¹⁷ Now I urge you, brothers, to keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and stumblings ^(A)contrary to the teaching which you learned, and ^(B)turn away from them.

⁴ For if ^[a]one comes and preaches ^(A)another Jesus whom we did not preach, or you receive a ^(B)different spirit which you did not receive, or a ^(C)different gospel which you did not accept, you ^(D)bear this ^(E)beautifully.

Distorting the Gospel

⁶ I marvel that you are so quickly deserting ^(A)Him who called you ^[a]by the grace of Christ for a ^(B)different gospel, ⁷ which is really not another, only there are some who are ^(C)disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. ⁸ But even if we, or ^(D)an angel from heaven, should proclaim to you a gospel ^[b]contrary to the gospel we have proclaimed to you, let him be ^[c](E)accursed! ⁹ As we ^(F)have said before, so I say again now, ^(G)if any man is proclaiming to you a gospel ^[d]contrary to what you received, let him be ^[e](H)accursed!

¹⁰ For am I now ^(I)seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a ^(J)slave of Christ.

Paul Called by God

¹¹ For ^(K)I make known to you, brothers, that the gospel which I am proclaiming as good news is ^(L)not according to man. ¹² For ^(M)I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a ^(N)revelation of Jesus Christ.

¹³ For you have heard of ^(O)my former conduct in Judaism, how I ^(P)used to persecute ^(Q)the church of God beyond measure and ^(R)tried to destroy it. ¹⁴ And I ^(S)was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my countrymen, being far more zealous for the traditions of my ^(T)fathers. ¹⁵ But when God, who had set me apart from my mother’s womb and ^(U)called me through His grace, was pleased ¹⁶ to reveal His Son in me so that I might ^(V)proclaim Him as good news among the Gentiles, ^(W)I did not immediately consult with ^[f](X)flesh and blood, ^17 (Y)nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away to Arabia, and returned once more to ^(Z)Damascus.

¹⁸ Then ^(AA)three years later I went up ^(AB)to Jerusalem to ^[g]become acquainted with ^(AC)Cephas, and stayed with him fifteen days. ¹⁹ But I did not see any other of the apostles except ^[h](AD)James, the Lord’s brother. ²⁰ (Now in what I am writing to you, ^[i]I assure you ^(AE)before God that I am not lying!) ²¹ Then ^(AF)I went into the regions of ^(AG)Syria and ^(AH)Cilicia. ²² And I was still unknown by ^[j]sight to ^(AI)the churches of Judea which are ^(AJ)in Christ; ²³ but only, they kept hearing, “He who once persecuted us is now proclaiming the good news of ^(AK)the faith which he once ^(AL)tried to destroy.” ²⁴ And they ^(AM)were glorifying God ^[k]because of me.

³ If anyone ^(A)teaches a different doctrine and does not ^[a]agree with ^(B)sound words—those of our Lord Jesus Christ—and with the doctrine ^(C)conforming to godliness,