After speaking of his very satisfying experiences with the Galatians, Paul goes on to remark on their relationship with the false teachers (the Judaizers), who are obviously referred to in those other people (literally “they”). In some languages a literal translation of those other people may be satisfactory, but in some it is not enough, and it may be necessary to be more specific at this point, especially since the false teachers have not been specifically mentioned for a number of verses. Hence it may be better to render those other people as “those people who are trying to change the gospel,” or “those people who are speaking lies about the Good News.”
Paul has already implied what these false teachers were teaching; now he talks about their motives. They show a deep interest in the Galatians. The verb used here literally means “to be envious,” and accordingly some translators take the literal meaning (New English Bible “are envious of you”; Knox “they are jealous over you”). It could be, as some commentators suggest, that the false teachers are envious of the Galatians both for their new-found freedom in Christ and their good relationship with Paul. Most commentators and translators, however, understand the verb in the same way as Good News Translation (New American Bible “courting your favour”; Phillips “how keen these men are to win you over”). One of the difficulties with a literal rendering of show a deep interest in you may be that it would seem to express a perfectly legitimate or even good attitude, and therefore the following clause would seem to be contradictory. It may therefore be better to translate the first clause as “Those others are trying very hard to win you over to their side,” or “… are very anxious for you to belong just to them.”
Their showing of interest could be interpreted, of course, as a good thing, but their intentions are not good. In other words, their motives are thoroughly selfish (Phillips “it is for their own ends”; Knox “but for a dishonourable purpose”). In a number of languages their intentions may be rendered as “what they really want to do,” “what they have set out to do,” or “what they are trying to do.” It may be very important to indicate clearly how good is to be interpreted; therefore one may say “but what they intend to do is not good for you,” or “… not for your benefit.”
What is their aim? It is to separate you from me. Literally, the Greek simply says “they want to shut you out” or “… exclude you.” From what?, one may ask. It could be from the church and from all other Christians who have found freedom in Christ. Or it could be from Christ himself and his gift of a new relationship with God. Or it could be, as Good News Translation suggests, from Paul himself (compare Phillips, Jerusalem Bible). Whatever it is, the intended effect of this act is “that you may make much of them” (Revised Standard Version), that is, so that the Galatians would turn to them for fellowship and guidance, since they would have no one else to turn to. Most modern translations follow this interpretation (Phillips “have your zeal all to themselves”; Jerusalem Bible “they want to win you over to themselves”; New American Bible “so that you may court their favour”). A literal rendering of all they want is to separate you from me may be understood in entirely too literal a sense. What is involved here is not physical separation but a shift of loyalty. Therefore it may be necessary to say “all they want is to cause you no longer to be loyal to me,” or “… to cause you to be opposed to me.”
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 .