Galatians 6:13 (DRB)

Passage

For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law: but they will have you to be circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh.

Nearby Context

Galatians 6:11 See what a letter I have written to you with my own hand.

Galatians 6:12 For as many as desire to please in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised, only that they may not suffer the persecution of the cross of Christ.

Galatians 6:13 For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law: but they will have you to be circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh.

Galatians 6:14 But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ: by whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world.

Galatians 6:15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision: but a new creature.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "neither", "themselves", "circumcised", "keep", "glory", and "flesh". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "neither" and "themselves", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 12's "For as many as desire to please..." into verse 14's "But God forbid that I should glory...", so "neither" and "themselves" 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 "neither" and "themselves" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.