Galatians 6:13
ESV
For even those who are circumcised do not themselves keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh.
NIV
Not even those who are circumcised keep the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your circumcision in the flesh.
NASB
For those who are circumcised do not even keep the Law themselves, but they want to have you circumcised so that they may boast in your flesh.
CSB
For even the circumcised don’t keep the law themselves, and yet they want you to be circumcised in order to boast about your flesh.
NLT
And even those who advocate circumcision don’t keep the whole law themselves. They only want you to be circumcised so they can boast about it and claim you as their disciples.
KJV
For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh.
NKJV
For not even those who are circumcised keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh.
What does Galatians 6:13 mean?
Paul is wrapping up his letter to the Galatians by writing the ending personally, instead of dictating it to his scribe. He has returned to the issue of circumcision and the false-teaching Judaizers who insist that even believers in Jesus must be circumcised to be saved (Galatians 2:4). This was a major theme of the letter, before Paul turned to the issue of how those living according to the Spirit of God ought to act (Galatians 5:19–25).Now Paul says that the Judaizers are also hypocrites. They do not—in fact are not able to—keep the law of Moses any more than anyone else is (Galatians 3:10–14). Their only reason to try to get others to be circumcised is so they can boast about their conversion numbers. In other words, the Galatian believers are just stats for the false teachers, as if they were salesmen working on commission.
