Galatians 6:13 (LSB)

Passage

For those who are circumcised do not even keep the Law themselves, but they want to have you circumcised so that they may boast in your flesh.

Nearby Context

Galatians 6:11 See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand!

Galatians 6:12 As many as are wanting to make a good showing in the flesh, these are trying to compel you to be circumcised, simply so that they will not be persecuted for the cross of Christ.

Galatians 6:13 For those who are circumcised do not even keep the Law themselves, but they want to have you circumcised so that they may boast in your flesh.

Galatians 6:14 But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Galatians 6:15 For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "circumcised", "even", "keep", "themselves", "want", "boast", and "flesh". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "circumcised" and "even", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 12's "As many as are wanting to make..." into verse 14's "But may it never be that I...", so "circumcised" 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 "circumcised" and "even" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.