God’s Word Translation
Galatians 4:28
28Now you, brothers and sisters, are children of the promise like Isaac.
Galatians 4:28 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.
- New International Version (NIV)Now you, brothers and sisters, like Isaac, are children of promise.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise.
Context of Galatians 4:28
26But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother. 27Scripture says: “Rejoice, women who cannot get pregnant, who cannot give birth to any children! Break into shouting, those who feel no pains of childbirth! Because the deserted woman will have more children than the woman who has a husband.” Now you, brothers and sisters, are children of the promise like Isaac. 29Furthermore, at that time the son who was conceived in a natural way persecuted the son conceived in a spiritual way. That’s exactly what’s happening now. 30But what does Scripture say? “Get rid of the slave woman and her son, because the son of the slave woman must never share the inheritance with the son of the free woman.”
Read all of Galatians 4Galatians 4:28 word by word
ὑμεῖς δέ, ἀδελφοί, κατὰ Ἰσαὰκ ἐπαγγελίας τέκνα ἐστέ.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Galatians 4:28
- Galatians 4:23Now, the son of the slave woman was conceived in a natural way, but the son of the free woman was conceived through a promise ⌞made to Abraham⌟.
- Galatians 3:29If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants and heirs, as God promised.
- Acts 3:25You are the descendants of the prophets and the heirs of the promise that God made to our ancestors when he said to Abraham, ‘Through your descendant all people on earth will be blessed.’
- Romans 4:13So it was not by obeying the laws in Moses’ Teachings that Abraham or his descendants received the promise that he would inherit the world. Rather, he received this promise through God’s approval that comes by faith.
- Romans 9:8This means that children born by natural descent ⌞from Abraham⌟ are not necessarily God’s children. Instead, children born by the promise are considered Abraham’s descendants.
Commentaries on Galatians 4:28
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 28Now we - Who believe in the Lord Jesus, are the children of promise - are the spiritual offspring of the Messiah, the seed of Abraham, in whom the promise stated that all the nations of the earth should be blessed.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 28Now we, brethren - We who are Christians. Are the children of the promise - We so far resemble Isaac, that there are great and precious promises made to us. We are not in the condition of Ishmael, to whom no promise was made.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 28-31Verses 28-31 The history thus explained is applied. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bond-woman, but of the free. If the privileges of all believers were so great, according to the new covenant, how absurd for the Gentile converts to be under that law, which could not deliver the unbelieving Jews from bondage or condemnation! We should not have found out this allegory in the history of Sarah and Hagar, if it had not been shown to us, yet we…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 28-31Paul uses the story of Hagar and Sarah in 4:21–27 to explain the situation in Galatia. Isaac represents those born through God's promise (see 3:8) by the Spirit's power (3:2–5; see also Ephesians 1:13–14). These people trust in God for salvation through Christ by faith. Ishmael represents those who think following the law of Moses will make them acceptable to God (Galatians 3:10–11). This idea would have surprised the Judaizers, who believed they were…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2828. we--The oldest manuscripts and versions are divided between "we" and "ye." "We" better accords with Ga 4:26, "mother of us." children of promise--not children after the flesh, but through the promise (Ga 4:23, 29, 31). "We are" so, and ought to wish to continue so.Read the comment
Topics related to Galatians 4:28
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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