The truth of the gospel refers to the truth either (1) contained in or belonging to the gospel or (2) consisting of the gospel (an appositional relation). The gospel here is either good news about Jesus Christ or the good news which Christ has brought. In some languages the truth of the gospel may be expressed as “the true words of the good news.” In other instances it may be necessary to say “the good news which is true.” Obviously, the phrase the truth of the gospel should not be translated in such a way as to indicate that the gospel contained both truth and falsehood and that only the truth was to be kept safe.
To keep … safe for you is literally “may abide with you.” Some translations take this to mean “continue” (New English Bible “should be maintained for you”; compare New American Bible “might survive intact for your benefit”). To keep the truth of the gospel safe for you may be rendered as “to keep the truth of the good news without being distorted,” “… without being changed,” or “… without being made false.”
We did not give in means that Paul did not give in to the pressure or demand for Titus’ circumcision. We did not give in to them may be rendered in some languages simply as “We did not agree with their demands,” or “We did not say yes to what they said we must do.”
For a minute translates a Greek phrase (literally “for an hour”) which is used to designate a relatively short time (New English Bible “for one moment”). The phrase for a minute, combined with a negative of the same sentence, may be expressed more satisfactorily in some languages as “never,” for example, “We never gave in to them.”
With a negative statement such as we did not give in to them, it may be necessary to express the purpose in order to keep the truth of the gospel safe for you as a matter of intent or reason for not having given in, for example, “We did not give in to them for a minute, for we wanted to keep the truth of the gospel safe for you.”
Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Galatians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1976. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .