Tree of Life Version
Galatians 4:21
21Tell me, you who want to be under Torah, don’t you understand the Torah?
Galatians 4:21 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?
- New International Version (NIV)Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says?
- English Standard Version (ESV)Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law?
- New King James Version (NKJV)Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law?
Context of Galatians 4:21
19My dear children! Again I suffer labor pains until Messiah is formed in you. 20I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, for I don’t know what to make of you. Tell me, you who want to be under Torah, don’t you understand the Torah? 22For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and one by the free woman. 23But one—the son by the slave woman—was born naturally; while the other—the son by the free woman—was through the promise.
Read all of Galatians 4Galatians 4:21 word by word
Λέγετέ μοι, οἱ ὑπὸ νόμον θέλοντες εἶναι, τὸν νόμον οὐκ ἀκούετε;Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Galatians 4:21
- Galatians 4:9But now you have come to know God—or rather you have come to be known by God. So how can you turn back again to those weak and worthless principles? Do you want to be enslaved to them all over again?
- Galatians 3:10For all who rely on the deeds of Torah are under a curse—for the Scriptures say, “Cursed is everyone who does not keep doing everything written in the scroll of the Torah.”
- Romans 6:14For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
- Romans 7:5For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions that came through the Torah were working in our body parts to bear fruit for death.
- Romans 9:30What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness—that is, a righteousness of faith.
- Romans 10:3For being ignorant of God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit themselves to the righteousness of God.
- Matthew 21:42Yeshua said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures? ‘The stone which the builders rejected, this has become the chief cornerstone. This came from Adonai, and it is marvelous in our eyes.’
- Matthew 22:29But answering, Yeshua said to them, “You’ve gone astray, because you don’t understand the Scriptures or the power of God.
- John 5:46For if you were believing Moses, you would believe Me—because he wrote about Me.
- John 10:34Yeshua answered them, “Isn’t it written in your Writings, ‘I have said you are gods’?
- John 12:34The crowd answered Him, “We’ve heard from Scripture that the Messiah remains forever. How can You say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?”
- John 15:25So is fulfilled the word written in their Scripture, ‘They hated Me for no reason.’
- Romans 3:19Now we know that whatever the Torah says, it says to those within the Torah, so that every mouth may be shut and the whole world may become accountable to God.
Commentaries on Galatians 4:21
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21Ye that desire to be under the law - Ye who desire to incorporate the Mosaic institutions with Christianity, and thus bring yourselves into bondage to circumcision, and a great variety of oppressive rites. Do ye not hear the law? - Do ye not understand what is written in the Pentateuch relative to Abraham and his children. It is evident that the word law is used in two senses in this verse. It first means the Mosaic institutions; secondly, the Pentateuch…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 21Tell me - In order to show fully the nature and the effect of the Law, Paul here introduces an illustration from an important fact in the Jewish history. This allegory has given great perplexity to expositors, and, in some respects, it is attended with real difficulty. An examination of the difficulties will be found in the larger commentaries. My object, without examining the expositions which have been proposed, will be to state, in as few words as…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. 21Do you not understand what the law actually says?: The Galatians tried to achieve righteousness through the law, but they did not truly understand its meaning (see Luke 24:25–27; 1 Timothy 1:7).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2121. desire--of your own accord madly courting that which must condemn and ruin you. do ye not hear--do ye not consider the mystic sense of Moses' words? [Grotius]. The law itself sends you away from itself to Christ [Estius]. After having sufficiently maintained his point by argument, the apostle confirms and illustrates it by an inspired allegorical exposition of historical facts, containing in them general laws and types. Perhaps his reason for using…Read the comment
Topics related to Galatians 4:21
In the dictionaries
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
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