New Living Translation

Greek Study Bible

1Think of it this way. If a father dies and leaves an inheritance for his young children, those children are not much better off than slaves until they grow up, even though they actually own everything their father had.

1Λέγω δέ ἐφ’ ὅσον χρόνον ὁ κληρονόμος νήπιός ἐστιν οὐδὲν διαφέρει δούλου κύριος πάντων ὤν

2They have to obey their guardians until they reach whatever age their father set.

2ἀλλὰ ὑπὸ ἐπιτρόπους ἐστὶν καὶ οἰκονόμους ἄχρι τῆς προθεσμίας τοῦ πατρός

3And that’s the way it was with us before Christ came. We were like children; we were slaves to the basic spiritual principles of this world.

3οὕτως καὶ ἡμεῖς ὅτε ἦμεν νήπιοι ὑπὸ τὰ στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου ἤμεθα δεδουλωμένοι

4But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law.

4Ὅτε δὲ ἦλθεν τὸ πλήρωμα τοῦ χρόνου ἐξαπέστειλεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸν Υἱὸν αὐτοῦ γενόμενον ἐκ γυναικός γενόμενον ὑπὸ νόμον

5God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children.

5ἵνα τοὺς ὑπὸ νόμον ἐξαγοράσῃ ἵνα τὴν υἱοθεσίαν ἀπολάβωμεν

6And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.”

6Ὅτι δέ ἐστε υἱοί ἐξαπέστειλεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸ Πνεῦμα τοῦ Υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ εἰς τὰς καρδίας ἡμῶν κρᾶζον Ἀββᾶ ὁ Πατήρ

7Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir. Paul’s Concern for the Galatians

7ὥστε οὐκέτι εἶ δοῦλος ἀλλὰ υἱός εἰ δὲ υἱός καὶ κληρονόμος διὰ Θεοῦ

8Before you Gentiles knew God, you were slaves to so-called gods that do not even exist.

8Ἀλλὰ τότε μὲν οὐκ εἰδότες Θεὸν ἐδουλεύσατε τοῖς φύσει μὴ οὖσιν θεοῖς

9So now that you know God (or should I say, now that God knows you), why do you want to go back again and become slaves once more to the weak and useless spiritual principles of this world?

9νῦν δὲ γνόντες Θεόν μᾶλλον δὲ γνωσθέντες ὑπὸ Θεοῦ πῶς ἐπιστρέφετε πάλιν ἐπὶ τὰ ἀσθενῆ καὶ πτωχὰ στοιχεῖα οἷς πάλιν ἄνωθεν δουλεύειν* θέλετε

10You are trying to earn favor with God by observing certain days or months or seasons or years.

10ἡμέρας παρατηρεῖσθε καὶ μῆνας καὶ καιροὺς καὶ ἐνιαυτούς

11I fear for you. Perhaps all my hard work with you was for nothing.

11φοβοῦμαι ὑμᾶς μή πως εἰκῇ κεκοπίακα εἰς ὑμᾶς

12Dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to live as I do in freedom from these things, for I have become like you Gentiles—free from those laws. You did not mistreat me when I first preached to you.

12Γίνεσθε ὡς ἐγώ ὅτι κἀγὼ ὡς ὑμεῖς ἀδελφοί δέομαι ὑμῶν οὐδέν με ἠδικήσατε

13Surely you remember that I was sick when I first brought you the Good News.

13Οἴδατε δὲ ὅτι δι’ ἀσθένειαν τῆς σαρκὸς εὐηγγελισάμην ὑμῖν τὸ πρότερον

14But even though my condition tempted you to reject me, you did not despise me or turn me away. No, you took me in and cared for me as though I were an angel from God or even Christ Jesus himself.

14καὶ τὸν πειρασμὸν ὑμῶν ἐν τῇ σαρκί μου οὐκ ἐξουθενήσατε οὐδὲ ἐξεπτύσατε ἀλλὰ ὡς ἄγγελον Θεοῦ ἐδέξασθέ με ὡς Χριστὸν Ἰησοῦν

15Where is that joyful and grateful spirit you felt then? I am sure you would have taken out your own eyes and given them to me if it had been possible.

15ποῦ οὖν ὁ μακαρισμὸς ὑμῶν μαρτυρῶ γὰρ ὑμῖν ὅτι εἰ δυνατὸν τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ὑμῶν ἐξορύξαντες ἐδώκατέ μοι

16Have I now become your enemy because I am telling you the truth?

16ὥστε ἐχθρὸς ὑμῶν γέγονα ἀληθεύων ὑμῖν

17Those false teachers are so eager to win your favor, but their intentions are not good. They are trying to shut you off from me so that you will pay attention only to them.

17Ζηλοῦσιν ὑμᾶς οὐ καλῶς ἀλλὰ ἐκκλεῖσαι ὑμᾶς θέλουσιν ἵνα αὐτοὺς ζηλοῦτε

18If someone is eager to do good things for you, that’s all right; but let them do it all the time, not just when I’m with you.

18καλὸν δὲ ζηλοῦσθαι ἐν καλῷ πάντοτε καὶ μὴ μόνον ἐν τῷ παρεῖναί με πρὸς ὑμᾶς

19Oh, my dear children! I feel as if I’m going through labor pains for you again, and they will continue until Christ is fully developed in your lives.

19Τέκνα μου οὓς πάλιν ὠδίνω μέχρις οὗ μορφωθῇ Χριστὸς ἐν ὑμῖν

20I wish I were with you right now so I could change my tone. But at this distance I don’t know how else to help you. Abraham’s Two Children

20ἤθελον δὲ παρεῖναι πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἄρτι καὶ ἀλλάξαι τὴν φωνήν μου ὅτι ἀποροῦμαι ἐν ὑμῖν

21Tell me, you who want to live under the law, do you know what the law actually says?

21Λέγετέ μοι οἱ ὑπὸ νόμον θέλοντες εἶναι τὸν νόμον οὐκ ἀκούετε

22The Scriptures say that Abraham had two sons, one from his slave wife and one from his freeborn wife.

22γέγραπται γὰρ ὅτι Ἀβραὰμ δύο υἱοὺς ἔσχεν ἕνα ἐκ τῆς παιδίσκης καὶ ἕνα ἐκ τῆς ἐλευθέρας

23The son of the slave wife was born in a human attempt to bring about the fulfillment of God’s promise. But the son of the freeborn wife was born as God’s own fulfillment of his promise.

23ἀλλ’ ὁ μὲν ἐκ τῆς παιδίσκης κατὰ σάρκα γεγέννηται ὁ δὲ ἐκ τῆς ἐλευθέρας δι’* 〈τῆς〉 ἐπαγγελίας

24These two women serve as an illustration of God’s two covenants. The first woman, Hagar, represents Mount Sinai where people received the law that enslaved them.

24ἅτινά ἐστιν ἀλληγορούμενα αὗται γάρ εἰσιν δύο διαθῆκαι μία μὲν ἀπὸ ὄρους Σινᾶ εἰς δουλείαν γεννῶσα ἥτις ἐστὶν Ἁγάρ

25And now Jerusalem is just like Mount Sinai in Arabia, because she and her children live in slavery to the law.

25τὸ δὲ Ἁγὰρ Σινᾶ ὄρος ἐστὶν ἐν τῇ Ἀραβίᾳ συστοιχεῖ δὲ τῇ νῦν Ἰερουσαλήμ δουλεύει γὰρ μετὰ τῶν τέκνων αὐτῆς

26But the other woman, Sarah, represents the heavenly Jerusalem. She is the free woman, and she is our mother.

26ἡ δὲ ἄνω Ἰερουσαλὴμ ἐλευθέρα ἐστίν ἥτις ἐστὶν μήτηρ ἡμῶν

27As Isaiah said, “Rejoice, O childless woman, you who have never given birth! Break into a joyful shout, you who have never been in labor! For the desolate woman now has more children than the woman who lives with her husband!”

27γέγραπται γάρ Εὐφράνθητι στεῖρα ἡ οὐ τίκτουσα ῥῆξον καὶ βόησον ἡ οὐκ ὠδίνουσα ὅτι πολλὰ τὰ τέκνα τῆς ἐρήμου μᾶλλον ἢ τῆς ἐχούσης τὸν ἄνδρα

28And you, dear brothers and sisters, are children of the promise, just like Isaac.

28Ὑμεῖς δέ ἀδελφοί κατὰ Ἰσαὰκ ἐπαγγελίας τέκνα ἐστέ

29But you are now being persecuted by those who want you to keep the law, just as Ishmael, the child born by human effort, persecuted Isaac, the child born by the power of the Spirit.

29ἀλλ’ ὥσπερ τότε ὁ κατὰ σάρκα γεννηθεὶς ἐδίωκεν τὸν κατὰ Πνεῦμα οὕτως καὶ νῦν

30But what do the Scriptures say about that? “Get rid of the slave and her son, for the son of the slave woman will not share the inheritance with the free woman’s son.”

30Ἀλλὰ τί λέγει ἡ γραφή Ἔκβαλε τὴν παιδίσκην καὶ τὸν υἱὸν αὐτῆς οὐ γὰρ μὴ κληρονομήσει ὁ υἱὸς τῆς παιδίσκης μετὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ τῆς ἐλευθέρας

31So, dear brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman; we are children of the free woman.

31διό ἀδελφοί οὐκ ἐσμὲν παιδίσκης τέκνα ἀλλὰ τῆς ἐλευθέρας

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Greek and Hebrew Study Bible courtesy Bible Hub and the Discovery Bible team.