Galatians 4
1 My point is this: heirs, as long as they are minors, are no better than slaves, though they are the owners of all the property; 2but they remain under guardians and trustees until the date set by the father. 3So with us; while we were minors, we were enslaved to the elemental spiritsa of the world. 4But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. 6And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into ourb hearts, crying, "Abba!c Father!" 7So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.d
Paul Reproves the Galatians
8 Formerly, when you did not know God,
you were enslaved to beings that by nature are not gods. 9Now,
however, that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by
God, how can you turn back again to the weak and beggarly elemental
spirits?e How can you want to be enslaved to them
again? 10You are observing special days,
and months, and seasons, and years. 11I
am afraid that my work for you may have been wasted.
12 Friends,f I beg you, become
as I am, for I also have become as you are. You have done me no
wrong. 13You know that it was because of
a physical infirmity that I first announced the gospel to you; 14though
my condition put you to the test, you did not scorn or despise me,
but welcomed me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. 15What
has become of the goodwill you felt? For I testify that, had it been
possible, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. 16Have
I now become your enemy by telling you the truth? 17They
make much of you, but for no good purpose; they want to exclude you,
so that you may make much of them. 18It
is good to be made much of for a good purpose at all times, and not
only when I am present with you. 19My
little children, for whom I am again in the pain of childbirth until
Christ is formed in you, 20I wish I were
present with you now and could change my tone, for I am perplexed
about you.
The Allegory of Hagar and Sarah
21 Tell me, you who desire to be subject
to the law, will you not listen to the law? 22For
it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and
the other by a free woman. 23One, the
child of the slave, was born according to the flesh; the other, the
child of the free woman, was born through the promise. 24Now
this is an allegory: these women are two covenants. One woman, in
fact, is Hagar, from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery. 25Now
Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabiag and corresponds to
the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26But
the other woman corresponds to the Jerusalem above; she is free, and
she is our mother. 27For it is written,
"Rejoice, you childless one, you who bear no children,
burst into song and shout, you who endure no birth pangs;
for the children of the desolate woman are more numerous
than the children of the one who is married."
28Now you,h my
friends,i are children of the promise, like
Isaac. 29But just as at that time the
child who was born according to the flesh persecuted the child who
was born according to the Spirit, so it is now also. 30But
what does the scripture say? "Drive out the slave and her child; for
the child of the slave will not share the inheritance with the child
of the free woman." 31So then, friends,j
we are children, not of the slave but of the free woman.