Galatians 1:15

Grace Identity and self-worth God's will and calling

¹³ For you have heard of my former way of life in Judaism, how severely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it.

¹⁴ I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers.

But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by His grace, was pleased

¹⁶ to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not rush to consult with flesh and blood,

¹⁷ nor did I go up to Jerusalem to the apostles who came before me, but I went into Arabia and later returned to Damascus.

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by His grace, was pleased
KJV: But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace,
WEB: But when it was the good pleasure of God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through his grace,
ASV: But when it was the good pleasure of God, who separated me, [even] from my mother`s womb, and called me through his grace,
DARBY: But when God, who set me apart [even] from my mother's womb, and called [me] by his grace,
BLB: But when God was well pleased—the One having set me apart from the womb of my mother and having called [me] by His grace—

ÅB: Men da han som utvalgte meg fra mors liv og kalte meg ved sin nåde,
OTB: Men da han som satte meg til side fra min mors liv og kalte meg ved sin nåde, fant det for godt
B1930: Men da han som utvalgte mig fra mors liv og kalte mig ved sin nåde,

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Jeremiah 1:5
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
Read in context
Isaiah 49:5
And now says the LORD, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, to bring Jacob back to Him, that Israel might be gathered to Him— for I am honored in the sight of the LORD, and My God is My strength—
Read in context
2 Timothy 1:9
He has saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works, but by His own purpose and by the grace He granted us in Christ Jesus before time began.
Read in context
Isaiah 49:1
Listen to Me, O islands; pay attention, O distant peoples: The LORD called Me from the womb; from the body of My mother He named Me.
Read in context
Ephesians 1:5
He predestined us for adoption as His sons through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will,
Read in context
2 Thessalonians 2:13–14
But we should always thank God for you, brothers who are loved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning to be saved by the sanctification of the Spirit and by faith in the truth.
Read in context
1 Corinthians 1:9
God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.
Read in context
Romans 1:1
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, and set apart for the gospel of God—
Read in context