So, the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled by them, which says, [Isa. 6:9f] ‘You will hear all right, but you will not understand [what you hear]. You will see all right but you will not perceive [what you see].
It was through Jesus, and for His name’s sake, that we [i.e., I] received God’s favor to become an apostle, in order to bring about obedience based on faith from among people of all nations.
But some of the branches [of a cultivated olive tree] were broken off [i.e., God’s rejection of the Jews] and you [Gentiles], representing a wild olive tree [branch], were grafted into it. So then, you [Gentiles] were able to benefit from the roots and sap of the olive tree, along with the Jews.
But to the ones who have selfish ambition [Note: Some translate these words “are contentious”] and refuse to obey the truth, but [instead] obey what is wrong, [God will bring] wrath, fury,
Thank God that you people, who were once slaves to [the practice of] sin, became obedient from [your] heart to the pattern of teaching [i.e., the Gospel message] you committed yourself to.
You foolish people [of the churches] of Galatia [Note: This was a province in present-day Turkey], who tricked you? Was not Jesus Christ graphically portrayed before you as being put to death on a cross?
You [Christians] were running [the race of life] well; who hindered you [from making further progress] so that [now] you are no longer obeying the truth?
By [having] faith, when Abraham was called [by God] to leave [his homeland] and go to a place he would later receive as an inheritance [i.e., Palestine], he obeyed God and went out, not knowing where he was going.
For we [Christians] have had the good news [about resting with God] preached to us, just as the Israelites [had good news proclaimed to them. See 1:16-19]. But the message they heard did not benefit them, because it was not coupled with faith by those who heard it.
[Since] you have purified your souls by [your] obedience to the truth [i.e., the Gospel message], which produces a genuine love for your brothers, [now] you should have this kind of fervent, heartfelt love for one another.
[And it also says, Isa. 8:14, that He would be], “A stone that people would stumble over and a rock over which they would trip and fall.” The way they stumble is by disobeying the Gospel message. They were destined [though not forced] to do this.
In the same way [that Jesus was submissive], you wives should submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, even though they may not obey the [Gospel] message [they have heard] they may, without your talking [to them about it],