Galatians 4:25

Galatians 4:25 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.
• New International Version (NIV)Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children.
• New King James Version (NKJV)for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children—

Context of Galatians 4:25

23Hagar was a slave. Her son was born as a result of what Abraham himself decided. But Abraham's wife, Sarah, gave birth to the other son. That son was born as a result of what God had promised to Abraham. 24These two women are like pictures of two agreements that God made with his people. Hagar is like the agreement that God made on Sinai mountain. That agreement causes people to become slaves. Hagar is like a picture of Sinai mountain in Arabia. Also, she is like the city of Jerusalem here on earth now, because that city and its people are slaves under the authority of God's Law. 26But Abraham's wife, Sarah, is a picture of the new Jerusalem that is above. Sarah was a free person, not a slave, and she is like our mother. 27It says in the Bible: ‘Be happy, you woman who could not have any children! You have never known the pain of a child's birth. But now shout loudly because you are so happy! Yes, be happy, because the lonely woman now has more children than the woman who has a husband.’

Galatians 4:25 word by word

τὸ δὲ Ἁγὰρ Σινᾶ ὄρος ἐστὶν ἐν τῇ Ἀραβίᾳ, συστοιχεῖ δὲ τῇ νῦν Ἰερουσαλήμ, δουλεύει γὰρ μετὰ τῶν τέκνων αὐτῆς.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Forγάρgar · forG1063
• thisὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• AgarἌγαρAgar · HagarG28
• isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• mountὄροςoros · mountainG3735
• SinaiΣινᾶSina · (Mount) SinaiG4614
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• ArabiaἈραβίαArabia · ArabiaG688
• andδέde · thenG1161
• answereth toσυστοιχέωsustoicheō · to correspond toG4960
• JerusalemἹερουσαλήμHierousalēm · JerusalemG2419
• nowνῦνnun · nowG3568
• is in bondageδουλεύωdouleuō · be a slaveG1398
• withμετάmeta · with/afterG3326
• herαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• childrenτέκνονteknon · childG5043

Cross-references for Galatians 4:25

• Galatians 4:24These two women are like pictures of two agreements that God made with his people. Hagar is like the agreement that God made on Sinai mountain. That agreement causes people to become slaves.
• Deuteronomy 33:2He said this: ‘The Lord came from Sinai. He appeared to his people like the sun that rises over the hills of Edom. He shone on his people from Mount Paran. Thousands of angels came with him. In his right hand, he held his Law that burned with fire.
• Judges 5:5The mountains shook when you appeared, as they shook at Sinai mountain when you showed your power. You are the Lord, the God of Israel.
• Psalms 68:8Then the ground shook, and rain poured down from the sky. You showed your power at Sinai mountain. You are the God who rules at Sinai. You are the God that Israel's people serve.
• Hebrews 12:18You have come near to God. But you have not come to a place that you can touch, like Sinai mountain. That mountain burned with fire. But where the people stood, it was completely dark. They could not see at all. There was also a very strong wind and a storm.
• Galatians 1:17Nor did I go to Jerusalem to see Christ's apostles there. Those men were already his apostles before I was. But I did not go to talk to them. Instead, I went immediately to the region of Arabia. Later, I went back to the city of Damascus.
• Acts 1:11The men said to the apostles, ‘You men from Galilee, you should not still be standing here and looking up into the sky. God has taken Jesus into heaven. You saw the way that Jesus went up to heaven. One day, he himself will return in the same way.’
• Matthew 23:37Jerusalem, Jerusalem! Your people have killed God's prophets. They have thrown stones to kill other people that God has sent to you. Many times, I have wanted to bring all of your people near to me. A female bird covers her babies with her body to make them safe. But you would not let me keep you from danger like that.
• Luke 13:34Jerusalem, Jerusalem! Your people have killed God's prophets. And they have thrown stones to kill other people that God has sent to you. Many times, I have wanted to bring all of your people near to me. A female bird covers her babies with her body to make them safe. But you would not let me keep you from danger like that.
• Luke 19:44So your enemies will knock you down. They will completely destroy your city and all the people who live in it. They will not leave even one stone on top of another stone. You did not understand that God had come to save you at this time. That is why these bad things will happen to you.’

Commentaries on Galatians 4:25

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 25For this Agar is Mount Sinai in Arabia - . This is the common reading; but it is read differently in some of the most respectable MSS., versions, and fathers; thus: ͅ , for this Sinai is a mountain of Arabia; the word , Agar, being omitted. This reading is supported by CFG, some others, the Ethiopic, Armenian, Vulgate, and one copy of the Itala; by Epiphanius, Damascenus, Ambrosiaster, Jerome, Augustine, Hilary, Sedulius, and Bede; and the word is…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 25For this Agar is Mount Sinai - This Hagar well represents the Law given on Mount Sinai. No one can believe that Paul meant to say that Hagar was literally Mount Sinai. A great deal of perplexity has been felt in regard to this passage, and Bentley proposed to cancel it altogether as an interpolation. But there is no good authority for this. Several manuscripts and versions read it, “For this Sinai is a mountain in Arabia;” others, “to this Hagar Jerusalem…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. 25Both Hagar and Mount Sinai were symbols of Jerusalem. They represented Judaism during Paul's time. Judaism continued to trust in the law and in being Abraham's descendants for their status before God (see John 8:31–59). They rejected Jesus as Messiah and remained bound to the law (Galatians 3:23–24; 4:1–3). Mount Sinai in Arabia: Traditionally, Mount Sinai is located in the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. However, some suggest that in Arabia means Mount Sinai…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2525. Translate, "For this word, Hagar, is (imports) Mount Sinai in Arabia (that is, among the Arabians--in the Arabian tongue)." So Chrysostom explains. Haraut, the traveller, says that to this day the Arabians call Sinai, "Hadschar," that is, Hagar, meaning a rock or stone. Hagar twice fled into the desert of Arabia (Ge 16:1-16; 21:9-21): from her the mountain and city took its name, and the people were called Hagarenes. Sinai, with its rugged rocks, far…Read the comment

Topics related to Galatians 4:25

• Abraham
• Hagar
• Justification
• Parables
• Sinai

In the dictionaries

• Arabia
• Jerusalem
• Sinai
• Sinai, or Sinai
• Arabia, Arabian
• Sinai, Horeb
• Doubt
• Flesh
• Observe
• Sarah

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