6:2a

Carry one another’s burdens: This clause is a command that means “help to carry each other’s loads.”

This clause is a metaphor. In this metaphor, Paul encouraged believers to help one another. He compared the difficulties of temptations and sin in 6:1 to a burden. The word burdens also probably represents other types of difficulties such as suffering, pain, and other problems. These things are similar to burdens in that they all are difficult to experience. Paul commanded the believers to help each other in these situations.

Some ways to translate this clause are:

• Keep the metaphor. For example:

Help carry one another’s burdens (Good News Translation)

• Make parts of the metaphor explicit. For example:

Help each other with your heavy burdens ?of temptations and difficulties?

• Change the metaphor to a simile. For example:

?Problems and troubles are like burdens/loads.? Help one another carry these loads.

• Translate the meaning directly without using a figure of speech. For example:

Help each other with your difficulties and sufferings
-or-
If you see that someone is suffering, help him.

6:2b

and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ: There is a textual variant here with the tense/aspect of the verb fulfill :

(1) Some Greek manuscripts have the future tense of the verb fulfill. For example:

and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ (Berean Standard Bible, New International Version)

(2) Some Greek manuscripts have the imperative (command) form of the verb fulfill. For example:

and so fulfil the law of Christ (Revised Standard Version)

It is recommended that you follow option (1). This is the choice of the UBS Handbook Greek New Testament.

you will fulfill the law of Christ: The phrase the law of Christ refers to the law that Christ taught. He taught us to love our neighbor as ourselves. When we help someone, we are fulfilling/obeying the law to love one another.

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

By helping each other, you will truly fulfill/obey the law that Christ taught/commanded.
-or-
and in this way you will obey the law of Christ (Good News Translation)
-or-
In this way you will follow Christ’s teachings. (God’s Word)

© 2016 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.