This verse is a repetition of verse 2, but with a slight shift of focus. It summarizes Paul’s appeal to the experience of the Galatians. Again, as in the case of the question in verse 2, it may be necessary to shift this rhetorical question into the form of a statement, for example, “God does not give you the Spirit and cause miracles to happen among you because you do what the Law requires; rather, he gives you the Spirit and causes miracles to happen among you because you hear the good news and believe it.” It is possible in a number of receptor languages to eliminate some of the redundancy in this type of statement by employing appropriate pronouns to refer to the giving of the Spirit and the working of miracles.

Does God give you the Spirit is literally “He that supplies the Spirit to you.” The pronoun obviously refers to God, and this is made explicit in most translations. The verb for give expresses the idea of “supply abundantly,” “giving freely and liberally.” Paul’s use of the present tense form indicates that, for him, the experience of receiving the Spirit is not merely an experience in the past but can be thought of as being in progress, even up to the time of his writing this letter. The continuity in God’s giving his Spirit may be expressed in some languages as “he constantly gives the Spirit,” “he continually gives the Spirit,” or “he is always supplying the Spirit.”

Miracles refers to what are often spoken of as the charismatic manifestations of the Spirit. Among you may also be understood as “in you,” but most translations understand it in the same sense as Good News Translation. In a number of languages miracles are spoken of as “wonderful events” or “unexpected happenings,” while in other languages they may be referred to by idiomatic expressions, for example, “longnecked things” (referring to the fact that people stretch their necks to watch miracles) or “mouth-opening happenings” (since in surprise people are supposed to open their mouths).

What the Law requires and hear the gospel and believe it are to be understood in the same sense as in verse 2. For the Law it may be necessary to use a plural form as a collective, namely, “laws,” and, in some instances, to specify that these are “the laws that came through Moses.” Otherwise, the reference would imply merely local government regulations. Similarly, it may be necessary to indicate the object of the “Good News,” since in some languages one cannot simply speak of “Good News” without indicating what the Good News is about. In this instance it would be “the Good News about Jesus Christ.”

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 .