King James Bible
"They zealously affect you, but not well; yea, they would exclude you, that ye might affect them."
Paul warns that the Judaizers court the Galatians with intense enthusiasm, but their motives are corrupt. The Greek word for 'zealously affect' implies passionate pursuit or wooing, revealing these false teachers' manipulative strategy to win followers through flattery rather than truth. These teachers aim to isolate the Galatians from Paul and the true gospel community. Their exclusion tactics likely involved imposing Jewish law requirements that would separate Gentile believers from their freedom in Christ, creating dependency on the false teachers. The ultimate goal is role reversal—making the Galatians zealously pursue and depend on these false teachers instead. This exposes the self-serving nature of their ministry, seeking personal devotion and control rather than pointing believers to Christ.