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Galatians chapter 6

English Standard Version

1Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. 5For each will have to bear his own load.
6Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. 7Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. 10So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.
11See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand. 12It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who would force you to be circumcised, and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13For 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. 14But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. 16And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.
17From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.
18The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.
New International Version

1Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. 2Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. 4Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, 5for each one should carry their own load. 6Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word should share all good things with their instructor.
7Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
11See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand!
12Those who want to impress people by means of the flesh are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13Not 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. 14May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation. 16Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule--to the Israel of God.
17From now on, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.
18The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.
New American Standard Bible

1Brothers and sisters, even if a person is caught in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual are to restore such a person in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you are not tempted as well. 2Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. 3For if anyone thinks that he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4But each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting, but to himself alone, and not to another. 5For each one will bear his own load.
6The one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him. 7Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a person sows, this he will also reap. 8For the one who sows to his own flesh will reap destruction from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit. 9Let’s not become discouraged in doing good, for in due time we will reap, if we do not become weary. 10So then, while we have opportunity, let’s do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.
11See with what large letters I have written to you with my own hand! 12All who want to make a good showing in the flesh try to compel you to be circumcised, simply so that they will not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13For 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. 14But far be it from me to boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. 16And all who will follow this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.
17From now on let no one cause trouble for me, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.
18The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.
Christian Standard Bible

1Brothers and sisters, if someone is overtaken in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual, restore such a person with a gentle spirit, watching out for yourselves so that you also won't be tempted. 2Carry one another's burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3For if anyone considers himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4Let each person examine his own work, and then he can take pride in himself alone, and not compare himself with someone else. 5For each person will have to carry his own load.
6Let the one who is taught the word share all his good things with the teacher. 7Don't be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a person sows he will also reap, 8because the one who sows to his flesh will reap destruction from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit. 9Let us not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don't give up. 10Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us work for the good of all, especially for those who belong to the household of faith.
11Look at what large letters I use as I write to you in my own handwriting. 12Those who want to make a good impression in the flesh are the ones who would compel you to be circumcised--but only to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13For even the circumcised don't keep the law themselves, and yet they want you to be circumcised in order to boast about your flesh. 14But as for me, I will never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. The world has been crucified to me through the cross, and I to the world. 15For both circumcision and uncircumcision mean nothing; what matters instead is a new creation. 16May peace come to all those who follow this standard, and mercy even to the Israel of God!
17From now on, let no one cause me trouble, because I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. 18Brothers and sisters, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.
New Living Translation

1Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. 2Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. 3If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.
4Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. 5For we are each responsible for our own conduct.
6Those who are taught the word of God should provide for their teachers, sharing all good things with them.
7Don’t be misled — you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. 8Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. 9So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. 10Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone — especially to those in the family of faith.
11NOTICE WHAT LARGE LETTERS I USE AS I WRITE THESE CLOSING WORDS IN MY OWN HANDWRITING.
12Those who are trying to force you to be circumcised want to look good to others. They don’t want to be persecuted for teaching that the cross of Christ alone can save. 13And 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.
14As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died. 15It doesn’t matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation. 16May God’s peace and mercy be upon all who live by this principle; they are the new people of God.
17From now on, don’t let anyone trouble me with these things. For I bear on my body the scars that show I belong to Jesus.
18Dear brothers and sisters, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.
King James Version

1Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. 2Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. 3For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. 4But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. 5For every man shall bear his own burden. 6Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things. 7Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. 9And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. 10As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.
11Ye see how large a letter I have written unto you with mine own hand. 12As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. 13For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh. 14But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. 15For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. 16And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God. 17From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. 18Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

What does Galatians chapter 6 mean?

Galatians 6 expands on Paul's teaching about living in God's Spirit, which he gave at the end of Galatians chapter 5. It describes how Christians who live in God's Spirit should use His power to treat each other.

To begin with, Paul shows that when a brother or sister in Christ gets caught by sin, other Christians should step in instead of looking away. Spiritually mature Christians should help to restore the one caught by sin with gentleness and humility. This is one of the ways those in Christ can help to carry each other's burdens. When the load one of us is hauling around becomes too heavy, others should step in to help that person get through that season. In other words, life in Christ by the power of God's Spirit is not meant to be lived alone (Galatians 6:1–2).

Having said that, Paul encourages Christians to take careful stock of the work they do in the Spirit without comparing themselves to each other. We should be honest with ourselves and take full responsibility to do what is ours to do in following Christ. One of those responsibilities is to share the good things God gives to us with those who teach us the Word (Galatians 6:3–5).

Next applies the comparison of planting and harvesting to living in the flesh and living in the Spirit. Those who insist on trying to be made righteous before God by the effort of their flesh in following the law will harvest "corruption" or death. In a similar way, those who plant only the seeds of their own sinful desires will also harvest death. Only those who plant God's Spirit, by faith in Christ, will harvest eternal life (Galatians 6:6–8).

Paul encourages those who walk by the Spirit not to give up doing good. Don't get tired of it, he writes. The harvest is coming! Use up all the planting time to do good to everyone, especially other Christian in this house of faith we live in as brothers and sisters with the same Father (Galatians 6:9–10).

Paul concludes his letter by, presumably, taking the pen from his scribe—something like a secretary who would write down his words—to write the ending with his own hand, and he writes with big letters! He immediately goes back to the issue of circumcision, revealing once more that the false teachers pressuring the Galatians to get circumcised are only interested in promoting themselves. The Galatians must not allow themselves to be used in that way (Galatians 6:11–13).

For his part, Paul will not brag about how many people he has led to faith in Christ. He will brag, though, about the cross of Christ. That's where Paul was crucified to the world, and vice versa. Because he has been set free by faith in Christ, the world no longer has anything to offer him (Galatians 6:14–16).

Paul closes his letter with a plea and two blessings. Paul tells everyone to stop causing him trouble since he belongs to Jesus. He blesses all who follow the rule that circumcision doesn't matter, but being a new creation in Christ does, and then he offers his standard closing blessing, referring to the Galatians as brothers (Galatians 6:17–18).
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