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Galatians 4:21-23
New English Translation
Galatians 4:21-23
New English Translation
An Appeal from Allegory
21 Tell me, you who want to be under the law, do you not understand the law?[a] 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the[b] slave woman and the other by the free woman. 23 But one, the son by the slave woman, was born by natural descent,[c] while the other, the son by the free woman, was born through the promise.
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- Galatians 4:21 tn Or “will you not hear what the law says?” The Greek verb ἀκούω (akouō) means “hear, listen to,” but by figurative extension it can also mean “obey.” It can also refer to the process of comprehension that follows hearing, and that sense fits the context well here.
- Galatians 4:22 tn Paul’s use of the Greek article here and before the phrase “free woman” presumes that both these characters are well known to the recipients of his letter. This verse is given as an example of the category called “well-known (‘celebrity’ or ‘familiar’) article” by ExSyn 225.
- Galatians 4:23 tn Grk “born according to the flesh”; BDAG 916 s.v. σάρξ 4 has “Of natural descent τὰ τέκνα τῆς σαρκός children by natural descent Ro 9:8 (opp. τὰ τέκνα τῆς ἐπαγγελίας). ὁ μὲν ἐκ τῆς παιδίσκης κατὰ σάρκα γεγέννηται Gal 4:23; cp. vs. 29.”
New English Translation (NET)
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