Galatians 2:15 (GNV)

Passage

We which are Iewes by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles,

Nearby Context

Galatians 2:13 And the other Iewes played the hypocrites likewise with him, in so much that Barnabas was led away with them by that their hypocrisie.

Galatians 2:14 But when I saw, that they went not ye right way to the trueth of ye Gospel, I sayd vnto Peter before all men, If thou being a Iewe, liuest as the Gentiles, and not like the Iewes, why constrainest thou the Gentiles to doe like the Iewes?

Galatians 2:15 We which are Iewes by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles,

Galatians 2:16 Knowe that a man is not iustified by the works of the Law, but by ye faith of Iesus Christ, euen we, I say, haue beleeued in Iesus Christ, that we might be iustified by the faith of Christ, and not by the workes of the Lawe, because that by the workes of the Lawe, no flesh shalbe iustified.

Galatians 2:17 If then while we seeke to be made righteous by Christ, we our selues are found sinners, is Christ therefore the minister of sinne? God forbid.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "iewes", "nature", "sinners", and "gentiles". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "iewes" and "nature", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 14's "But when I saw that they went..." into verse 16's "Knowe that a man is not iustified...", so "iewes" and "nature" 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 "iewes" and "nature" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.