Galatians 5:12 (ASV)

Passage

I would that they that unsettle you would even go beyond circumcision.

Nearby Context

Galatians 5:10 I have confidence to you-ward in the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded: but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be.

Galatians 5:11 But I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted? then hath the stumbling-block of the cross been done away.

Galatians 5:12 I would that they that unsettle you would even go beyond circumcision.

Galatians 5:13 For ye, brethren, were called for freedom; only [use] not your freedom for an occasion to the flesh, but through love be servants one to another.

Galatians 5:14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, [even] in this: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "unsettle", "even", "beyond", and "circumcision". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "unsettle" and "even", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "But I brethren if I still preach..." into verse 13's "For ye brethren were called for freedom...", so "unsettle" and "even" belong inside that flow. In Galatians context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "unsettle" and "even" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.