1 NOW I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;
2 But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.
3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:
4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
8 Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods.
9 But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?
10 Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.
11 I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.
12 Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am; for I am as ye are: ye have not injured me at all.
13 Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you at the first.
14 And my temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.
15 Where is then the blessedness ye spake of? for I bear you record, that, if it had been possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to me.
16 Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?
17 They zealously affect you, but not well; yea, they would exclude you, that ye might affect them.
18 But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing, and not only when I am present with you.
19 My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,
20 I desire to be present with you now, and to change my voice; for I stand in doubt of you.
21 Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?
22 For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.
23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.
24 Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.
25 For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.
26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
27 For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband.
28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.
29 But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.
30 Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.
31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.

1Now I say, that the heire, as long as hee is a child, differeth nothing from a seruant, though hee bee Lord of all,

2But is vnder tutors and gouernours vntill the time appointed of the father.

3Euen so we, when wee were children, were in bondage vnder the Elements of the world:

4But when the fulnes of the time was come, God sent foorth his Sonne made of a woman, made vnder the Law,

5To redeeme them that were vnder the Law, that we might receiue the adoption of sonnes.

6And because yee are sonnes, God hath sent foorth the spirit of his Sonne into your hearts, crying Abba, Father.

7Wherefore thou art no more a seruant, but a sonne; and if a sonne, then an heire of God through Christ.

8Howbeit, then when ye knew not God, yee did seruice vnto them which by nature are no Gods.

9But now after that yee haue knowen God, or rather are knowen of God, how turne ye againe to the weak and beggerly Elements, whereunto ye desire againe to be in bondage?

10Yee obserue dayes, and moneths, and times, and yeeres.

11I am afraide of you, lest I haue bestowed vpon you labour in vaine.

12Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am; for I am as ye are, ye haue not iniured me at all.

13Ye know how through infirmitie of the flesh, I preached the Gospel vnto you at the first.

14And my temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor reiected, but receiued mee as an Angel of God, euen as Christ Iesus.

15Where is then the blessednes you spake of? for I beare you record, that if it had bin possible, ye would haue plucked out your own eyes, and haue giuen them to me.

16Am I therefore become your enemie, because I tell you the trueth?

17They zelously affect you, but not well: yea, they would exclude you, that you might affect them.

18But it is good to bee zealously affected alwayes in a good thing, and not onely when I am present with you.

19My litle children, of whom I trauaile in birth againe, vntill Christ bee formed in you:

20I desire to bee present with you now, and to change my voyce, for I stand in doubt of you.

21Tell me, ye that desire to be vnder the Law, doe ye not heare the Law?

22For it is written, that Abraham had two sonnes, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.

23But he who was of the bondwoman, was borne after the flesh: but hee of the freewoman, was by promise.

24Which things are an Allegorie; for these are the two Couenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.

25For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Ierusalem, which now is, and is in bondage with her children.

26But Ierusalem which is aboue is free, which is the mother of vs all.

27For it is written, Reioyce thou barren that bearest not, breake foorth and cry thou that traueilest not; for the desolate hath many moe children then she which hath an husband.

28Now wee, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.

29But as then hee that was borne after the flesh, persecuted him that was borne after the Spirit, euen so it is now.

30Neuerthelesse, what saith the Scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her sonne: for the son of the bondwoman shall not bee heire with the son of the freewoman.

31So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.

 

1 I mean that as long as the heir is not of age, he is no different from a slave, although he is the owner of everything, 2 but he is under the supervision of guardians and administrators until the date set by his father. 3 In the same way we also, when we were not of age, were enslaved to the elemental powers of the world. 4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to ransom those under the law, so that we might receive adoption. 6 As proof that you are children, God sent the spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out, "Abba, Father!" 7 So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God. 8 At a time when you did not know God, you became slaves to things that by nature are not gods; 9 but now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and destitute elemental powers? Do you want to be slaves to them all over again? 10 You are observing days, months, seasons, and years. 11 I am afraid on your account that perhaps I have labored for you in vain. 12 I implore you, brothers, be as I am, because I have also become as you are. You did me no wrong; 13 you know that it was because of a physical illness that I originally preached the gospel to you, 14 and you did not show disdain or contempt because of the trial caused you by my physical condition, but rather you received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. 15 Where now is that blessedness of yours? Indeed, I can testify to you that, if it had been possible, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. 16 So now have I become your enemy by telling you the truth? 17 They show interest in you, but not in a good way; they want to isolate you, so that you may show interest in them. 18 Now it is good to be shown interest for good reason at all times, and not only when I am with you. 19 My children, for whom I am again in labor until Christ be formed in you! 20 I would like to be with you now and to change my tone, for I am perplexed because of you. 21 Tell me, you who want to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the freeborn woman. 23 The son of the slave woman was born naturally, the son of the freeborn through a promise. 24 Now this is an allegory. These women represent two covenants. One was from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; this is Hagar. 25 Hagar represents Sinai, a mountain in Arabia; it corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery along with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem above is freeborn, and she is our mother. 27 For it is written: "Rejoice, you barren one who bore no children; break forth and shout, you who were not in labor; for more numerous are the children of the deserted one than of her who has a husband." 28 Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of the promise. 29 But just as then the child of the flesh persecuted the child of the spirit, it is the same now. 30 But what does the scripture say? "Drive out the slave woman and her son! For the son of the slave woman shall not share the inheritance with the son" of the freeborn. 31 Therefore, brothers, we are children not of the slave woman but of the freeborn woman.

v 1-3. This has some similarity to Gal. 3:24-29 except these over the child were guardians and trustees rather than the pedagogue. Even though the child as heir owned the whole estate, until maturity he had no more privilege than a slave. Jews under the law or Gentiles bound by sin, we were all slaves until freed by Christ. 
v 4. God chose a time when the Greek language was predominate throughout the area, the Roman road system facilitated travel and the Jews had told the area of one God and a coming Messiah. He was born of a woman, so both God and man, born a Jew and not only kept, fulfilled the law, but paid it’s curse.
v 5. Christ not only redeemed men from the curse of the law, but redeemed them from slavery to the Mosaic system. Like the matured boy of that culture had a ceremonial adoption as son, believers receive the adoption as sons. Adoption is a word of position rather than relationship. The believers relation to God as a child results from the new birth (John 1:12,13), whereas adoption is the divine act whereby one already a child is, through redemption from the law, “placed” in the position of an adult son.
v 6,7. God sent both the Son and the Spirit. The Spirit prompts believers to pray with intimacy and trust by the term Abba, which would compare to “Daddy”. Paul reemphasized to Galatians that as believers, they were sons and heirs, not slaves.
v 8,9. They were formerly enslaved by false gods. Now, from their perspective they know God, but from God’s perspective, He knows them. It was amazing that they were turning back to The principles which were weak and not satisfying.
v 10. They were observing Jewish ceremonial days in attempt to add to their faith.
v 11. Paul was afraid his extreme efforts toward them had been in vain.
v 12-14. Paul was living like the Gentiles, free from the law, but after conversion, they were putting themselves under demands of the law. They had not caused him grief by despising or rejecting him for his physical disability. Instead of showing scorn, they received him as readily as if he were a personage sent directly from heaven.
v 15,16. Originally they had so much joy in Paul that they would have given him their own eyes [which may allude to Paul having eye  problems], but now they acted like he was their enemy for proclaiming justification by faith alone.
v 17,18. It is good to have concern for someone, but in the case of the Judaizers, they were earnestly seeking to win the Galatians over to a wrong zeal of service.
v 19,20. Little children - immature believers. As Paul had gone through much pains to see them saved, he would go through the same pains to see them reject the Judaizers and become established in Christ. He was concerned about their spiritual development being hindered.
v 21. The Judaizers had given them the desire to be under the law.
v 22,23. So they could better understand the law, he presents two contrasts. (1) Abraham had a son by a free woman and a son by a bond woman, which reduced the status of the child. (2) Ishmael was born the ordinary way, but Isaac was born by promise to a couple beyond child bearing age.
v 24-27. The events were true, but Paul uses them as an allegory of two covenants  to show the difference between Judaism and Christianity. The covenant from Mount Sinai is Hagar, the earthly Jerusalem and the bondage to both Rome and the law. The Abrahamic covenant (implied through Sarah) is the heavenly Jerusalem where all believers are free. In the quote from Isa. 54:1, the woman with a husband is Israel before the Captivity. The barren woman is Israel in Captivity, and the woman with more children is perhaps the millennial Israel and all believers.
Sinai is said to be in Arabia, v 25. Recent pictures and videos actually show Mt Sinai in Arabia, not the traditional Sinai Peninsula. Solomon set up pillars on each side of the Gulf of Aqaba where Israel crossed on an underwater land bridge, where it drops off to 5000 feet on both sides. Egyptian chariot parts are scattered for one and a half miles, and even the gold chariot wheels of Pharaoh’s chariot.
v 28. Believers have a supernatural rebirth and are children of promise.
v 29. Judaizers, like Ishmael, are born of legalistic self effort and persecute those who are born of promise, Gen. 21:8,9.
v30. As Sarah and Abraham expelled the bond woman and her son so he could not be an heir, Gen. 21:10-12, the Galatians should expel the Judaizers whose religion was based on works, because they would have no eternal inheritance. 
v 31. Believers are children of the free woman, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.