Galatians 4:28

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 Living Translation (NLT)And you, dear brothers and sisters, are children of the promise, just like Isaac.

Context of Galatians 4:28

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.” Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise. 29But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now. 30Nevertheless what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.”

Galatians 4:28 word by word

ὑμεῖς δέ, ἀδελφοί, κατὰ Ἰσαὰκ ἐπαγγελίας τέκνα ἐστέ.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Nowδέde · thenG1161
• weἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• brethrenἀδελφόςadelphos · brotherG80
• asκατάkata · according toG2596
• Isaac wasἸσαάκIsaak · IsaacG2464
• areεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• the childrenτέκνονteknon · childG5043
• of promiseἐπαγγελίαepaggelia · promiseG1860

Cross-references for Galatians 4:28

• Galatians 4:23But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise,
• Galatians 3:29And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
• Acts 3:25You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’
• Romans 4:13For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.
• Romans 9:8That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed.

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

• Abraham
• Isaac
• Justification
• Parables

In the dictionaries

• Isaac
• Doubt
• Flesh
• Observe
• Sarah
• Zealously
• Abraham
• Allegory
• Galatians, Epistle to the
• Ishmael (1)

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