The yoke of slavery (5:1)

Says “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free” (Gal 5:1; τῇ ἐλευθερίᾳ ἡμᾶς Χριστὸς ἠλευθέρωσεν, “for freedom us Christ set free”). “Stand firm, then, and do not be encumbered once more by a yoke of slavery” (μὴ πάλιν ζυγῷ δουλείας ἐνέχεσθε). The verse follows “we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman” (4:31). Paul then warns, “if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all” (5:2). In Acts some from Judea taught, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved” (Acts 15:1).

Luther opens the chapter, “Stand fast, therefore, in that liberty wherein Christ hath made us free”, and glosses it, “That is to say, Be ye steadfast.”

Implies Because the readers had once been slaves (4:8) and are told not to be encumbered “once more” (5:1), and because the next warning concerns circumcision (5:2–3), the text treats taking up the law’s demand as a return to slavery.

Uncertain What the image of a yoke would have called to mind for the Galatians is open; this background does not fix the meaning of the text.