New International Version
Galatians 3:4
4Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain?
Galatians 3:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?
- New King James Version (NKJV)Have you suffered so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?
- New Living Translation (NLT)Have you experienced so much for nothing? Surely it was not in vain, was it?
Context of Galatians 3:4
2I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? 3Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain? 5So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? 6So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
Read all of Galatians 3Galatians 3:4 word by word
τοσαῦτα ἐπάθετε εἰκῇ; εἴ γε καὶ εἰκῇ.¶Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Galatians 3:4
- Ezekiel 18:24“But if a righteous person turns from their righteousness and commits sin and does the same detestable things the wicked person does, will they live? None of the righteous things that person has done will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness they are guilty of and because of the sins they have committed, they will die.
- Hebrews 6:4It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit,
- Hebrews 10:32Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering.
- 2 Peter 2:20If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning.
- 2 John 1:8Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully.
Commentaries on Galatians 3:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Have ye suffered so many things in vain? - Have ye received and lost so much good? The verb , as compounded with , well, or , ill, and often without either, signifies to suffer pain or loss, or to possess and enjoy. In such a case the man is considered as the patient, and the good or ill acts upon him. Though it is possible that the Galatians had suffered some persecution for the truth of Christ, yet it is as likely that the apostle refers to the benefits…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Have ye suffered so many things in vain? - Paul reminds them of what they had endured on account of their attachment to Christianity. He assures them, that if the opinions on account of which they had suffered were false, then their sufferings had been in vain. They were of no use to them - for what advantage was it to suffer for a false opinion? The opinions for which they had suffered had not been these which they now embraced. They were not those…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4Have you suffered so much for nothing? This might mean suffering, but the Galatian church's history does not suggest that. Paul likely referred to the spiritual experiences the Galatians had through the Holy Spirit (Galatians 3:3, 5). Depending on the law of Moses for a right relationship with God makes the Spirit's work seem meaningless.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. Have ye suffered so many things--namely, persecution from Jews and from unbelieving fellow countrymen, incited by the Jews, at the time of your conversion. in vain--fruitlessly, needlessly, since ye might have avoided them by professing Judaism [Grotius]. Or, shall ye, by falling from grace, lose the reward promised for all your sufferings, so that they shall be "in vain" (Ga 4:11; 1Co 15:2, 17-19, 29-32; 2Th 1:5-7; 2Jo 8)? yet--rather, "If it be…Read the comment
Topics related to Galatians 3:4
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
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