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Galatians 4:21-31
New King James Version
Galatians 4:21-31
New King James Version
Two Covenants(A)
21 Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons: (B)the one by a bondwoman, (C)the other by a freewoman. 23 But he who was of the bondwoman (D)was born according to the flesh, (E)and he of the freewoman through promise, 24 which things are symbolic. For these are [a]the two covenants: the one from Mount (F)Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar— 25 for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children— 26 but the (G)Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all. 27 For it is written:
(H)“Rejoice, O barren,
You who do not bear!
Break forth and shout,
You who are not in labor!
For the desolate has many more children
Than she who has a husband.”
28 Now (I)we, brethren, as Isaac was, are (J)children of promise. 29 But, as (K)he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, (L)even so it is now. 30 Nevertheless what does (M)the Scripture say? (N)“Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for (O)the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.” 31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Galatians 4:24 NU, M omit the
Galatians 4:21-31
New American Standard Bible
Galatians 4:21-31
New American Standard Bible
Slave and Free
21 Tell me, you who want to be under law, do you not (A)listen to the Law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, (B)one by the slave woman and (C)one by the free woman. 23 But (D)the son by the slave woman [a]was born according to the flesh, and (E)the son by the free woman through the promise. 24 [b](F)This is speaking allegorically, for these women are two covenants: one coming from (G)Mount Sinai giving birth to children [c]who are to be (H)slaves; [d]she is Hagar. 25 Now this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is enslaved with her children. 26 But (I)the Jerusalem above is free; [e]she is our mother. 27 For it is written:
“(J)Rejoice, infertile one, you who do not give birth;
Break forth and shout, you who are not in labor;
For the children of the desolate one are more numerous
Than those of the one who has a husband.”
28 And you, brothers and sisters, (K)like Isaac, are (L)children of promise. 29 But as at that time (M)the son who was born according to the flesh (N)persecuted the one who was born according to the Spirit, (O)so it is even now. 30 But what does the Scripture say?
“(P)Drive out the slave woman and her son,
For (Q)the son of the slave woman shall not be an heir with the son of the free woman.”
31 So then, brothers and sisters, we are not children of a slave woman, but of the free woman.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Galatians 4:23 Lit has been born
- Galatians 4:24 Lit Which
- Galatians 4:24 Lit into slavery
- Galatians 4:24 Lit which
- Galatians 4:26 Lit which
Galatians 4:21-31
New International Version
Galatians 4:21-31
New International Version
Hagar and Sarah
21 Tell me, you who want to be under the law,(A) are you not aware of what the law says? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman(B) and the other by the free woman.(C) 23 His son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh,(D) but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a divine promise.(E)
24 These things are being taken figuratively: The women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. 25 Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem that is above(F) is free, and she is our mother. 27 For it is written:
“Be glad, barren woman,
you who never bore a child;
shout for joy and cry aloud,
you who were never in labor;
because more are the children of the desolate woman
than of her who has a husband.”[a](G)
28 Now you, brothers and sisters, like Isaac, are children of promise.(H) 29 At that time the son born according to the flesh(I) persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit.(J) It is the same now. 30 But what does Scripture say? “Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman’s son.”[b](K) 31 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman,(L) but of the free woman.(M)
Footnotes
- Galatians 4:27 Isaiah 54:1
- Galatians 4:30 Gen. 21:10
Galatians 4:21-31
King James Version
Galatians 4:21-31
King James Version
21 Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?
22 For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.
23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.
24 Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.
25 For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.
26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
27 For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband.
28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.
29 But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.
30 Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.
31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.
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New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.