Galatians 4:25

Galatians 4:25 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.
• New International Version (NIV)Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children.
• New Living Translation (NLT)And now Jerusalem is just like Mount Sinai in Arabia, because she and her children live in slavery to the law.

Context of Galatians 4:25

23But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise, 24which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar— for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children— 26but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all. 27For it is written: “Rejoice, O barren, You who do not bear! Break forth and shout, You who are not in labor! For the desolate has many more children Than she who has a husband.”

Galatians 4:25 word by word

τὸ δὲ Ἁγὰρ Σινᾶ ὄρος ἐστὶν ἐν τῇ Ἀραβίᾳ, συστοιχεῖ δὲ τῇ νῦν Ἰερουσαλήμ, δουλεύει γὰρ μετὰ τῶν τέκνων αὐτῆς.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Forγάρgar · forG1063
• thisὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• AgarἌγαρAgar · HagarG28
• isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• mountὄροςoros · mountainG3735
• SinaiΣινᾶSina · (Mount) SinaiG4614
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• ArabiaἈραβίαArabia · ArabiaG688
• andδέde · thenG1161
• answereth toσυστοιχέωsustoicheō · to correspond toG4960
• JerusalemἹερουσαλήμHierousalēm · JerusalemG2419
• nowνῦνnun · nowG3568
• is in bondageδουλεύωdouleuō · be a slaveG1398
• withμετάmeta · with/afterG3326
• herαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• childrenτέκνονteknon · childG5043

Cross-references for Galatians 4:25

• Galatians 4:24which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar—
• Deuteronomy 33:2And he said: “The Lord came from Sinai, And dawned on them from Seir; He shone forth from Mount Paran, And He came with ten thousands of saints; From His right hand Came a fiery law for them.
• Judges 5:5The mountains gushed before the Lord, This Sinai, before the Lord God of Israel.
• Psalms 68:8The earth shook; The heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God; Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
• Hebrews 12:18For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest,
• Galatians 1:17nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.
• Acts 1:11who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”
• Matthew 23:37“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!
• Luke 13:34“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!
• Luke 19:44and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

Commentaries on Galatians 4:25

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 25For this Agar is Mount Sinai in Arabia - . This is the common reading; but it is read differently in some of the most respectable MSS., versions, and fathers; thus: ͅ , for this Sinai is a mountain of Arabia; the word , Agar, being omitted. This reading is supported by CFG, some others, the Ethiopic, Armenian, Vulgate, and one copy of the Itala; by Epiphanius, Damascenus, Ambrosiaster, Jerome, Augustine, Hilary, Sedulius, and Bede; and the word is…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 25For this Agar is Mount Sinai - This Hagar well represents the Law given on Mount Sinai. No one can believe that Paul meant to say that Hagar was literally Mount Sinai. A great deal of perplexity has been felt in regard to this passage, and Bentley proposed to cancel it altogether as an interpolation. But there is no good authority for this. Several manuscripts and versions read it, “For this Sinai is a mountain in Arabia;” others, “to this Hagar Jerusalem…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 21-27Verses 21-27 The difference between believers who rested in Christ only, and those who trusted in the law, is explained by the histories of Isaac and Ishmael. These things are an allegory, wherein, beside the literal and historical sense of the words, the Spirit of God points out something further. Hagar and Sarah were apt emblems of the two different dispensations of the covenant. The heavenly Jerusalem, the true church from above, represented by Sarah…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 25Both Hagar and Mount Sinai were symbols of Jerusalem. They represented Judaism during Paul's time. Judaism continued to trust in the law and in being Abraham's descendants for their status before God (see John 8:31–59). They rejected Jesus as Messiah and remained bound to the law (Galatians 3:23–24; 4:1–3). Mount Sinai in Arabia: Traditionally, Mount Sinai is located in the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. However, some suggest that in Arabia means Mount Sinai…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2525. Translate, "For this word, Hagar, is (imports) Mount Sinai in Arabia (that is, among the Arabians--in the Arabian tongue)." So Chrysostom explains. Haraut, the traveller, says that to this day the Arabians call Sinai, "Hadschar," that is, Hagar, meaning a rock or stone. Hagar twice fled into the desert of Arabia (Ge 16:1-16; 21:9-21): from her the mountain and city took its name, and the people were called Hagarenes. Sinai, with its rugged rocks, far…Read the comment

Topics related to Galatians 4:25

• Abraham
• Hagar
• Justification
• Parables
• Sinai

In the dictionaries

• Arabia
• Jerusalem
• Sinai
• Doubt
• Flesh
• Observe
• Sarah
• Zealously
• Abraham
• Allegory

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