Galatians 3:4

Galatians 3:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.
• New International Version (NIV)Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain?
• English Standard Version (ESV)Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?
• New King James Version (NKJV)Have you suffered so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?

Context of Galatians 3:4

2So think about this: When you received God's Spirit, was it because you had obeyed the rules of God's Law? No! You received God's Spirit because you heard the message about Christ and you believed it. 3Do not think like fools! You first became believers by the help of God's Spirit. So do not try now to continue by your own human power. That will never get you to the end! You have had many troubles as believers. I want those troubles to help you. Surely they could not be without any good purpose. 5God gives to you the gift of his Spirit. He also does powerful miracles among you. But he does not do these things because you obey the rules of his Law. No, he does them because you believed the message about Christ which you heard. 6Think about our Jewish ancestor Abraham. We know this: ‘Abraham believed God. As a result, God accepted Abraham as right with him’.

Galatians 3:4 word by word

τοσαῦτα ἐπάθετε εἰκῇ; εἴ γε καὶ εἰκῇ.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Have ye sufferedπάσχωpaschō pathō penthō · to sufferG3958
• so many thingsτοσοῦτοςtosoutos · so greatG5118
• in vainεἰκῇeikē · in vainG1500
• ifεἴγεeige · if indeedG1489
• yetκαίkai · andG2532

Cross-references for Galatians 3:4

• Ezekiel 18:24A righteous person may stop doing things that are good and right. He may start to do the same disgusting things that wicked people do. Then he will not continue to live. I will not remember any of the good things that he did. Instead, I will punish him because of the sins that he has done. He has not been faithful to me, so he will die.
• Hebrews 6:4That is important, because we must not turn away from Christ, after we have first believed in him. Some people have come into God's light. They have understood God's message. They have started to enjoy the true life that God has given them. They have received the Holy Spirit, like other believers.
• Hebrews 10:32Remember what happened to you in those early days. When you first understood the message about Christ, you had many troubles. But you continued to be strong.
• 2 Peter 2:20People like that learned about our Lord Jesus Christ, who saves us. As a result, they had stopped doing the bad things that belong to this world. They had become free from the power of those things. But now they have started to do those bad things again. Those things have power over them and they cannot stop doing them. So now, these false teachers are worse than they were at the beginning, before they believed in the Lord Jesus.
• 2 John 1:8So be careful! Do not believe their lies. Do not lose the good things that we have worked for. Make sure that you receive all the good things that God has promised to give you.

Commentaries on Galatians 3:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Have ye suffered so many things in vain? - Have ye received and lost so much good? The verb , as compounded with , well, or , ill, and often without either, signifies to suffer pain or loss, or to possess and enjoy. In such a case the man is considered as the patient, and the good or ill acts upon him. Though it is possible that the Galatians had suffered some persecution for the truth of Christ, yet it is as likely that the apostle refers to the benefits…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Have ye suffered so many things in vain? - Paul reminds them of what they had endured on account of their attachment to Christianity. He assures them, that if the opinions on account of which they had suffered were false, then their sufferings had been in vain. They were of no use to them - for what advantage was it to suffer for a false opinion? The opinions for which they had suffered had not been these which they now embraced. They were not those…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4Have you suffered so much for nothing? This might mean suffering, but the Galatian church's history does not suggest that. Paul likely referred to the spiritual experiences the Galatians had through the Holy Spirit (Galatians 3:3, 5). Depending on the law of Moses for a right relationship with God makes the Spirit's work seem meaningless.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. Have ye suffered so many things--namely, persecution from Jews and from unbelieving fellow countrymen, incited by the Jews, at the time of your conversion. in vain--fruitlessly, needlessly, since ye might have avoided them by professing Judaism [Grotius]. Or, shall ye, by falling from grace, lose the reward promised for all your sufferings, so that they shall be "in vain" (Ga 4:11; 1Co 15:2, 17-19, 29-32; 2Th 1:5-7; 2Jo 8)? yet--rather, "If it be…Read the comment

Topics related to Galatians 3:4

• Faith
• Salvation
• Works

In the dictionaries

• Conclude
• Curse
• Eye
• Flesh
• Foolish
• Redeem
• Schoolmaster
• Shut
• Accommodation
• Galatians, Epistle to the

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