Galatians 3:17

Galatians 3:17 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.
• New International Version (NIV)What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise.
• English Standard Version (ESV)This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect.

Context of Galatians 3:17

15My Christian friends, I will use an example from our lives. Two people may make an agreement together and they both agree to it properly. If they do that, nobody else can change that agreement. They cannot take away its authority. 16In the same way, God promised to bless Abraham and Abraham's descendant. The Bible does not say ‘descendants’. It does not speak about ‘many people’. No, God promised to bless Abraham's descendant. He speaks about one person, and that person is Christ. What I mean is this: God made an agreement with Abraham. He promised to bless him. Then, 430 years later, God gave his Law to Moses for the Jewish people. But that Law could not take away the authority of God's agreement with Abraham. It could not stop what God had already promised. 18God has promised to give good things to his children. But that does not happen as a result of God's Law. If that were true, then we would not receive God's good things as a result of his promise. But God gave those good things to Abraham as a gift, because he had promised to bless Abraham. 19So we could ask: Why did God give his Law to his people after his promise to Abraham? He gave his Law to show them which things are wrong. It would have authority until Abraham's special descendant would come. That was the descendant that God had promised to bless. God used angels to give his Law to his people. It was Moses who received the Law from God, and Moses then took it to God's people.

Galatians 3:17 word by word

τοῦτο δὲ λέγω· διαθήκην προκεκυρωμένην ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ ὁ μετὰ τετρακόσια καὶ τριάκοντα ἔτη γεγονὼς νόμος οὐκ ἀκυροῖ εἰς τὸ καταργῆσαι τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Andδέde · thenG1161
• thisοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
• I sayλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• the covenantδιαθήκηdiathēkē · covenantG1242
• that was confirmed beforeπροκυρόομαιprokuroō · to establishG4300
• ofὑπόhupo · by/under: byG5259
• Godὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
• inεἰςeis · towardG1519
• ChristΧριστόςChristos · ChristG5547
• the lawνόμοςnomos · lawG3551
• wasγίνομαιginomai · to beG1096
• four hundredτετρακόσιοιtetrakosioi tetrakosia · four hundredG5071
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• thirtyτριάκονταtriakonta · thirtyG5144
• yearsἔτοςetos · yearG2094
• afterμετάmeta · with/afterG3326
• cannotοὐou · noG3756
• disannulἀκυρόωakuroō · to nullifyG208
• it should makeκαταργέωkatargeō · to abateG2673
• the promiseἐπαγγελίαepaggelia · promiseG1860

Cross-references for Galatians 3:17

• Galatians 5:16So this is what I say: Let God's Spirit show you how to live in a good way. Then you will not do the wrong things that you may want to do, as people who are weak and human.
• 1 Corinthians 1:12It happens like this: One of you says, ‘I belong to Paul's group.’ Another person says, ‘I belong to Apollos's group.’ Another person says, ‘I belong to Peter's group.’ And another person says, ‘I belong to Christ's group.’
• 1 Corinthians 7:29My Christian friends, this is what I mean: The time that remains is very short. So men who have wives should live as if they had no wife.
• 1 Corinthians 10:19So think about food that people offer to idols as a sacrifice. I am not saying that the idols are real gods. The food that people offer to them is not special food.
• 2 Corinthians 9:6Remember this: If a farmer plants only a few seeds, he will not get much as a result. But if he plants plenty of seeds, he will get a big harvest.
• Ephesians 4:17So I say this to you. I am sure that I have the Lord's authority to say it. You must not live any longer like the Gentile people who do not know God. They do whatever their silly ideas teach them to do.
• Colossians 2:4I am telling you these things so that false teachers will not deceive you. They may teach ideas that seem good, but do not listen to them.
• Genesis 15:18On that day, the Lord made a covenant with Abram. The Lord promised, ‘I give this land to your descendants. The land starts from the river of Egypt and continues as far as the River Euphrates.
• Genesis 17:7My covenant with you is very strong. I am making it with you and with your descendants. It will continue for generation after generation of your descendants, for all time. I will be your God. I will also be the God of all your descendants.
• Luke 1:68‘The Lord God of Israel is a great God. He has come to save his people. He has come to make them free.
• John 1:17God gave his Law to us through Moses. But Jesus Christ brought God's grace and his truth to us.
• John 8:56Your ancestor Abraham knew that I would come at some time. He was happy to know that he would see that time. He did see that time, and he was very happy.’
• Romans 3:25God showed everyone that Jesus Christ died on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins. God forgives us if we trust in Jesus and the blood of his sacrifice. God did this to show clearly that he is always right and fair. In past times, God was patient. He did not punish people who did wrong things.
• 2 Corinthians 1:20Christ says ‘Yes’ to all of God's promises, so that they become true. So when we pray, we say ‘Yes, amen!,’ because we know that Christ has done it. And when we do that, we are saying that God is great.
• Hebrews 11:13All these people continued to believe God until they died. But they did not receive all the things that God had promised to give them. They were like people who saw those things far away. That made them happy. These people understood that they lived as strangers and travellers on the earth.
• 1 Peter 1:11They wanted to know when God's special Messiah would come and who he would be. Christ's Spirit showed those prophets that the Messiah would receive much trouble and pain. After that, God would show how great the Messiah is.

Commentaries on Galatians 3:17

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17Confirmed before of God in Christ - i.e. The promise of justification, etc., made to believers in Christ Jesus, who are the spiritual seed of Christ, as they are children of Abraham, from the similitude of their faith. Abraham believed in God, and it was reckoned to him for justification; the Gentiles believed in Christ, and received justification. Probably the word Christ is to be taken, both here and in the preceding verse, for Christians, as has…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17The covenant which was confirmed before of God - By God, in his promise to Abraham. It was confirmed before the giving of the Law. The confirmation was the solemn promise which God made to him. In Christ - With respect to the Messiah; a covenant relating to him, and which promised that he should descend from Abraham. The word “in,” in the phrase “in Christ,” does not quite express the meaning of the Greek ̓ ̀ eis ChristonThat means rather “unto Christ;”…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-18Verses 15-18 The covenant God made with Abraham, was not done away by the giving the law to Moses. The covenant was made with Abraham and his Seed. It is still in force; Christ abideth for ever in his person, and his spiritual seed, who are his by faith. By this we learn the difference between the promises of the law and those of the gospel. The promises of the law are made to the person of every man; the promises of the gospel are first made to Christ…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 17Just as human covenants cannot be canceled (3:15), the terms of God's covenant with Abraham were not changed when God gave Moses the law. 430 years: See study note on Exodus 12:40.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1717. this I say--"this is what I mean," by what I said in Ga 3:15. continued ... of God--"ratified by God" (Ga 3:15). in Christ--rather, "unto Christ" (compare Ga 3:16). However, Vulgate and the old Italian versions translate as English Version. But the oldest manuscripts omit the words altogether. the law which was--Greek, "which came into existence four hundred thirty years after" (Ex 12:40, 41). He does not, as in the case of "the covenant," add…Read the comment

Topics related to Galatians 3:17

• Abraham
• Faith
• Israel
• Salvation
• Works

In the dictionaries

• Christ
• God
• Christ, Messiah
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Four Hundred
• Chronology
• Conclude
• Curse
• Exodus, Book of
• Eye

Commentaries on Galatians 3

• 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