New King James Version
Galatians 5:9
9A little leaven leavens the whole lump.
Galatians 5:9 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.
- New International Version (NIV)“A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)A little leaven leavens the whole lump.
- New Living Translation (NLT)This false teaching is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough!
Context of Galatians 5:9
7You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? 8This persuasion does not come from Him who calls you. A little leaven leavens the whole lump. 10I have confidence in you, in the Lord, that you will have no other mind; but he who troubles you shall bear his judgment, whoever he is. 11And I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why do I still suffer persecution? Then the offense of the cross has ceased.
Read all of Galatians 5Galatians 5:9 word by word
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Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Galatians 5:9
- Matthew 23:33Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?
- Matthew 16:6Then Jesus said to them, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.”
- Mark 8:15Then He charged them, saying, “Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”
- Luke 12:1In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together, so that they trampled one another, He began to say to His disciples first of all, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
- Luke 13:21It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.”
- 1 Corinthians 5:6Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?
- 1 Corinthians 15:33Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.”
- 2 Timothy 2:17And their message will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort,
Commentaries on Galatians 5:9
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump - A proverbial expression, see 1 Corinthians 5:6, very aptly applied to those who receive the smallest tincture of false doctrine, relative to the things essential to salvation, which soon influences the whole conduct, so that the man becomes totally perverted. They might have argued, "It is a small thing, and should not be made a subject of serious controversy, whether we be circumcised or not." Granted, that in…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9A little leaven - This is evidently a proverbial expression; see it explained in the notes at 1 Corinthians 5:6. Its meaning here is, that the embracing of the errors which they had adopted was to be traced to some influence existing among themselves, and acting like leaven. It may either mean that there was existing among them from the first a slight tendency to conform to rites and customs, and that this had now like leaven pervaded the mass; or it…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-12Verses 7-12 The life of a Christian is a race, wherein he must run, and hold on, if he would obtain the prize. It is not enough that we profess Christianity, but we must run well, by living up to that profession. Many who set out fairly in religion, are hindered in their progress, or turn out of the way. It concerns those who begin to turn out of the way, or to tire in it, seriously to inquire what hinders them. The opinion or persuasion, ver. #(8), was…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9This verse was a common saying (literally A little yeast [or leaven] makes the whole loaf rise; see Matthew 13:33; 16:6, 11–12; 1 Corinthians 5:6–7). Relying a little on the law for God's acceptance can lead to forgetting that Jesus Christ saves by his work alone.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. A little leaven--the false teaching of the Judaizers. A small portion of legalism, if it be mixed with the Gospel, corrupts its purity. To add legal ordinances and works in the least degree to justification by faith, is to undermine "the whole." So "leaven" is used of false doctrine (Mt 16:12: compare Mt 13:33). In 1Co 5:6 it means the corrupting influence of one bad person; so Bengel understands it here to refer to the person (Ga 5:7, 8, 10) who…Read the comment
Topics related to Galatians 5:9
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Galatians 5
- 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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries