Galatians 4:9

Galatians 4:9 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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?
• New International Version (NIV)But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?
• English Standard Version (ESV)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 worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?
• New King James Version (NKJV)But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage?

Context of Galatians 4:9

7Therefore you are no longer a slave (bond-servant), but a son; and if a son, then also an heir through [the gracious act of] God [through Christ]. 8But at that time, when you did not know [the true] God and were unacquainted with Him, you [Gentiles] were slaves to those [pagan] things which by [their very] nature were not and could not be gods at all. Now, however, since you have come to know [the true] God [through personal experience], or rather to be known by God, how is it that you are turning back again to the weak and worthless elemental principles [of religions and philosophies], to which you want to be enslaved all over again? 10[For example,] you observe [particular] days and months and seasons and years. 11I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored [to the point of exhaustion] over you in vain.

Galatians 4:9 word by word

νῦν δὲ γνόντες θεόν, μᾶλλον δὲ γνωσθέντες ὑπὸ θεοῦ, πῶς ἐπιστρέφετε πάλιν ἐπὶ τὰ ἀσθενῆ καὶ πτωχὰ στοιχεῖα οἷς πάλιν ἄνωθεν δουλεύειν θέλετε;Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Butδέde · thenG1161
• nowνῦνnun · nowG3568
• after that ye have knownγινώσκωginōskō · to knowG1097
• Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
• ratherμᾶλλονmallon · more: ratherG3123
• ofὑπόhupo · by/under: byG5259
• howπῶςpōs · how?!G4459
• turn yeἐπιστρέφωepistrephō · to turnG1994
• againπάλινpalin · againG3825
• toἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
• the weakἀσθενήςasthenēs · weakG772
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• beggarlyπτωχόςptōchos · poorG4434
• elementsστοιχεῖονstoicheion · principleG4747
• whereuntoὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
• ye desireθέλωthelō ethelō · to will/desireG2309
• ·ἄνωθενanōthen · from above/againG509
• to be in bondageδουλεύωdouleuō · be a slaveG1398
• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588

Cross-references for Galatians 4:9

• 1 Kings 8:43hear in heaven, Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls upon (prays to) You, so that all peoples of the earth may know Your name and fear You [with reverence and awe], as do Your people Israel, and that they may know [without any doubt] that this house which I have built is called by Your name.
• 1 Chronicles 28:9“As for you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father [have personal knowledge of Him, be acquainted with, and understand Him; appreciate, heed, and cherish Him] and serve Him with a blameless heart and a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts and minds, and understands every intent and inclination of the thoughts. If you seek Him [inquiring for and of Him and requiring Him as your first and vital necessity] He will let you find Him; but if you abandon (turn away from) Him, He will reject you forever.
• Psalms 9:10And those who know Your name [who have experienced Your precious mercy] will put their confident trust in You, For You, O Lord, have not abandoned those who seek You.
• Proverbs 2:5Then you will understand the [reverent] fear of the Lord [that is, worshiping Him and regarding Him as truly awesome] And discover the knowledge of God.
• Jeremiah 31:34And each man will no longer teach his neighbor and his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me [through personal experience], from the least of them to the greatest,” says the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness, and I will no longer remember their sin.”
• Habakkuk 2:14But [the time is coming when] the earth shall be filled With the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, As the waters cover the sea.
• Matthew 11:27All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one fully knows and accurately understands the Son except the Father; and no one fully knows and accurately understands the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son [deliberately] wills to reveal Him.
• John 17:3Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true [supreme and sovereign] God, and [in the same manner know] Jesus [as the] Christ whom You have sent.
• 1 Corinthians 15:34Be sober-minded [be sensible, wake up from your spiritual stupor] as you ought, and stop sinning; for some [of you] have no knowledge of God [you are disgracefully ignorant of Him, and ignore His truths]. I say this to your shame.
• 2 Corinthians 4:6For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give us the Light of the knowledge of the glory and majesty of God [clearly revealed] in the face of Christ.
• Ephesians 1:17[I always pray] that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may grant you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation [that gives you a deep and personal and intimate insight] into the true knowledge of Him [for we know the Father through the Son].
• 2 Peter 2:20For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world by [personal] knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, their last condition has become worse for them than the first.
• 1 John 2:3And this is how we know [daily, by experience] that we have come to know Him [to understand Him and be more deeply acquainted with Him]: if we habitually keep [focused on His precepts and obey] His commandments (teachings).
• 1 John 5:20And we [have seen and] know [by personal experience] that the Son of God has [actually] come [to this world], and has given us understanding and insight so that we may [progressively and personally] know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true—in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.
• Exodus 33:17The Lord said to Moses, “I will also do this thing that you have asked; for you have found favor (lovingkindness, mercy) in My sight and I have known you [personally] by name.”
• Psalms 1:6For the Lord knows and fully approves the way of the righteous, But the way of the wicked shall perish.

Commentaries on Galatians 4:9

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9Now, after that ye have known God - After having been brought to the knowledge of God as your Savior. Or rather are known of God - Are approved of him, having received the adoption of sons. To the weak and beggarly elements - After receiving all this, will ye turn again to the ineffectual rites and ceremonies of the Mosaic law - rites too weak to counteract your sinful habits, and too poor to purchase pardon and eternal life for you? If the Galatians were…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9But now … - The sense is, that since they had been made free from their ignoble servitude in the worship of false gods, and had been admitted to the freedom found in the worship of the true God, it was absurd that they should return again to that which was truly slavery or bondage, the observance of the rites of the Jewish law. That ye have known God - The true God, and the ease and freedom of his service in the gospel. Or rather are known of God - The…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 8-11Verses 8-11 The happy change whereby the Galatians were turned from idols to the living God, and through Christ had received the adoption of sons, was the effect of his free and rich grace; they were laid under the greater obligation to keep to the liberty wherewith he had made them free. All our knowledge of God begins on his part; we know him because we are known of him. Though our religion forbids idolatry, yet many practise spiritual idolatry in their…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9Now that you know God: Christians have a relationship with God like a child with a parent, not like a slave with a master (4:5–7). how is it that you are turning back? Paul was confused that Christians would want to return to their old life of spiritual slavery (4:19–20). are known by God: God is the one who saves and has taken the initiative in understanding their souls and forgiving them freely (Psalm 139:1–6, 23–24; Luke 2:34–35; Hebrews 4:12). By…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 8-118-11. Appeal to them not to turn back from their privileges as free sons, to legal bondage again. then--when ye were "servants" (Ga 4:7). ye knew not God--not opposed to Ro 1:21. The heathen originally knew God, as Ro 1:21 states, but did not choose to retain God in their knowledge, and so corrupted the original truth. They might still have known Him, in a measure, from His works, but as a matter of fact they knew Him not, so far as His eternity, His…Read the comment

Topics related to Galatians 4:9

• Backsliders
• God Continued...
• Instability
• Wisdom
• Works

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Beg
• Doubt
• Elements
• Flesh
• Observe
• Zealously
• Beggarly
• Bondage

Commentaries on Galatians 4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings