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Galatians 3:17-19
New American Bible (Revised Edition)

17 This is what I mean: the law, which came four hundred and thirty years afterward,[a] does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to cancel the promise.(A) 18 For if the inheritance comes from the law,(B) it is no longer from a promise; but God bestowed it on Abraham through a promise.[b]

19 [c]Why, then, the law? It was added for transgressions, until the descendant[d] came to whom the promise had been made; it was promulgated by angels at the hand of a mediator.(C)

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Footnotes

  1. 3:17 Four hundred and thirty years afterward: follows Ex 12:40 in the Greek (Septuagint) version, in contrast to Gn 15:13 and Acts 7:6, for chronology.
  2. 3:18 This refutes the opponents’ contention that the promises of God are fulfilled only as a reward for human observance of the law.
  3. 3:19–22 A digression: if the Mosaic law, then, does not save or bring life, why was it given? Elsewhere, Paul says the law served to show what sin is (Rom 3:20; 7:7–8). Here the further implication is that the law in effect served to produce transgressions. Moreover, it was received at second hand by angels, through a mediator, not directly from God (Gal 3:19). The law does not, however, oppose God’s purposes, for it carries out its function (Gal 3:22), so that righteousness comes by faith and promise, not by human works of the law.
  4. 3:19 The descendant: Christ (Gal 3:16). By angels: Dt 33:2–4 stressed their presence as enhancing the importance of the law; Paul uses their role to diminish its significance (cf. Acts 7:38, 53). A mediator: Moses. But in a covenant of promise, where all depends on the one God, no mediator is needed (Gal 3:20).
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New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.