Galatians 5:15 (DRB)

Passage

But if you bite and devour one another: take heed you be not consumed one of another.

Nearby Context

Galatians 5:13 For you, brethren, have been called unto liberty. Only make not liberty an occasion to the flesh: but by charity of the spirit serve one another.

Galatians 5:14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word: Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Galatians 5:15 But if you bite and devour one another: take heed you be not consumed one of another.

Galatians 5:16 I say then: Walk in the spirit: and you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.

Galatians 5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the spirit: and the spirit against the flesh: For these are contrary one to another: so that you do not the things that you would.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "bite", "devour", "another", "take", "heed", and "consumed". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "bite" and "devour", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 14's "For all the law is fulfilled in..." into verse 16's "I say then Walk in the spirit...", so "bite" and "devour" 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 "bite" and "devour" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.