fourteen years
Some translations have “interval of fourteen years” here, but the words “interval of” do not appear in Greek (ἔπειτα διὰ δεκατεσσάρων ἐτῶν; epeita dia dekatessarōn etōn). Thus, the simpler translation, “fourteen years” better represents the text and accurately conveys the correct sense. Paul again visited Jerusalem after fourteen years had passed from the first time he was there.

I went up
The phrase “And I went up” begins the sentence here because it begins the sentence in Greek. As far as possible, this translation seeks to represent the original word order to provide the clearest window to the Greek text. Paul begins this sentence by telling the Galatians that he went up again to Jerusalem and then provides the reason, which was not a matter of personal preference or human request but divine command through a revelation from God. Reading this together with verse 1, one can see that Paul is emphasizing different aspects of his return trip to Jerusalem by modifying the idea that he “went up” with different details.

I laid out to them
Translations differ on how to render the Greek verb ἀνατίθημι (anatithēmi; e.g., “submitted,” “presented,” “communicated,” “set before,” “laid before”). For the sake of consistency with Acts 25:14, which is the only other time this verb is used in the New Testament, it is translated as “laid out.” This is partly because the verb is built on the root τίθημι (tithēmi), which refers to something being “laid” or “set” (cf. Luke 6:48; Rom 9:33). In Acts 25:14, Festus “laid Paul’s case before the king,” and in a similar way here, Paul laid out the gospel for the apostles in order to hear whether he had been running in vain.

lest somehow
The language of “lest” for the Greek construction μή πως (mē pōs) is consistent with other occurences of this negation in other passages (2 Cor 2:7; 9:4), and the language of “somehow” is consistent with other occurences of uncertainty (2 Cor 12:20; Gal 4:11). This wording also matches the rendering in 1 Thessalonians 3:5, where Paul likewise recounts a time when he acted to assuage his concerns about a potential problem, much like here. Thus, the language here helps to convey how Paul took precautions and humbly laid out his gospel before the other apostles for private validation. He considered it a possibility that he could have been ministering in vain, but, as the context clarifies, the apostles only supported him (vv. 6–9) and did not push any kind of Judaic requirement of circumcision (v. 3). In other words, the apostles in Jerusalem affirmed the gospel of justification by faith alone.

this was
While the phrase “this was” is not in the Greek text, employing it here in italics helps readers to better understand how the topic of whether Titus was to be circumcised (the issue raised in v. 3) became an issue because of the false brothers and not because of the true apostles. In saying that the apostles contributed nothing to Paul’s gospel of justification by faith alone (vv. 6–9), Paul is highlighting the real source of that dispute, namely, false brothers who want to enslave Christians (cf. 4:17).

enslave
The language of enslavement comes from the Greek word καταδουλώσουσιν (katadoulōsousin). The term “enslave” itself better communicates the idea in an economy of words than something like “bring us into bondage.” Notably, the term only appears in one other location, 2 Corinthians 11:20, and there too it is rendered with the simple gloss “enslave.” The point of this term in this context is to contrast the wicked desire of the false brethren, a desire to enslave Christians, with the righteous desire of Christ, who desires to free Christians.

moment
While the Greek word here is the word for “hour” ὥρα (hōra), it was often used by Greek speakers figuratively to indicate a short period of time (cf. John 5:35; 2 Cor 7:8; 1 Thess 2:17; Phlm 15; Rev 18:10). In such cases, maintaining a strictly literal translation as “hour” can actually miscommunicate the meaning of the passage since it was the author’s intention not to specify 60 minutes, but rather to emphasize a relatively short period of time. To accurately bring this sense into English, it is translated here as “moment.” Paul is emphasizing that he and his ministry companions never gave in to the demands of the false brothers, not even for a moment. The purity of the true gospel was too important to give any ground to them, even for a moment, as it was essential to the faith and purity of true believers.

worked
Some translations provide a gloss like “effectually worked,” “worked effectively,” or “empowered” for the two times this word appears in this verse, but it is important to note that the term itself (ἐνεργέω; energeō) simply means “worked” (cf. Matt 14:2; Eph 1:11; 2:2; 1 Cor 12:6). The nuance of power and effeciveness is born out by the context and is properly to be brought out by expositors rather than the by translation of the term itself. In this context, then, readers should note that Paul is saying that the same God who so worked in Peter’s life as to enable him for ministry to the Jews is the same One who empowered his own ministry to the Gentiles. This helps to demonstrate again that it was not Paul’s decision to do what he did, but rather it was God who stood behind him, empowering his ministry, just as He did for Peter.

in
Words used in the Greek dative case are often translated into English with helping words like “to,” “for,” “in,” or “with,” which are not technically explicit in the Greek text but are necessary in order to communicate the same idea in English. In this verse, both “Peter” and “me” are in the dative case, and translations have differed in choosing which English preposition to use to translate them. While some have chosen to represent the dative with the preposition, “for,” this is not ideal because the wording of God as working for Peter and for Paul could communicate that He was serving them rather than the other way around. Therefore, per the context here, “in” is a better choice, as God worked in Peter and Paul to advance His gospel. This makes God the main subject and actor in this verse, as Paul is again enforcing the divine source of the gospel. It is not a message from humans, even the apostles Peter and Paul, but from God who works in them, advancing His gospel through human means.

unto
The English term “unto” renders the Greek preposition εἰς (eis), which, in distinction from the simple locative preposition ἐν (en), conveys a stronger sense of motion or directionality (e.g., “into,” “unto,” “towards”). In this case, the context indicates that God was not simply working “in” Peter’s life, but “unto” a certain end, namely, his apostleship to the circumcised. This is the same term used later in the verse to describe how God was likewise working in Paul’s life unto the end that he would minister to the Gentiles. In both cases, the end in view was a sort of ministry to a certain people group, and Paul’s point is that it was always God, not Peter or Paul, who was the ultimate driver working to bring about those ministries.

Only
Some translations order the phrase to say, “They only asked us,” but the Greek word order is more accurately represented in the phrase as it appears here, “Only they asked us.” The first word in the verse is “only” (μόνον; monon), and translating it this way helps to communicate Paul’s emphasis on the one request that the apostles made to Paul. In the context of the argument, they did not request that Paul add a requirement to be circumcised to his gospel presentation. Rather, Paul says they contributed nothing to me” (v. 6). Paul then mentions that the only request they made was that he remember the poor.

shrink back
Paul’s first description of Peter’s response is that he began to “shrink back” (ὑποστέλλω; hypostellō). While some translate this term as “withdrew,” it is translated as “shrink back” for the sake of consistency with the other three uses in the New Testament (Acts 20:20, 27; Heb 10:38). The emphasis of the term itself is not simply a withdrawal but a withdrawal for the purpose of avoiding something, perhaps due to fear or cowardice (see BDAG on ὑποστέλλω). Paul makes Peter’s fears explicit later on in the verse, but it is important to see in this first word that Peter’s heart begins to show, while in the second term (“separate”), Peter’s formal division from the Gentiles is made manifest.

separate
“Separate himself” here translates ἀφώριζεν ἑαυτόν (aphōrizen heauton), and provides a simpler rendering than something like “held himself aloof.” This allows the two Greek words in this phrase to be represented by two English words, providing the clearest window possible into the original text. The verb ἀφορίζω (aphorizō) has the idea of marking off boundaries in order to separate something from another. With the use of this word, Paul depicts Peter as setting a dividing line between himself and the Gentiles, refusing to eat with them for fear of those who still strongly emphasized keeping the Old Testament Law. In English, “separate” is a fitting word to convey this sense concisely and accurately.

Jesus Christ
In this verse, Jesus is mentioned three times, first as “Jesus Christ” (Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ; Iēsou Christou), second as “Christ Jesus” (Χριστὸν Ἰησοῦν; Christon Iēsoun), and third simply as “Christ” (Χριστοῦ; Christou). The English translation reflects the proper order of each of these in Greek so that readers can take note and think through the reasoning behind Paul’s intentional choice of how to portray Jesus in each case. Paul is enforcing here that it has always been faith in the Messiah by which people are saved. No one was ever saved by keeping the Law; it was by faith in the Messiah. Paul assumes this is something that Jews of all people should understand (cf. vv. 15–16). But If the Messiah must be believed upon for salvation, one must know on whom to believe. Paul specifies the Messiah’s identity here by putting “Jesus” first. Having specified this, Paul can continue the argument that it is faith in the Messiah which saves, thus, “we have believed in Christ Jesus,” emphasizing Messiahship by placing “Christ” first this time. Then, he simply describes “faith in Christ,” since it is faith in the Messiah which is the primary emphasis of this argument. Thus, this whole argument centers around faith in the true Messiah, who is Jesus. This is why in this verse “Jesus” progressively assimilates into “Christ” (even without the article, i.e., “the Christ”) because Paul sees “Christ” not merely as a concept but as the person “Jesus”— the Messiah in whom to believe unto salvation over against works of the Law.

May it never be!
The exclamation, “May it never be!” represents the Greek construction μὴ γένοιτο (mē genoito), which is a strong way of expressing the desire that something never take place. Thus, other translations choose something like “God forbid!,” “By no means!,” or “Absolutely not!” to translate it. These all accurately convey the idea, but “May it never be!” is most literal to the Greek text because the verb used here comes from γίνομαι (ginomai) which is a state-of-being verb, negated and used in the optative mood, which communicates a strong desire that the action of the verb not take place. This expression is used by Paul 14 times in his writings (Rom 3:4, 6; 31; 6:2, 15; 7:7, 13; 9:14; 11:1, 11; 1 Cor 6:15; here; Gal 3:21; 6:14).

set aside
The phrase “set aside” translates the Greek verb ἀθετέω (atheteō), which was a word commonly used to refer to “setting aside” the Mosaic Law or commandments (cf. Mark 7:9; Heb 10:28). Paul, quite familiar with such usage, is playing on that notion here. While the Jews sought so carefully not to set aside God’s Law or commandments, Paul is pointing out here that they are in danger of setting aside God’s grace in the process—something he himself commits not to do in exemplary fashion.