Galatians 3:24

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.
• English Standard Version (ESV)So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order 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.

Context of Galatians 3:24

22But Scripture states that the whole world is controlled by the power of sin. Therefore, a promise based on faith in Jesus Christ could be given to those who believe. 23We were kept under control by Moses’ laws until this faith came. We were under their control until this faith which was about to come would be revealed. Before Christ came, Moses’ laws served as our guardian. Christ came so that we could receive God’s approval by faith. 25But now that this faith has come, we are no longer under the control of a guardian. 26You are all God’s children by believing in Christ Jesus.

Galatians 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 this faith has come, we are no longer under the control of a guardian.
• Galatians 2:19When I tried to obey the laws in the Scriptures, those laws killed me. As a result, I live in a relationship with God. I have been crucified with Christ.
• Galatians 4:2He is placed under the control of guardians and trustees until the time set by his father.
• Matthew 5:17“Don’t ever think that I came to set aside Moses’ Teachings or the Prophets. I didn’t come to set them aside but to make them come true.
• Acts 13:38“So, brothers, I’m telling you that through Jesus your sins can be forgiven. Sins kept you from receiving God’s approval through Moses’ Teachings.
• Romans 3:20Not one person can have God’s approval by any effort to follow the laws in the Scriptures. These laws show what sin is.
• Romans 7:7What should we say, then? Are the laws in Moses’ Teachings sinful? That’s unthinkable! In fact, I wouldn’t have recognized sin if those laws hadn’t shown it to me. For example, I wouldn’t have known that some desires are sinful if Moses’ Teachings hadn’t said, “Never have wrong desires.”
• Romans 10:4Christ is the fulfillment of Moses’ Teachings so that everyone who has faith may receive God’s approval.
• Colossians 2:17These are a shadow of the things to come, but the body ⌞that casts the shadow⌟ belongs to Christ.
• Hebrews 7:18The former requirements are rejected because they are weak and useless.
• Hebrews 9:8The Holy Spirit used this to show that the way into the most holy place was not open while the tent was still in use.
• Hebrews 10:1Moses’ Teachings with their yearly cycle of sacrifices are only a shadow of the good things in the future. They aren’t an exact likeness of those things. They can never make those who worship perfect.
• Galatians 2:16Yet, we know that people don’t receive God’s approval by any effort to follow the laws in the Scriptures, but only by believing in Jesus Christ. So we also believed in Jesus Christ in order to receive God’s approval by faith in Christ and not by our own efforts. People won’t receive God’s approval by their own efforts.
• Acts 13:39However, everyone who believes in Jesus receives God’s approval.

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

• Children
• Faith
• Instruction
• Justification
• Salvation
• School
• Works

In the dictionaries

• Christ
• Christ, Messiah
• Conclude
• Curse
• Eye
• Flesh
• Foolish
• Redeem
• Schoolmaster
• Shut

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