4 Think of it this way. If a father dies and leaves an inheritance for his young children, those children are not much better off than slaves until they grow up, even though they actually own everything their father had.

²³ The son of the slave wife was born in a human attempt to bring about the fulfillment of God’s promise. But the son of the freeborn wife was born as God’s own fulfillment of his promise.

²⁹ But you are now being persecuted by those who want you to keep the law, just as Ishmael, the child born by human effort, persecuted Isaac, the child born by the power of the Spirit.

² One day Abraham said to his oldest servant, the man in charge of his household, “Take an oath by putting your hand under my thigh. ³ Swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not allow my son to marry one of these local Canaanite women.

¹² Then Jehoiada brought out Joash, the king’s son, placed the crown on his head, and presented him with a copy of God’s laws.^[a] They anointed him and proclaimed him king, and everyone clapped their hands and shouted, “Long live the king!”