Revised Literal Translation
Galatians 3:16
16Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
Galatians 3:16 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
- New International Version (NIV)The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,” meaning one person, who is Christ.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, "And to offsprings," referring to many, but referring to one, "And to your offspring," who is Christ.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ.
Context of Galatians 3:16
14That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. 15Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man’s covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto. Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. 17And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. 18For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.
Read all of Galatians 3Galatians 3:16 word by word
τῷ δὲ Ἀβραὰμ ἐρρέθησαν αἱ ἐπαγγελίαι καὶ τῷ σπέρματι αὐτοῦ. οὐ λέγει· καὶ τοῖς σπέρμασιν ὡς ἐπὶ πολλῶν ἀλλ᾽ ὡς ἐφ᾽ ἑνός· καὶ τῷ σπέρματί σου ὅς ἐστιν Χριστός.Read the interlinear
- Nowδέde · thenG1161
- to AbrahamἈβραάμAbraam · AbrahamG11
- andκαίkai · andG2532
- hisαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- seedὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- seedσπέρμαsperma · seed: offspringG4690
- wereἐρῶereō · to sayG2046
- the promisesἐπαγγελίαepaggelia · promiseG1860
- He saithλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
- notοὐou · noG3756
- asὡςhōs · as/whenG5613
- ofἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
- manyπολύςpolus polos · muchG4183
- butἀλλάalla · butG235
- oneεἷςheis · oneG1520
- toσπέρμαsperma · seed: offspringG4690
- thyσύsu · youG4771
- whichὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
- isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
- ChristΧριστόςChristos · ChristG5547
Cross-references for Galatians 3:16
- Galatians 3:8And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
- Genesis 12:3And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
- Genesis 13:15For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.
- Genesis 15:5And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
- Genesis 17:7And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.
- Genesis 21:12And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.
- Genesis 22:17That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
- Genesis 26:3Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;
- Genesis 28:13And, behold, Yhwh stood above it, and said, I am Yhwh God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;
- Genesis 28:14And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
- Genesis 49:10The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
- Galatians 3:27For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
- Romans 12:5So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.
- 1 Corinthians 12:12For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
- Ephesians 4:15But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
- Ephesians 5:29For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the Assembly:
Commentaries on Galatians 3:16
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16Now to Abraham and his seed - The promise of salvation by faith was made to Abraham and his posterity. He saith not, And to seeds - It was one particular kind of posterity which was intended: but as of one - which is Christ; i.e. to the spiritual head, and all believers in him, who are children of Abraham, because they are believers, Galatians 3:7. But why does the apostle say, not of seeds, as of many? To this it is answered, that Abraham possessed in…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16Now to Abraham and his seed - To him and his posterity. Were the promises made - The promise here referred to was that which is recorded in Genesis 22:17-18. “In blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea-shore; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.” He saith not, And to seeds, as of many, but as of one - He does not use the plural term…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-18Verses 15-18 The covenant God made with Abraham, was not done away by the giving the law to Moses. The covenant was made with Abraham and his Seed. It is still in force; Christ abideth for ever in his person, and his spiritual seed, who are his by faith. By this we learn the difference between the promises of the law and those of the gospel. The promises of the law are made to the person of every man; the promises of the gospel are first made to Christ…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16The promises to Abraham were mainly received by him and his child (literally his seed). This "seed" was the promised Messiah (God's chosen one), who is Abraham's ultimate descendant. The word "seed" can mean one descendant or many (see Genesis 12:7; 13:15). Although the promise can refer to many descendants (see Galatians 3:29; Genesis 13:15–16; 15:5–6; 17:7–8), it specifically points to one descendant, Christ, who fully fulfilled the promise. The heirs…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1616. This verse is parenthetical. The covenant of promise was not "spoken" (so Greek for "made") to Abraham alone, but "to Abraham and his seed"; to the latter especially; and this means Christ (and that which is inseparable from Him, the literal Israel, and the spiritual, His body, the Church). Christ not having come when the law was given, the covenant could not have been then fulfilled, but awaited the coming of Him, the Seed, to whom it was spoken…Read the comment
Topics related to Galatians 3:16
In the dictionaries
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
Revised Literal Translation — © 2018 Michael W. Jones, Sr. — GPL
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