English Standard Version
Galatians 3:24
24So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.
Galatians 3:24 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
- New International Version (NIV)So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith.
Context of Galatians 3:24
22But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. 23Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. 25But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.
Read all of Galatians 3Galatians 3:24 word by word
ὥστε ὁ νόμος παιδαγωγὸς ἡμῶν γέγονεν εἰς Χριστόν, ἵνα ἐκ πίστεως δικαιωθῶμεν·Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Whereforeὥστεhōste · soG5620
- the lawὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- the lawνόμοςnomos · lawG3551
- wasγίνομαιginomai · to beG1096
- ourἐγώegō · I/weG1473
- schoolmasterπαιδαγωγόςpaidagōgos · guardianG3807
- untoεἰςeis · towardG1519
- ChristΧριστόςChristos · ChristG5547
- thatἵναhina · in order that/toG2443
- we might be justifiedδικαιόωdikaioō · to justifyG1344
- byἐκek ex · out fromG1537
- faithπίστιςpistis · faithG4102
Cross-references for Galatians 3:24
- Galatians 3:25But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian,
- Galatians 2:19For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God.
- Galatians 4:2but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father.
- Matthew 5:17"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
- Acts 13:38Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you,
- Romans 3:20For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
- Romans 7:7What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, "You shall not covet."
- Romans 10:4For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
- Colossians 2:17These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.
- Hebrews 7:18For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness
- Hebrews 9:8By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing
- Hebrews 10:1For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near.
- Galatians 2:16yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
- Acts 13:39and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.
Commentaries on Galatians 3:24
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 24The law was our schoolmaster - ̔ ̔ · The law was our pedagogue unto Christ. The , pedagogue, is not the schoolmaster, but the servant who had the care of the children to lead them to and bring them back from school, and had the care of them out of school hours. Thus the law did not teach us the living, saving knowledge; but, by its rites and ceremonies, and especially by its sacrifices, it directed us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. This…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 24Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster - The word rendered schoolmaster ( ̀ paidagōgoswhence the word “pedagogue”), referred originally to a slave or freedman, to whose care boys were committed, and who accompanied them to the public schools. The idea here is not that of instructor, but there is reference to the office and duty of the “paedagogus” among the ancients. The office was usually intrusted to slaves or freedmen. It is true, that when the…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 23-25Verses 23-25 The law did not teach a living, saving knowledge; but, by its rites and ceremonies, especially by its sacrifices, it pointed to Christ, that they might be justified by faith. And thus it was, as the word properly signifies, a servant, to lead to Christ, as children are led to school by servants who have the care of them, that they might be more fully taught by Him the true way of justification and salvation, which is only by faith in Christ…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 24The law is like a child's guardian. (The Greek word is paidagōgos, meaning "tutor.") In Greco-Roman culture, a guardian was a loyal servant who trained and protected the heir until adulthood.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2424. "So that the law hath been (that is, hath turned out to be) our schoolmaster (or "tutor," literally, "pedagogue": this term, among the Greeks, meant a faithful servant entrusted with the care of the boy from childhood to puberty, to keep him from evil, physical and moral, and accompany him to his amusements and studies) to guide us unto Christ," with whom we are no longer "shut up" in bondage, but are freemen. "Children" (literally, infants) need such…Read the comment
Topics related to Galatians 3:24
In the dictionaries
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries