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I opposed him. When Peter was in Jerusalem, he condescended to Judaism, for the time being not forbidding circumcision, nor the Sabbaths. But having gone down to Antioch, he ate with indifference with those from the Gentiles who had believed in the Lord. Then when some had come down from Jerusalem, he was afraid of scandalizing them, and he separated himself from those with whom he had formerly 95.788 eaten. But Paul made a certain dispensation with him, rebuking him before all for compelling the Gentiles to Judaize, so that when the teacher heard these things and was silent, they might learn through the rebuke of their teacher that it is not necessary to observe the Jewish customs. But the whole matter was a dispensation, from the understanding of both for the benefit of the disciples, so that even if he says Peter was acting hypocritically, or not walking uprightly for their benefit, let us reckon these expressions to the economy of the need. Because he was condemned. For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he drew back and separated himself. Clearly, by those who came down from Jerusalem. Fearing those of the circumcision. Lest he should scandalize them, that is, lest he should suffer something terrible from them. And the other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy. He calls the observance of the law hypocrisy, teaching to be separated from it. But when I saw that they were not walking uprightly according to the truth of the Gospel, I said to Peter before them all. That is, not to cease at all from the tradition of the law. But as we have already said, he fashions his words for the need of the dispensation; for the whole affair was a dispensation, both the rebuke of Paul and the silence and consent of Peter. For they both sought one thing, to make those who believe in Christ cease from observing the law. If you, being a Jew, live like a Gentile, and not like a Jew. That is, you do not keep the observance of the law, but just as those who have believed from the Gentiles, you no longer observe either New Moons or Sabbaths. Why do you compel the Gentiles to Judaize? And from this the dispensation of the matter is shown. And yet, though he was neither compelling nor persuading the Gentiles to Judaize, Paul says he was doing this, in order that the rebuke to Peter might be found convenient for him, as if on behalf of his own disciples. But latently through the whole narrative, he teaches the Galatians to bear the weight of the rebuke easily. For if Peter, being from the Jews and persuading them to Judaize, was rebuked, and bore the rebuke as being well done, much more the Galatians, being from the Gentiles, and having believed in Christ, and having again submitted themselves to the slavery of the law, being rebuked ought to accept the rebuke. We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners from the Gentiles, 95.789 knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no flesh will be justified. Having established from the things concerning Peter that it is not necessary to be circumcised, he establishes this more universally. For if those who were Jews from childhood, and not proselytes, but brought up in the law, having seen the weakness of the law to justify man, have passed over to the grace that is through faith, how much more should those who were not of the law from the beginning, but from the Gentiles, then having believed in Christ, not incline to the law which is weak for correction. But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves also were found sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? See to what great absurdity he leads those who adhere to the law. If, he says, faith in Christ is not strong enough to justify, but it is necessary to hold to the law again, having left the law for Christ's sake, and not being justified by the leaving, but being condemned, we shall find him becoming the cause of our condemnation, for whose sake we left the law and ran to faith. May it never be. Having seen the absurdity resulting from the dogma, he quickly leaps away with, "May it never be,"

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αὐτῷ ἀντέστην. Ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις ὑπάρχων ὁ Πέτρος, συγκατέβαινε τῷ Ἰουδαϊσμῷ, μὴ κωλύων τὴν περιτομὴν τέως, μήτε τὰ Σάββατα. Κατελθὼν δὲ εἰς τὴν Ἀντιόχειαν, ἀδιαφόρως συνήσθιε τοῖς πιστεύσασιν ἐξ ἐθνῶν εἰς τὸν Κύριον. Εἶτα κατελθόντων τινῶν ἀπὸ Ἱεροσολύμων, ἐφοβήθη σκανδαλίσαι αὐτοὺς, καὶ ἐχώρισεν ἑαυτὸν ἀπ' ἐκείνων, μεθ' ὧν συνδιῃτᾶτο 95.788 πρώην. Ἀλλὰ πεποίηκέ τινα οἰκονομίαν μετ' αὐτοῦ ὁ Παῦλος, ἔμπροσθεν πάντων ἐπιτιμήσας αὐτῷ, διὰ τὸ ἀναγκάζειν Ἰουδαΐζειν τὰ ἔθνη, ὅπως ἂν τοῦ διδασκάλου ταῦτα ἀκούοντος καὶ σιωπῶντος, ἐκεῖνοι διὰ τῆς ἐπιτιμήσεως αὐτοῦ τοῦ διδασκάλου μάθωσιν ὡς οὐ δεῖ φυλάττειν τὰ Ἰουδαϊκὰ ἔθη. Οἰκονομία δὲ ὅλον τὸ πρᾶγμα ἦν, ἐκ συνέσεως ἀμφοτέρων διὰ τὴν ὠφέλειαν τῶν μαθητῶν, ὥστε κἂν ὑποκρίνεσθαι λέγῃ τὸν Πέτρον, κἂν μὴ ὀρθοποδεῖν πρὸς ὠφέλειαν, τῇ οἰκονομίᾳ τῆς χρείας, τὰς φωνὰς λογισώμεθα. Ὅτι κατεγνωσμένος ἦν. Πρὸ τοῦ γὰρ ἐλθεῖν τινας ἀπὸ Ἰακώβου, μετὰ τῶν ἐθνικῶν συνήσθιεν· ὅτε δὲ ἦλθον, ὑπέστελλε, καὶ ἀφώριζεν ἑαυτόν. Ὑπὸ τῶν κατελθόντων δηλονότι ἀπὸ Ἱεροσολύμων. Φοβούμενος τοὺς ἐκ περιτομῆς. Μὴ σκανδαλίσῃ αὐτοὺς, δηλονότι, μή τι πάθῃ δεινὸν παρ' αὐτῶν. Καὶ συνυπεκρίθησαν αὐτῷ καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ Ἰουδαῖοι, ὥστε καὶ Βαρνάβα συναναχθῆναι αὐτῶν τῇ ὑποκρίσει. Ὑπόκρισιν, τὴν φυλακὴν τοῦ νόμου καλεῖ, διδάσκων ταύτης χωρίζεσθαι. Ἀλλ' ὅτε εἶδον, ὅτι οὐκ ὀρθοποδοῦσι πρὸς τὴν ἀλήθειαν τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου, εἶπον τῷ Πέτρῳ ἔμπροσθεν πάντων. Τουτέστι, παντελῶς οὐ παύεσθαι τῆς τοῦ νόμου παραδόσεως. Ὡς δὲ εἴπομεν ἤδη, τῇ χρείᾳ τῆς οἰκονομίας πλάττει τὰς φωνάς· οἰκονομία γὰρ ὅλον τὸ γινόμενον ἦν, καὶ ἡ ἐπίπληξις τοῦ Παύλου, καὶ ἡ σιωπὴ καὶ συγκατάθεσις τοῦ Πέτρου. Ἓν γὰρ ἐζήτουν ἀμφότεροι, τὸ παῦσαι τοὺς πιστεύοντας εἰς Χριστὸν τοῦ τὸν νόμον ἐπιτηρεῖν. Εἰ σὺ Ἰουδαῖος ὑπάρχων ἐθνικῶς ζῇς, καὶ οὐχὶ Ἰουδαϊκῶς. Τουτέστιν, Οὐ τηρεῖς τὴν τοῦ νόμου φυλακὴν, ἀλλ' ὥσπερ οἱ πιστεύσαντες τῶν ἐθνῶν, οὔτε Νουμηνίας, οὔτε Σάββατα φυλάττεις ἔτι. Πῶς τὰ ἔθνη ἀναγκάζεις Ἰουδαΐζειν; Καὶ ἐκ τούτου ἡ οἰκονομία τοῦ πράγματος δείκνυται. Καίτοι γε μὴ ἀναγκάζοντος αὐτοῦ, μήτε πείθοντος Ἰουδαΐζειν τὰ ἔθνη, τοῦτό φησιν ὁ Παῦλος ποιεῖν, ἵνα εὐάφορμος αὐτῷ ὡς ὑπὲρ ἰδίων μαθητῶν ἡ πρὸς τὸν Πέτρον ἐπιτίμησις εὑρεθῇ. Λεληθότως δὲ διὰ παντὸς τοῦ διηγήματος, παιδεύει Γαλάτας τὸ βαρὺ τῆς ἐπιπλήξεως ῥᾳδίως φέρειν. Εἰ γὰρ ὁ Πέτρος ἐξ Ἰουδαίων ὢν, καὶ Ἰουδαΐζειν πείθων ἐπετιμήθη, καὶ ἤνεγκεν τὴν ἐπιτίμησιν, ὡς καλῶς γινομένην, πολλῷ πλέον Γαλάται ἐξ ἐθνῶν ὄντες, καὶ πιστεύσαντες εἰς Χριστὸν, καὶ πάλιν ὑποθέντες ἑαυτοὺς τῇ δουλείᾳ τοῦ νόμου, ἐπιπληττόμενοι δέχεσθαι ὀφείλουσι τὴν ἐπίπληξιν. Ἡμεῖς φύσει Ἰουδαῖοι, καὶ οὐκ ἐξ ἐθνῶν ἁμαρ 95.789 τωλοί. Εἰδότες ὅτι οὐ δικαιοῦται ἄνθρωπος ἐξ ἔργων νόμου, ἐὰν μὴ διὰ πίστεως Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, καὶ ἡμεῖς εἰς Χριστὸν Ἰησοῦν ἐπιστεύσαμεν, ἵνα δικαιωθῶμεν ἐκ πίστεως Χριστοῦ, καὶ οὐκ ἐξ ἔργων νόμου, δίοτι ἐξ ἔργων νόμου οὐ δικαιωθήσεται πᾶσα ἡ σάρξ. Κατασκευάσας ἐκ τῶν περὶ Πέτρον τὸ μὴ δεῖν περιτέμνεσθαι, καθολικώτερον τοῦτο κατασκευάζει. Εἰ γὰρ οἱ ἐκ παιδὸς Ἰουδαῖοι, καὶ οὐ προσήλυτοι, ἀλλ' ἐντραφέντες τῷ νόμῳ, τὴν ἀσθένειαν ἑωρακότες τοῦ νόμου εἰς τὸ δικαιῶσαι τὸν ἄνθρωπον, εἰς τὴν διὰ πίστεως μετέστησαν χάριν, πόσῳ μᾶλλον οἱ ἐξ ἀρχῆς μὴ ὄντες τοῦ νόμου, ἀλλ' ἐκ τῶν ἐθνῶν, εἶτα πιστεύσαντες εἰς Χριστὸν, οὐκ ὀφείλουσι προσκλῖναι τῷ ἀσθενοῦντι πρὸς διόρθωσιν νόμῳ. Εἰ δὲ ζητοῦντες δικαιωθῆναι ἐν Χριστῷ, εὑρέθημεν καὶ αὐτοὶ ἁμαρτωλοὶ, ἆρα Χριστὸς ἁμαρτίας διάκονος; Ὅρα εἰς ὅσην ἀτοπίαν ἐξάγει τοὺς προσκειμένους τῷ νόμῳ. Εἰ οὐκ ἰσχύει, φησὶν, ἡ εἰς Χριστὸν πίστις δικαιῶσαι, ἀλλὰ ἀνάγκη πάλιν τῷ νόμῳ ἔχεσθαι, τὸν νόμον ἀφέντες διὰ Χριστὸν, καὶ οὐ δικαιούμενοι ἐκ τῆς ἀφέσεως, ἀλλὰ κατακρινόμενοι, τῆς κατακρίσεως εὑρήσομεν αὐτὸν ἡμῖν γινόμενον αἴτιον, δι' ὂν τὸν νόμον ἀφέντες πρὸς τὴν πίστιν ἐδράμομεν. Μὴ γένοιτο. Ἑωρακὼς τὴν συμβαίνουσαν ἐκ τοῦ δόγματος ἀτοπίαν, ταχέως ἀποπηδᾷ, τῷ, Μὴ γένοιτο,