Galatians 4:19

Galatians 4:19 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,
• New International Version (NIV)My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you,
• English Standard Version (ESV)my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!
• New King James Version (NKJV)My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you,

Context of Galatians 4:19

17They are not rightly zealous after you, but desire to shut you out [from us], that ye may be zealous after them. 18But [it is] right to be zealous at all times in what is right, and not only when I am present with you — my children, of whom I again travail in birth until Christ shall have been formed in you: 20and I should wish to be present with you now, and change my voice, for I am perplexed as to you. 21Tell me, ye who are desirous of being under law, do ye not listen to the law?

Galatians 4:19 word by word

τέκνα μου, οὓς πάλιν ὠδίνω μέχρις οὗ μορφωθῇ Χριστὸς ἐν ὑμῖν.Read the interlinear

• childrenτέκνονteknon · childG5043
• againπάλινpalin · againG3825
• ChristΧριστόςChristos · ChristG5547

Cross-references for Galatians 4:19

• 1 Corinthians 4:14Not [as] chiding do I write these things to you, but as my beloved children I admonish [you].
• 1 Timothy 1:2to Timotheus, [my] true child in faith: grace, mercy, peace, from God our Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
• Philemon 1:10I exhort thee for my child, whom I have begotten in [my] bonds, Onesimus,
• James 1:18According to his own will begat he us by the word of truth, that we should be a certain first-fruits of his creatures.
• 1 John 2:1My children, these things I write to you in order that ye may not sin; and if any one sin, we have a patron with the Father, Jesus Christ [the] righteous;
• 1 John 5:21Children, keep yourselves from idols.
• Numbers 11:11And Moses said to Jehovah, Why hast thou done evil to thy servant, and why have I not found favour in thine eyes, that thou layest the burden of all this people upon me?
• Isaiah 53:11He shall see of [the fruit of] the travail of his soul, [and] shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant instruct many in righteousness; and he shall bear their iniquities.
• Luke 22:44And being in conflict he prayed more intently. And his sweat became as great drops of blood, falling down upon the earth.
• Philippians 1:8For God is my witness how I long after you all in [the] bowels of Christ Jesus.
• Philippians 2:17But if also I am poured out as a libation on the sacrifice and ministration of your faith, I rejoice, and rejoice in common with you all.
• Colossians 2:1For I would have you know what combat I have for you, and those in Laodicea, and as many as have not seen my face in flesh;
• Colossians 4:12Epaphras, who is [one] of you, [the] bondman of Christ Jesus, salutes you, always combating earnestly for you in prayers, to the end that ye may stand perfect and complete in all [the] will of God.
• Hebrews 5:7Who in the days of his flesh, having offered up both supplications and entreaties to him who was able to save him out of death, with strong crying and tears; (and having been heard because of his piety;)
• Revelation 12:1And a great sign was seen in the heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars;
• Romans 8:29Because whom he has foreknown, he has also predestinated [to be] conformed to the image of his Son, so that he should be [the] firstborn among many brethren.

Commentaries on Galatians 4:19

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 19My little children - · My beloved children. As their conversion to God had been the fruit of much labor, prayers, and tears, so he felt them as his children, and peculiarly dear to him, because he had been the means of bringing them to the knowledge of the truth; therefore he represents himself as suffering the same anxiety and distress which he endured at first when he preached the Gospel to them, when their conversion to Christianity was a matter of…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 19My little children - The language of tender affection, such as a parent would use toward his own offspring; see the note at 1 Corinthians 4:15; compare Matthew 18:3; John 13:33; 1 John 2:1, 1 John 2:12-13; 1 John 4:4; 1 John 5:21. The idea here is, that Paul felt that he sustained toward them the relation of a father, and he had for them the deep and tender feelings of a parent. Of whom I travail in birth again - For whose welfare I am deeply anxious: and…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 19-20Verses 19-20 The Galatians were ready to account the apostle their enemy, but he assures them he was their friend; he had the feelings of a parent toward them. He was in doubt as to their state, and was anxious to know the result of their present delusions. Nothing is so sure a proof that a sinner has passed into a state of justification, as Christ being formed in him by the renewal of the Holy Spirit; but this cannot be hoped for, while men depend on the…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 19The Galatians were like Paul's spiritual children (see 1 Corinthians 4:14–15; Philemon 1:10). Bringing them to Christ was like giving birth to children and experiencing labor pains. It was difficult but rewarding. Now, Paul felt his work was not finished. until Christ is formed in you: Paul uses the picture of giving birth to explain something important. If the Galatians continued to trust in Christ as Paul had taught them, Christ's image would grow in…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1919. My little children--(1Ti 1:18; 2Ti 2:1; 1Jo 2:1). My relation to you is not merely that of one zealously courting you (Ga 4:17, 18), but that of a father to his children (1Co 4:15). I travail in birth--that is, like a mother in pain till the birth of her child. again--a second time. The former time was when I was "present with you" (Ga 4:18; compare Note, see on Ga 4:13). Christ be formed in you--that you may live nothing but Christ, and think nothing…Read the comment

Topics related to Galatians 4:19

• Love
• Zeal, Religious

In the dictionaries

• Christ
• Christ, Messiah
• Doubt
• Flesh
• Galatians, Epistle to
• Observe
• Zealously
• Child; Children
• Form
• Galatians, Epistle to the

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