Galatians 2:5

Galatians 2:5 oi-j ouvde, {A}

The omission of oi-j in several witnesses (syr^p Marcion Greek mss^{acc. to Ambrosiaster} Ephraem) was probably deliberate, in order to rectify the anacoluthon. Omission of ouvde,, whether with or without omission of oi-j, is confined chiefly to Western witnesses (D* it^d Marius Victorinus Latin mss^{acc. to Jerome} Augustine Primasius Latin mss^{acc. to Cassiodorus, Claudius}), and seems to have occurred when certain scribes thought it necessary — in view of the apostle’s principle of accommodation ( 1 Corinthians 9:20-23) — to find here an analogue to the circumcision of Timothy ( Acts 16:3). Since, however, the resulting meaning (“Because of the false brethren…I yielded for a brief time”) seems to be distinctly contrary both to the drift of the apostle’s argument and to his temperament, the Committee had little hesitation in adopting the reading oi-j ouvde,, which is decisively supported by all known Greek manuscripts except D* and by the preponderant weight of versional and patristic witnesses.