would they were even cut off which trouble you.
Galatians 5:12 nkjv
I could wish that those who trouble you would even cut themselves off!
Galatians 5:12 niv
As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!
Galatians 5:12 esv
I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!
Galatians 5:12 nlt
I just wish that those troublemakers who want to mutilate you by circumcision would mutilate themselves.
Galatians 5 12 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Galatians 5:12 | I wish those who are upsetting you would | Polemic against false teaching |
| emasculate themselves! | ||
| Philippians 3:2 | Watch out for those "dogs," those evildoers, | Warning against Judaizers |
| those mutilators of the flesh. | ||
| 1 Corinthians 1:10 | I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with each other in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. | Call for unity |
| 2 Corinthians 11:23 | Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham’s descendants? So am I. | Paul's apostolic credentials |
| 2 Corinthians 11:4 | For if someone comes to you and proclaims a Jesus other than the Jesus we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you submit to it readily enough. | Warning against false apostles/gospels |
| 1 Timothy 6:3-5 | If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to sound words, the words of our Lord Jesus Christ and to the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is puffed up with pride, knowing nothing, but being ill with longing for disputes and questionings, from which spring envy, strife, revilings, evil suspicions, wrangling of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, supposing godliness to be a way of profit. Depart from such. | Warning against false teachers |
| Titus 1:10-11 | For there are many also who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party. They must be silenced, because they are subverting whole households by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach. | Condemnation of Judaizers |
| Acts 15:1-2 | Some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved." | The Jerusalem Council |
| Romans 2:25-29 | For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. So if an uncircumcised man keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision, but break the law. For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter. His praise is not from man but from God. | True circumcision of the heart |
| Colossians 2:11 | In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off of the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. | Spiritual circumcision in Christ |
| Galatians 3:28 | There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. | Unity in Christ |
| Galatians 5:6 | For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but faith working through love. | Faith and love in Christ |
| Galatians 6:12-13 | It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who are trying to compel you to be circumcised, but only so that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. For even those who are circumcised do not themselves keep the law, but they want you to be circumcised in order that they may boast in your flesh. | False teachers' motives |
| Mark 5:1-20 | Jesus heals the Gadarene demon-possessed man, who had a "legion" of demons and lived among the tombs. Jesus casts the demons into a herd of pigs, which then rush down a steep bank into the lake and drown. The pigs were estimated to be about two thousand. | Destruction of property |
| Leviticus 21:5 | They shall not make any baldness on their heads, nor shave the edges of their beard, nor make any cuts in their flesh. | Prohibition of self-mutilation |
| Deuteronomy 23:1 | "No one whose testicles have been crushed or whose male organ has been severed may enter the assembly of the Lord." | Exclusion of eunuchs from assembly |
| 2 Kings 18:4 | He removed the high places and broke the pillars and cut down the Asherah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel burned incense to it; and he called it Nehushtan. | Destruction of idolatrous objects |
| Acts 19:23-41 | The silversmith Demetrius incited a riot against Paul because Paul's preaching threatened their livelihood from selling idols of Artemis. | Conflict with traditional practices |
| 1 Kings 18:28 | And they cried aloud and cut themselves according to their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out of them. | Elijah vs. prophets of Baal |
| Matthew 21:12-13 | And Jesus entered the temple of God and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. | Cleansing of the temple |
Galatians 5 verses
Galatians 5 12 Meaning
The verse expresses the strong desire of the Apostle Paul to see the Galatian believers mutilate themselves. This is not a literal desire for physical self-harm. Instead, it's a fervent wish that those who are agitating among them and causing trouble, insisting on circumcision for salvation, would go further and castrate themselves. This highlights Paul's extreme disapproval and condemnation of their teachings which undermined the sufficiency of Christ's finished work on the cross.
Galatians 5 12 Context
This verse is found in chapter 5 of Paul's letter to the Galatians. The Galatians had been influenced by false teachers, often referred to as "Judaizers," who insisted that Gentile believers must be circumcised and adhere to certain Mosaic Law practices in addition to faith in Christ for salvation. Paul vehemently opposed this teaching, arguing that it nullified the grace of God and the sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice. He contrasts the "fruit of the Spirit" (Galatians 5:22-23) with the "acts of the flesh" (Galatians 5:19-21), which are empowered by a spirit contrary to God's truth. This verse serves as a powerful, almost sarcastic, denunciation of the Judaizers' insistence on ritualistic observance as a means of righteousness.
Galatians 5 12 Word analysis
ἐμοὶ (emoi): Dative singular of ἐγώ (egō), meaning "to me" or "for me." Paul is stating his personal, emphatic wish.
γάρ (gar): Conjunction, meaning "for," "because." It introduces the reason or basis for the preceding or following statement, though here it acts more as an intensifier or transition.
εὔχομαι (euchomai): A deponent verb meaning "to wish," "to pray," "to desire earnestly." It signifies a deep, heartfelt yearning or prayer.
καὶ (kai): Conjunction, meaning "and," "also." It connects the preceding verbs or clauses.
ἀποκόψαι (apokopai): Present infinitive passive of ἀποκόπτω (apokopto).
- ἀποκόπτω (apokopto): Verb meaning "to cut off," "to lop off," "to circumcise." It has a strong sense of severing or removal. In its literal sense, it can mean to cut off a limb or part of the body.
- Passive Infinitive: The action is received by the subject. The false teachers are the ones performing the cutting.
τοὺς (tous): Masculine plural definite article, "the."
ἀναστατοῦντας (anastatountas): Present active participle, accusative plural, from ἀναστατόω (anastatoō).
- ἀναστατόω (anastatoō): Verb meaning "to throw into disorder," "to upset," "to stir up," "to agitate," "to cause rebellion." It refers to causing unrest, turmoil, and spiritual confusion.
ὑμᾶς (hymas): Pronoun, accusative plural, "you." The recipients of the trouble caused by the false teachers.
Word-group analysis:
- "καὶ ἀποκόψαι τοὺς ἀναστατοῦντας ὑμᾶς" ("and cut off those who are upsetting you"): This powerful phrase combines the strong verb "cut off" with the action of "upsetting/agitating." Paul's wish is that the agitators would literally "cut themselves off" from the community or, more graphically, "mutilate themselves" (through castration). The passive infinitive emphasizes that this is an action performed by the agitators themselves, as a consequence or revelation of their misguided teaching. The word "mutilate" in many translations captures the intensity and harshness of the Greek apokopto in this context. It is likely an allusion to or a wordplay on "circumcision" (περιτομή - peritome).
Galatians 5 12 Bonus section
The term apokopto (cut off) is also used in relation to ritualistic practices in other contexts. For instance, there were certain cults in the ancient world, such as that of Cybele, where devotees would castrate themselves to demonstrate extreme devotion. It's possible Paul is using language that would be understood by his audience as referring to such practices, thereby casting the Judaizers' distorted theology in a very negative and pagan light. His opponents insisted on circumcision, a mark of belonging to the covenant people. Paul flips this, wishing they would take this ritual to a extreme and ultimately damaging level, showing the danger of focusing on outward ritual over inner transformation through the Spirit. His goal is not self-harm for his enemies, but to reveal the dire spiritual consequences of their teachings by wishing upon them an action that represents a complete severance from life and wholeness in Christ.
Galatians 5 12 Commentary
Paul's expression here is a form of vitriolic hyperbole, a strong emotional outburst against those who were corrupting the gospel. He contrasts their destructive teaching with the true work of the Spirit. Their insistence on circumcision was not just a minor ritual disagreement; it was a fundamental misunderstanding of salvation, placing emphasis on human effort and ritual rather than on faith in Christ's finished work. Paul's desire for them to "cut themselves off" is a severe condemnation. It underscores his conviction that their teaching was so dangerous and damaging to the Galatians that it would be better if they were radically separated, perhaps even self-mutilated as a stark, visible sign of their corrupted spiritual state. It speaks to the passion with which Paul defended the truth of the gospel, recognizing that distortions of it could lead people to ruin. The underlying theme is that a perversion of God's intended order leads to self-destruction.