Galatians 2:12 (DBY)

Passage

for before that certain came from James, he ate with [those of] the nations; but when they came, he drew back and separated himself, fearing those of [the] circumcision;

Nearby Context

Galatians 2:10 only that we should remember the poor, which same thing also I was diligent to do.

Galatians 2:11 But when Peter came to Antioch, I withstood him to [the] face, because he was to be condemned:

Galatians 2:12 for before that certain came from James, he ate with [those of] the nations; but when they came, he drew back and separated himself, fearing those of [the] circumcision;

Galatians 2:13 and the rest of the Jews also played the same dissembling part with him; so that even Barnabas was carried away too by their dissimulation.

Galatians 2:14 But when I saw that they do not walk straightforwardly, according to the truth of the glad tidings, I said to Peter before all, If *thou*, being a Jew, livest as the nations and not as the Jews, how dost thou compel the nations to Judaize?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "before", "certain", "came", "james", "nations", "drew", and "back". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "before" and "certain", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "But when Peter came to Antioch I..." into verse 13's "and the rest of the Jews also...", so "before" and "certain" 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 "before" and "certain" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.