Galatians 3:10-13: “For as many as are OF the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.’
11 But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for ‘the just shall live by faith.’ 12 Yet the law is not of faith, but ‘the man who does them shall live by them.’ 13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.’),”
Verse 10 above is one of the most poorly translated, misunderstood verses in the New Testament. That verse is one of many in the Bible that anti-Mosaic law leaning translators have taken advantage of to express their own biased, antinomian theology. The vast majority of English translations use “OF” in “OF the works of the law” which can give the impression that Christians trying to obey the law are under a huge and special curse if they do not obey the law completely and perfectly. So now many to most mainstream Christians incorrectly conclude that complete law keeping is sinful because since they are human, they can not keep the law perfectly. Therefore to avoid the curse, they must not try to obey all of the law. That belief, which is sinful and Biblically inaccurate, strongly helps discourage keeping the laws of Moses, which need to continue to be observed with the exception of the sacrifice, circumcision, and Levitical priesthood laws which the Apostles pointed out as now abolished. To correctly understand verse 10 all the original Greek words need to be CLOSELY ANALYZED, especially with an open mind. Of course, the world’s top experts on the English definitions of New Testament Greek words need to be consulted to accurately understand the Greek. One of the best authorities in the world is Joseph H. Thayer. On pages 189-192 of his Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, Seventh Printing, March, 2005, he defines the Greek word for “of” as ek, Strong’s number 1537, saying
“It denotes as well exit or emission out of, as separation from, something with which there has been close connection; opp. to the prepositions ….. into and ….. in: from out of, out from, forth from, from …..” Yes, believe it or not, that’s what “of” or ek really means!!
The above definition is the FIRST, MAIN, PRIMARY definition of ek appearing in the very first paragraph of Thayer’s definition of ek. According to a major Biblical reference website, studybible.info, the vast majority of time ek is translated either “of,” “from,” “out of,” or “from out of.” Of appears 239 times, from appears 225 times, out of appears 119 times, and from out of appears 89 times. Other world class authorities on Greek definitions have published similar explanations of ek. LSJ Gloss defines ek as “from out of” and Dodson defines ek as “from out” or “out from among” “suggesting from the interior outwards.” TBESG defines ek as “from out of” and “of motion outwards, separation from,” “from among,” and “forth from.” Ek is also defined as “of change from one place or condition to another” and “of separation or distinction from a number.” Ek can also refer to “of succession in time,” and “procession, removal, opening out, unfolding.” “Off” and “out from” also are other translations of ek according to the Strong’s concordance. So ek strongly implies a movement AWAY from law keeping or an abandonment of “works of the law,” which is a definition more consistent with these Galatian verses emphasizing that law breakers have incurred the penalty of death (the curse) for sinning.
A more literal, more insightful translation of Galatians 3:10 is Erickson’s Literal Translation, not yet published:
Galatians 3:10: “For as many as have ABANDONED the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.’ ”
In other words, those who have stopped obeying the law or have “separated” themselves FROM previous law keeping or have “exited” FROM law keeping have become cursed, which is a translation consistent with the general message of Galatians 3:10-13. Four much more literal, more accurate official translations of Galatians 3:10 are as follows:
Galatians 3:10: “For as many as are OUT OF works of Law, these are under a curse. For it has been written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all the things having been written in the book of the Law, to do them. Deut. 27:26.” (JP Green Literal Translation)
Galatians 3:10: “For as many as are FROM works of law are under a curse, for it is written, Cursed is every man who does not continue in all things written in the book of the law, to do them.” (A Conservative Version)
Galatians 3:10: “For as many as are FROM works of law are under curse for it is written cursed every who continues not in thes all written in the book of tho law the to do them.” (A Conservative Version Interlinear)
Galatians 3:10: “For as many as are FROM the works of the law are under a curse; for it has been written ‘Cursed is everyone who is not remaining in all things which have been written in the book of the law, and to practice them.” (Modern Literal Version)
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Unless indicated otherwise, all Biblical quotations are from the New King James Version.