Galatians 4:26

Galatians 4:26 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
• New International Version (NIV)But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother.
• English Standard Version (ESV)But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.
• New King James Version (NKJV)but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.

Context of Galatians 4:26

24Which things have an allegorical sense; for these are two covenants: one from mount Sinai, gendering to bondage, which is Hagar. 25For Hagar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which [is] now, for she is in bondage with her children; but the Jerusalem above is free, which is our mother. 27For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break out and cry, thou that travailest not; because the children of the desolate are more numerous than [those] of her that has a husband. 28But ye, brethren, after the pattern of Isaac, are children of promise.

Galatians 4:26 word by word

ἡ δὲ ἄνω Ἰερουσαλὴμ ἐλευθέρα ἐστὶν ἥτις ἐστὶν μήτηρ ἡμῶν·Read the interlinear

• JerusalemἹερουσαλήμHierousalēm · JerusalemG2419
• isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• freeἐλεύθεροςeleutheros · free/freedomG1658
• motherμήτηρmētēr · motherG3384

Cross-references for Galatians 4:26

• Psalms 87:3Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. Selah.
• Isaiah 2:2And it shall come to pass in the end of days, [that] the mountain of Jehovah's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow unto it.
• Isaiah 52:9Break forth, sing aloud together, waste places of Jerusalem; for Jehovah comforteth his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem.
• Isaiah 62:1For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not be still, until her righteousness go forth as brightness, and her salvation as a torch that burneth.
• Isaiah 65:18But be glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create. For behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.
• Isaiah 66:10Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all ye that love her; rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn over her:
• Joel 3:17And ye shall know that I, Jehovah, [am] your God, dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain; and Jerusalem shall be holy, and no strangers shall pass through her any more.
• Micah 4:1But it shall come to pass in the end of days [that] the mountain of Jehovah's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and the peoples shall flow unto it.
• Philippians 3:20for our commonwealth has its existence in [the] heavens, from which also we await the Lord Jesus Christ [as] Saviour,
• Hebrews 12:22but ye have come to mount Zion; and to [the] city of [the] living God, heavenly Jerusalem; and to myriads of angels,
• Revelation 3:12He that overcomes, him will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more at all out; and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven, from my God, and my new name.
• Revelation 21:2And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of the heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
• Galatians 4:22For it is written that Abraham had two sons; one of the maid servant, and one of the free woman.
• Galatians 5:1Christ has set us free in freedom; stand fast therefore, and be not held again in a yoke of bondage.
• John 8:36If therefore the Son shall set you free, ye shall be really free.
• Romans 6:14For sin shall not have dominion over you, for ye are not under law but under grace.

Commentaries on Galatians 4:26

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 26But Jerusalem which is above - The apostle still follows the Jewish allegory, showing not only how the story of Hagar and Sarah, Ishmael and Isaac, was allegorized, but pointing out also that even Jerusalem was the subject of allegory; for it was a maxim among the rabbins, that "whatsoever was in the earth, the same was also found in heaven for there is no matter, howsoever small, in this world, that has not something similar to it in the spiritual…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 26But Jerusalem which is above - The spiritual Jerusalem; the true church of God. Jerusalem was the place where God was worshipped, and hence, it became synonymous with the word church, or is used to represent the people of God. The word rendered “above,” ( ̓́ anō) means properly “up above,” that which is above; and hence, heavenly, celestial; Colossians 3:1-2; John 8:23. Here it means the heavenly or celestial Jerusalem; Revelation 21:2, “And I John saw…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 21-27Verses 21-27 The difference between believers who rested in Christ only, and those who trusted in the law, is explained by the histories of Isaac and Ishmael. These things are an allegory, wherein, beside the literal and historical sense of the words, the Spirit of God points out something further. Hagar and Sarah were apt emblems of the two different dispensations of the covenant. The heavenly Jerusalem, the true church from above, represented by Sarah…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 26Hagar represents slavery to human effort based on Mount Sinai (4:24–25). In contrast, Sarah represents freedom in the heavenly Jerusalem, God's ideal city. Abraham’s true children by faith now live under God's rule in Jesus Christ (3:29). she is our mother: Sarah’s son, Isaac, was freely given all of God's promises apart from the law of Moses. Similarly, Jews and Gentiles who live by faith in Jesus are Sarah’s true children. They receive God's promises to…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2626. This verse stands instead of the sentence which we should expect, to correspond to Ga 4:24, "One from Mount Sinai," namely, the other covenant from the heavenly mount above, which is (answers in the allegory to) Sarah. Jerusalem ... above--(He 12:22), "the heavenly Jerusalem." "New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God" (Re 3:12; 21:2). Here "the Messianic theocracy, which before Christ's second appearing is the Church, and after it…Read the comment

Topics related to Galatians 4:26

• Abraham
• Church
• Justification
• Parables
• Women

In the dictionaries

• Jerusalem
• Doubt
• Flesh
• Heaven
• Observe
• Sarah
• Zealously
• Abraham
• Allegory
• Citizenship

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