Verse 2 is also in the form of a rhetorical question, directed at the experience of the Galatians. If one retains this rhetorical question in translation, then tell me this one thing must sometimes be rendered as “answer this one question.” On the other hand, in languages which do not permit rhetorical questions (since Paul is obviously not really asking for information), it may be necessary to transform this verse into a conditional statement, for example, “If you tell me how you received God’s Spirit, then you will obviously say it was by hearing the gospel and believing it and not by doing what the Law requires you to do.” In this way the force of the rhetorical question is retained without loss of essential content. In other languages it may be possible to retain the rhetorical question, but the answer must be given immediately following the question. Therefore, one must insert an answer such as “Obviously you received God’s Spirit by hearing the good news and believing it.”
God’s Spirit is literally, “the Spirit,” but undoubtedly refers both to their initiation into the Christian faith and to their reception of the gifts of the Spirit, the outward signs of his presence, such as speaking with tongues and prophesying. In some languages it is impossible to say literally receive God’s Spirit. This would suggest that God’s Spirit was some kind of a thing which could be handled and accepted as one could do with a material gift. An equivalent may be “did God’s Spirit come into your life because you did what the law said you should do?” or “did God’s Spirit take control of you…?” or “… rule your heart…?”
Doing what the Law requires (literally “works of law”) and hearing the gospel and believing it (literally “hearing of faith”) express the leading antithesis of the whole letter. (On “works of law,” see 2.16.) The assumed answer to the rhetorical question is, of course, “hearing of faith.” This particular phrase primarily means the act of listening to the Good News, with the result of believing and accepting it (compare Phillips “believing the message of the Gospel,” Jerusalem Bible “you believed what was preached to you”; New English Bible “believing the gospel message”).
The two participial clauses by doing what the Law requires and by hearing the gospel and believing it express means, but in some languages this is most effectively conveyed by an expression of cause, for example, “Did you receive God’s Spirit because you did what the Law tells you to do or because you heard the Good News and believed it?”
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 .