Galatians 4

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Sons and Heirs

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

¹What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he is the owner of everything.

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

²He is subject to guardians and trustees until the date set by his father.

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

³So also, when we were children, we were enslaved under the basic principles^a of the world.

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

⁴But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,

⁵ἵνα τοὺς ὑπὸ νόμον ἐξαγοράσῃ ἵνα τὴν υἱοθεσίαν ἀπολάβωμεν

⁵to redeem those under the law, that we might receive our adoption as sons.

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

⁶And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”

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

⁷So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, you are also an heir through God.

Paul’s Concern for the Galatians

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

⁸Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods.

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

⁹But now that you know God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you are turning back to those weak and worthless principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?

¹⁰ἡμέρας παρατηρεῖσθε καὶ μῆνας καὶ καιροὺς καὶ ἐνιαυτούς

¹⁰You are observing special days and months and seasons and years!

¹¹φοβοῦμαι ὑμᾶς μή πως εἰκῇ κεκοπίακα εἰς ὑμᾶς

¹¹I fear for you, that my efforts for you may have been in vain.

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

¹²I beg you, brothers, become like me, for I became like you. You have done me no wrong.

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

¹³You know that it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you.

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

¹⁴And although my illness was a trial to you, you did not despise or reject me. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus Himself.

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

¹⁵What then has become of your blessing? For I can testify that, if it were possible, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me.

¹⁶ὥστε ἐχθρὸς ὑμῶν γέγονα ἀληθεύων ὑμῖν

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

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

¹⁷Those people are zealous for you, but not in a good way. Instead, they want to isolate you from us, so that you may be zealous for them.

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

¹⁸Nevertheless, it is good to be zealous if it serves a noble purpose—at any time, and not only when I am with you.

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

¹⁹My children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you,

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

²⁰how I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I am perplexed about you.

Hagar and Sarah

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

²¹Tell me, you who want to be under the law, do you not understand what the law says?

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

²²For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman.^a

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

²³His son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh, but his son by the free woman was born through the promise.

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

²⁴These things serve as illustrations, for the women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children into slavery: This is Hagar.

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

²⁵Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present-day Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children.

²⁶ἡ δὲ ἄνω Ἰερουσαλὴμ ἐλευθέρα ἐστίν ἥτις ἐστὶν μήτηρ ἡμῶν

²⁶But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.

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

²⁷For it is written:

“Rejoice, O barren woman,

who bears no children;

break forth and cry aloud,

you who have never travailed;

because more are the children of the desolate woman

than of her who has a husband.”^a

²⁸Ὑμεῖς δέ ἀδελφοί κατὰ Ἰσαὰκ ἐπαγγελίας τέκνα ἐστέ

²⁸Now you,^a brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise.

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

²⁹At that time, however, the son born by the flesh persecuted the son born by the Spirit. It is the same now.

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

³⁰But what does the Scripture say? “Expel the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman’s son.”^a

³¹διό ἀδελφοί οὐκ ἐσμὲν παιδίσκης τέκνα ἀλλὰ τῆς ἐλευθέρας

³¹Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.