King James Bible
"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:"
Paul declares that Christ purchased believers' freedom from the law's condemnation—the curse pronounced on all who fail to keep it perfectly (v. 10). The term 'redeemed' evokes the marketplace practice of buying a slave's freedom, emphasizing the costly nature of salvation. Christ accomplished this redemption through substitution—He himself became the curse that rightfully belonged to lawbreakers. This shocking statement underscores the depth of Christ's identification with human sin and the divine exchange at the cross. Paul quotes Deuteronomy 21:23 to prove his point from Scripture, where those hung on a tree after execution were considered under God's curse. By dying through crucifixion (hanging on wood), Jesus literally fulfilled this condition, validating Paul's argument about substitutionary atonement.