Dear brothers and sisters, if I were still preaching that you must be circumcised—as some say I do—why am I still being persecuted? If I were no longer preaching salvation through the cross of Christ, no one would be offended.
Parallel translations
- WEB But I, brothers, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted? Then the stumbling block of the cross has been removed.
- KJV And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased.
- BSB Now, brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished.
- NKJV And I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why do I still suffer persecution? Then the offense of the cross has ceased.
- NASB But as for me, brothers and sisters, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted? Then the stumbling block of the cross has been eliminated.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
If Paul still preached circumcision, he would not be persecuted, and the cross's offense would be removed. The cross offends precisely because it excludes salvation by works.
Overview
Paul refutes any claim that he still endorsed circumcision for salvation; if he did, the opposition against him would cease. The 'stumbling block of the cross' is its message that righteousness comes only through Christ's death, not human effort, which offends human pride. The verse highlights that a true gospel will always provoke resistance from those who trust in works.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- 1 Cor 1:23but we preach Christ crucified; a stumbling block to Jews, and foolishness to Greeks,
- Gal 6:12As many as desire to look good in the flesh, they compel you to be circumcised; only that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ.
- Gal 4:29But as then, he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now.
- Gal 2:3But not even Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised.
- 1 Cor 1:18For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are dying, but to us who are saved it is the power of God.
- 1 Pet 2:8–9and, “a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” For they stumble at the word, being disobedient, to which also they were appointed.
- Acts 21:21They have been informed about you, that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children neither to walk after the customs.
- 1 Cor 15:30Why do we also stand in jeopardy every hour?
- Isa 8:14He will be a sanctuary, but for both houses of Israel, he will be a trap and a snare for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
- Acts 16:3Paul wanted to have him go out with him, and he took and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts; for they all knew that his father was a Greek.
- Acts 21:28crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against the people, and the law, and this place. Moreover, he also brought Greeks into the temple, and has defiled this holy place!”
- Gal 6:17From now on, let no one cause me any trouble, for I bear the marks of the Lord Jesus branded on my body.
- 2 Cor 11:23–26Are they servants of Christ? (I speak as one beside himself) I am more so; in labors more abundantly, in prisons more abundantly, in stripes above measure, in deaths often.
- Acts 23:13–14There were more than forty people who had made this conspiracy.
- Acts 22:21–22“He said to me, ‘Depart, for I will send you out far from here to the Gentiles.’”
- Rom 9:32–33Why? Because they didn’t seek it by faith, but as it were by works of the law. They stumbled over the stumbling stone;
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Christ became a curse for us to redeem us from the law's curse, that we might receive the Spirit and be sons — justified by faith in him, not by works.
How Galatians 5:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.