What Does Galatians 2:14 Mean in the King James?
But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The gospel’s truth shows up in where Peter’s feet go and whom his table leaves out.
THE MEANING
The gospel’s truth is visible in how Peter shares life with Gentiles. When he withdraws from them, his steps contradict that welcome, and his influence pressures them to adopt Jewish practice. The verse speaks now wherever someone’s public actions exclude people their convictions say belong.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that private conviction alone counts as alignment with the gospel, even when public behavior excludes others and pressures them to conform.
THE ROOT
ὀρθοποδέω
orthopodeō
GROWS FROM
ὀρθ-
orth-
straight, upright
“uprightly” in this verse is orthopodeō. The unusual Greek verb combines the idea of straightness with feet: the question is whether Peter’s actual steps align with the gospel. The wording makes alignment visible in his conduct, not just in what he claims to believe.
ALSO GROWS
orthos: straight, upright
ὀρθός
This is the straightness built into the verb for walking uprightly.
orthotomeō: cut straight; handle rightly
ὀρθοτομέω
The shared root links straight conduct with setting a path or course straight.
ἀλήθεια
alētheia
GROWS FROM
ληθ-/λανθ- (lēth-/lanth-)
to lie hidden or escape notice
The word’s formation is commonly connected to a- plus λανθάνω, what remains hidden or escapes notice. Here the gospel’s truth comes into view in Peter’s conduct: his withdrawal makes the welcome less visible.
ALSO GROWS
lanthanō: escape notice; remain hidden
λανθάνω
It gives the root’s sense of something hidden from view.
alētheuō: speak or act truthfully
ἀληθεύω
This related verb shows truth expressed in action as well as in words.
ἀναγκάζω
anankazō
GROWS FROM
ἀναγκ-
anank-
necessity, constraint
“compellest” in this verse is anankazō. The word carries the force of constraint: Peter’s withdrawal does more than signal his own choice; it puts pressure on Gentiles to change. The verse exposes how exclusion can become a demand placed on others.
ALSO GROWS
anankē: necessity; constraint
ἀνάγκη
This noun shows the pressure contained in the act of compelling.
anankaios: necessary; required
ἀναγκαῖος
This related form connects compulsion with treating a choice as something others must do.
THE PATTERN
Gospel truth becomes visible when shared belonging is not made conditional on ethnic identity.
But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.THE THREAD
To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.The phrase the truth of the gospel appears in both verses. Here, that truth is tested in the open: whether the welcome remains visible when pressure rises.
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