Galatians 4:26

Galatians 4:26 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
• New International Version (NIV)But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother.
• English Standard Version (ESV)But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.
• New King James Version (NKJV)but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.

Context of Galatians 4:26

24These two women serve as an illustration of God’s two covenants. The first woman, Hagar, represents Mount Sinai where people received the law that enslaved them. 25And now Jerusalem is just like Mount Sinai in Arabia, because she and her children live in slavery to the law. But the other woman, Sarah, represents the heavenly Jerusalem. She is the free woman, and she is our mother. 27As Isaiah said, “Rejoice, O childless woman, you who have never given birth! Break into a joyful shout, you who have never been in labor! For the desolate woman now has more children than the woman who lives with her husband!” 28And you, dear brothers and sisters, are children of the promise, just like Isaac.

Galatians 4:26 word by word

ἡ δὲ ἄνω Ἰερουσαλὴμ ἐλευθέρα ἐστὶν ἥτις ἐστὶν μήτηρ ἡμῶν·Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Butδέde · thenG1161
• JerusalemἹερουσαλήμHierousalēm · JerusalemG2419
• which isὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• aboveἄνωanō · aboveG507
• isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• freeἐλεύθεροςeleutheros · free/freedomG1658
• whichὅστιςhostis hētis ho6ti · who/whichG3748
• the motherμήτηρmētēr · motherG3384
• of usἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• allπᾶςpas · allG3956

Cross-references for Galatians 4:26

• Psalms 87:3O city of God, what glorious things are said of you! Interlude
• Isaiah 2:2In the last days, the mountain of the Lord’s house will be the highest of all— the most important place on earth. It will be raised above the other hills, and people from all over the world will stream there to worship.
• Isaiah 52:9Let the ruins of Jerusalem break into joyful song, for the Lord has comforted his people. He has redeemed Jerusalem.
• Isaiah 62:1Because I love Zion, I will not keep still. Because my heart yearns for Jerusalem, I cannot remain silent. I will not stop praying for her until her righteousness shines like the dawn, and her salvation blazes like a burning torch.
• Isaiah 65:18Be glad; rejoice forever in my creation! And look! I will create Jerusalem as a place of happiness. Her people will be a source of joy.
• Isaiah 66:10“Rejoice with Jerusalem! Be glad with her, all you who love her and all you who mourn for her.
• Joel 3:17“Then you will know that I, the Lord your God, live in Zion, my holy mountain. Jerusalem will be holy forever, and foreign armies will never conquer her again.
• Micah 4:1In the last days, the mountain of the Lord’s house will be the highest of all— the most important place on earth. It will be raised above the other hills, and people from all over the world will stream there to worship.
• Philippians 3:20But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.
• Hebrews 12:22No, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to countless thousands of angels in a joyful gathering.
• Revelation 3:12All who are victorious will become pillars in the Temple of my God, and they will never have to leave it. And I will write on them the name of my God, and they will be citizens in the city of my God—the new Jerusalem that comes down from heaven from my God. And I will also write on them my new name.
• Revelation 21:2And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
• Galatians 4:22The Scriptures say that Abraham had two sons, one from his slave wife and one from his freeborn wife.
• Galatians 5:1So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.
• John 8:36So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.
• Romans 6:14Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.

Commentaries on Galatians 4:26

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 26But Jerusalem which is above - The apostle still follows the Jewish allegory, showing not only how the story of Hagar and Sarah, Ishmael and Isaac, was allegorized, but pointing out also that even Jerusalem was the subject of allegory; for it was a maxim among the rabbins, that "whatsoever was in the earth, the same was also found in heaven for there is no matter, howsoever small, in this world, that has not something similar to it in the spiritual…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 26But Jerusalem which is above - The spiritual Jerusalem; the true church of God. Jerusalem was the place where God was worshipped, and hence, it became synonymous with the word church, or is used to represent the people of God. The word rendered “above,” ( ̓́ anō) means properly “up above,” that which is above; and hence, heavenly, celestial; Colossians 3:1-2; John 8:23. Here it means the heavenly or celestial Jerusalem; Revelation 21:2, “And I John saw…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. 26Hagar represents slavery to human effort based on Mount Sinai (4:24–25). In contrast, Sarah represents freedom in the heavenly Jerusalem, God's ideal city. Abraham’s true children by faith now live under God's rule in Jesus Christ (3:29). she is our mother: Sarah’s son, Isaac, was freely given all of God's promises apart from the law of Moses. Similarly, Jews and Gentiles who live by faith in Jesus are Sarah’s true children. They receive God's promises to…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2626. This verse stands instead of the sentence which we should expect, to correspond to Ga 4:24, "One from Mount Sinai," namely, the other covenant from the heavenly mount above, which is (answers in the allegory to) Sarah. Jerusalem ... above--(He 12:22), "the heavenly Jerusalem." "New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God" (Re 3:12; 21:2). Here "the Messianic theocracy, which before Christ's second appearing is the Church, and after it…Read the comment

Topics related to Galatians 4:26

• Abraham
• Church
• Justification
• Parables
• Women

In the dictionaries

• Jerusalem
• Doubt
• Flesh
• Heaven
• Observe
• Sarah
• Zealously
• Abraham
• Allegory
• Citizenship

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