Galatians 3:24

Galatians 3:24 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
• New International Version (NIV)So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith.
• English Standard Version (ESV)So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

Context of Galatians 3:24

22But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ. 23Before the way of faith in Christ was available to us, we were placed under guard by the law. We were kept in protective custody, so to speak, until the way of faith was revealed. Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith. 25And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian. 26For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

Galatians 3:24 word by word

ὥστε ὁ νόμος παιδαγωγὸς ἡμῶν γέγονεν εἰς Χριστόν, ἵνα ἐκ πίστεως δικαιωθῶμεν·Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Whereforeὥστεhōste · soG5620
• the lawὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the lawνόμοςnomos · lawG3551
• wasγίνομαιginomai · to beG1096
• ourἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• schoolmasterπαιδαγωγόςpaidagōgos · guardianG3807
• untoεἰςeis · towardG1519
• ChristΧριστόςChristos · ChristG5547
• thatἵναhina · in order that/toG2443
• we might be justifiedδικαιόωdikaioō · to justifyG1344
• byἐκek ex · out fromG1537
• faithπίστιςpistis · faithG4102

Cross-references for Galatians 3:24

• Galatians 3:25And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian.
• Galatians 2:19For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me. So I died to the law—I stopped trying to meet all its requirements—so that I might live for God.
• Galatians 4:2They have to obey their guardians until they reach whatever age their father set.
• Matthew 5:17“Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.
• Acts 13:38“Brothers, listen! We are here to proclaim that through this man Jesus there is forgiveness for your sins.
• Romans 3:20For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.
• Romans 7:7Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful? Of course not! In fact, it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, “You must not covet.”
• Romans 10:4For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God.
• Colossians 2:17For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality.
• Hebrews 7:18Yes, the old requirement about the priesthood was set aside because it was weak and useless.
• Hebrews 9:8By these regulations the Holy Spirit revealed that the entrance to the Most Holy Place was not freely open as long as the Tabernacle and the system it represented were still in use.
• Hebrews 10:1The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship.
• Galatians 2:16Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law.”
• Acts 13:39Everyone who believes in him is made right in God’s sight—something the law of Moses could never do.

Commentaries on Galatians 3:24

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 24The law was our schoolmaster - ̔ ̔ · The law was our pedagogue unto Christ. The , pedagogue, is not the schoolmaster, but the servant who had the care of the children to lead them to and bring them back from school, and had the care of them out of school hours. Thus the law did not teach us the living, saving knowledge; but, by its rites and ceremonies, and especially by its sacrifices, it directed us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. This…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 24Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster - The word rendered schoolmaster ( ̀ paidagōgoswhence the word “pedagogue”), referred originally to a slave or freedman, to whose care boys were committed, and who accompanied them to the public schools. The idea here is not that of instructor, but there is reference to the office and duty of the “paedagogus” among the ancients. The office was usually intrusted to slaves or freedmen. It is true, that when the…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 23-25Verses 23-25 The law did not teach a living, saving knowledge; but, by its rites and ceremonies, especially by its sacrifices, it pointed to Christ, that they might be justified by faith. And thus it was, as the word properly signifies, a servant, to lead to Christ, as children are led to school by servants who have the care of them, that they might be more fully taught by Him the true way of justification and salvation, which is only by faith in Christ…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 24The law is like a child's guardian. (The Greek word is paidagōgos, meaning "tutor.") In Greco-Roman culture, a guardian was a loyal servant who trained and protected the heir until adulthood.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2424. "So that the law hath been (that is, hath turned out to be) our schoolmaster (or "tutor," literally, "pedagogue": this term, among the Greeks, meant a faithful servant entrusted with the care of the boy from childhood to puberty, to keep him from evil, physical and moral, and accompany him to his amusements and studies) to guide us unto Christ," with whom we are no longer "shut up" in bondage, but are freemen. "Children" (literally, infants) need such…Read the comment

Topics related to Galatians 3:24

• Children
• Faith
• Instruction
• Justification
• Salvation
• School
• Works

In the dictionaries

• Christ
• Christ, Messiah
• Conclude
• Curse
• Eye
• Flesh
• Foolish
• Redeem
• Schoolmaster
• Shut

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