English Standard Version
Galatians 4:9
9But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?
Galatians 4:9 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?
- New International Version (NIV)But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?
- New King James Version (NKJV)But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage?
- New Living Translation (NLT)So now that you know God (or should I say, now that God knows you), why do you want to go back again and become slaves once more to the weak and useless spiritual principles of this world?
Context of Galatians 4:9
7So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. 8Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? 10You observe days and months and seasons and years! 11I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain.
Read all of Galatians 4Galatians 4:9 word by word
νῦν δὲ γνόντες θεόν, μᾶλλον δὲ γνωσθέντες ὑπὸ θεοῦ, πῶς ἐπιστρέφετε πάλιν ἐπὶ τὰ ἀσθενῆ καὶ πτωχὰ στοιχεῖα οἷς πάλιν ἄνωθεν δουλεύειν θέλετε;Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Butδέde · thenG1161
- nowνῦνnun · nowG3568
- after that ye have knownγινώσκωginōskō · to knowG1097
- Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
- ratherμᾶλλονmallon · more: ratherG3123
- ofὑπόhupo · by/under: byG5259
- howπῶςpōs · how?!G4459
- turn yeἐπιστρέφωepistrephō · to turnG1994
- againπάλινpalin · againG3825
- toἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
- the weakἀσθενήςasthenēs · weakG772
- andκαίkai · andG2532
- beggarlyπτωχόςptōchos · poorG4434
- elementsστοιχεῖονstoicheion · principleG4747
- whereuntoὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
- ye desireθέλωthelō ethelō · to will/desireG2309
- ·ἄνωθενanōthen · from above/againG509
- to be in bondageδουλεύωdouleuō · be a slaveG1398
- ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
Cross-references for Galatians 4:9
- 1 Kings 8:43hear in heaven your dwelling place and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to you, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and that they may know that this house that I have built is called by your name.
- 1 Chronicles 28:9"And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.
- Psalms 9:10And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.
- Proverbs 2:5then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.
- Jeremiah 31:34And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."
- Habakkuk 2:14For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
- Matthew 11:27All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
- John 17:3And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
- 1 Corinthians 15:34Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.
- 2 Corinthians 4:6For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
- Ephesians 1:17that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him,
- 2 Peter 2:20For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.
- 1 John 2:3And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.
- 1 John 5:20And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
- Exodus 33:17And the Lord said to Moses, "This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name."
- Psalms 1:6for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
Commentaries on Galatians 4:9
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9Now, after that ye have known God - After having been brought to the knowledge of God as your Savior. Or rather are known of God - Are approved of him, having received the adoption of sons. To the weak and beggarly elements - After receiving all this, will ye turn again to the ineffectual rites and ceremonies of the Mosaic law - rites too weak to counteract your sinful habits, and too poor to purchase pardon and eternal life for you? If the Galatians were…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9But now - The sense is, that since they had been made free from their ignoble servitude in the worship of false gods, and had been admitted to the freedom found in the worship of the true God, it was absurd that they should return again to that which was truly slavery or bondage, the observance of the rites of the Jewish law. That ye have known God - The true God, and the ease and freedom of his service in the gospel. Or rather are known of God - The…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 8-11Verses 8-11 The happy change whereby the Galatians were turned from idols to the living God, and through Christ had received the adoption of sons, was the effect of his free and rich grace; they were laid under the greater obligation to keep to the liberty wherewith he had made them free. All our knowledge of God begins on his part; we know him because we are known of him. Though our religion forbids idolatry, yet many practise spiritual idolatry in their…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9Now that you know God: Christians have a relationship with God like a child with a parent, not like a slave with a master (4:5–7). how is it that you are turning back? Paul was confused that Christians would want to return to their old life of spiritual slavery (4:19–20). are known by God: God is the one who saves and has taken the initiative in understanding their souls and forgiving them freely (Psalm 139:1–6, 23–24; Luke 2:34–35; Hebrews 4:12). By…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 8-118-11. Appeal to them not to turn back from their privileges as free sons, to legal bondage again. then--when ye were "servants" (Ga 4:7). ye knew not God--not opposed to Ro 1:21. The heathen originally knew God, as Ro 1:21 states, but did not choose to retain God in their knowledge, and so corrupted the original truth. They might still have known Him, in a measure, from His works, but as a matter of fact they knew Him not, so far as His eternity, His…Read the comment
Topics related to Galatians 4:9
In the dictionaries
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
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