“Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.”
Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. — Paul's stark warning ('sēmeioō' — mark, pay attention) emphasizes his personal apostolic authority: circumcision-acceptance nullifies Christ's redemptive value ('Christos hymin ōpheleō' — Christ will profit you nothing), making the choice absolute and irrevocable.
Church Fathers on Galatians 5:2
“Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if you receive circumcision, Christ will profit you nothing.” Lo, what a threat! reasonably then did he anathematize even angels. How then shall Christ profit them nothing? For he has not supported this by argument, but only declared it, the credence due to his authority, compensating, as it were, for all subsequent proof. Wherefore he sets out by saying, “Behold, I Paul say unto you,” which is the expression of one who has confidence in…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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