the Week of Proper 16 / Ordinary 21
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Galatians 3:15
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Brothers and sisters, I’m using a human illustration. No one sets aside or makes additions to a validated human will.
Brethren, I speake after the maner of men: though it be but a mans couenant, yet if it bee confirmed, no man disanulleth, or addeth thereto.
Brethren, 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.
To give a human example, brothers: even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified.
Brothers and sisters, I speak in terms of human relations: even though it is only a man's covenant, yet when it has been ratified, no one sets it aside or adds conditions to it.
Brothers and sisters, let us think in human terms: Even an agreement made between two persons is firm. After that agreement is accepted by both people, no one can stop it or add anything to it.
Brothers and sisters, I speak in terms of human relations: even though a last will and testament is just a human covenant, yet when it has been signed and made legally binding, no one sets it aside or adds to it [modifying it in some way].
Brethren, I speak in terms of human relations: even though it is only a man's covenant, yet when it has been ratified, no one sets it aside or adds conditions to it.
Brothers, I speak in human terms: even though it is only a man's covenant, yet when it has been ratified, no one sets it aside or adds conditions to it.
Brothers, let me put this in human terms. Even a human covenant, once it is ratified, cannot be canceled or amended.
My friends, I will use an everyday example to explain what I mean. Once someone agrees to something, no one else can change or cancel the agreement.
Brothers, let me make an analogy from everyday life: when someone swears an oath, no one else can set it aside or add to it.
Brethren, (I speak according to man,) even man's confirmed covenant no one sets aside, or adds other dispositions to.
Brethren, I speake as men do: though it be but a mans couenant, when it is confirmed, yet no man doeth abrogate it, or addeth any thing thereto.
My brethren, I speak as a man; Though it be but a man''s covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man can reject it or change anything in it.
My friends, I am going to use an everyday example: when two people agree on a matter and sign an agreement, no one can break it or add anything to it.
Brothers, I am speaking according to a human perspective. Nevertheless, when the covenant of a man has been ratified, no one declares it invalid or adds additional provisions to it.
Brothers, I speak according to man, a covenant having been ratified, even among mankind, no one sets aside or adds to it .
Brethren, I speak after the manner of men: Though it be but a man's covenant, yet when it hath been confirmed, no one maketh it void, or addeth thereto.
Brothers, as men would say, even a man's agreement, when it has been made certain, may not be put on one side, or have additions made to it.
Brothers, I speak like men. Though it is only a man's covenant, yet when it has been confirmed, no one makes it void, or adds to it.
Brothers, let me use an example from everyday life.I am speaking according to man">[fn] Once a person's will has been ratified, no one can cancel it or add conditions to it.Hebrews 9:17;">[xr]
My brethren, I speak as among men: That a covenant of man because confirmed no one rejecteth, or changeth in any thing.
My brethren, I speak as among men; a man's covenant which is confirmed, no one setteth aside, or changeth any thing in it.
Brethren, I speake after ye maner of men: Though it be but a mans testamet, yet if it be alowed, no man reiecteth it, or addeth therto.
Brethren, I speak after the manner of men: Though it be but a man's covenant, yet when it hath been confirmed, no one maketh it void, or addeth thereto.
Brothers, I speak like men. Though it is only a man's covenant, yet when it has been confirmed, no one makes it void, or adds to it.
I speak after the manner of men: though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, none disannulleth or addeth thereto.
Brethren, even a covenant made by a man--to borrow an illustration from daily life--when once formally sanctioned is not liable to be set aside or added to.
Britheren, Y seie aftir man, no man dispisith the testament of a man that is confermed, or ordeyneth aboue.
Brothers, I speak after the manner of men: Though it is but a man's covenant, yet when it has been confirmed, no one makes it void, or adds thereto.
Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it is but a man's covenant, yet [if it is] confirmed, no man disannulleth or addeth to it.
Brothers and sisters, I offer an example from everyday life: When a covenant has been ratified, even though it is only a human contract, no one can set it aside or add anything to it.
Genesis 12:1-3">[xr] Brethren, I speak in the manner of men: Though it is only a man's covenant, yet if it is confirmed, no one annuls or adds to it.
Dear brothers and sisters, here's an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or amend an irrevocable agreement, so it is in this case.
Christian brothers, let me show you what this means. If two men agree to something and sign their names on a paper promising to stay true to what they agree, it cannot be changed.
Brothers and sisters, I give an example from daily life: once a person's will has been ratified, no one adds to it or annuls it.
Brethren! in human fashion, am I speaking: yet still, a man's confirmed covenant, no one setteth aside or addeth unto:
Brethren (I speak after the manner of man), yet a man’s testament, if it be confirmed, no man despiseth nor addeth to it.
To give a human example, brethren: no one annuls even a man's will, or adds to it, once it has been ratified.
Brethren I will speake after the maner of men. Though it be but a mans testament yet no ma despiseth it or addeth eny thinge therto when it is once alowed.
Brethren, as a man I say [it], even of man a confirmed covenant no one doth make void or doth add to,
Brethren, I wil speake after the maner of men. Though it be but a mas Testamet, yet no man despyseth it, or addeth eny thinge therto, whan it is confirmed.
Brethren, I speak according to the practice of men; contracts between men, when once ratified, cannot be disannulled or altered afterwards by any man.
Friends, let me give you an example from everyday affairs of the free life I am talking about. Once a person's will has been ratified, no one else can annul it or add to it. Now, the promises were made to Abraham and to his descendant. You will observe that Scripture, in the careful language of a legal document, does not say "to descendants," referring to everybody in general, but "to your descendant" (the noun, note, is singular), referring to Christ. This is the way I interpret this: A will, earlier ratified by God, is not annulled by an addendum attached 430 years later, thereby negating the promise of the will. No, this addendum, with its instructions and regulations, has nothing to do with the promised inheritance in the will. What is the point, then, of the law, the attached addendum? It was a thoughtful addition to the original covenant promises made to Abraham. The purpose of the law was to keep a sinful people in the way of salvation until Christ (the descendant) came, inheriting the promises and distributing them to us. Obviously this law was not a firsthand encounter with God. It was arranged by angelic messengers through a middleman, Moses. But if there is a middleman as there was at Sinai, then the people are not dealing directly with God, are they? But the original promise is the direct blessing of God, received by faith. If such is the case, is the law, then, an anti-promise, a negation of God's will for us? Not at all. Its purpose was to make obvious to everyone that we are, in ourselves, out of right relationship with God, and therefore to show us the futility of devising some religious system for getting by our own efforts what we can only get by waiting in faith for God to complete his promise. For if any kind of rule-keeping had power to create life in us, we would certainly have gotten it by this time. Until the time when we were mature enough to respond freely in faith to the living God, we were carefully surrounded and protected by the Mosaic law. The law was like those Greek tutors, with which you are familiar, who escort children to school and protect them from danger or distraction, making sure the children will really get to the place they set out for. But now you have arrived at your destination: By faith in Christ you are in direct relationship with God. Your baptism in Christ was not just washing you up for a fresh start. It also involved dressing you in an adult faith wardrobe—Christ's life, the fulfillment of God's original promise. In Christ's family there can be no division into Jew and non-Jew, slave and free, male and female. Among us you are all equal. That is, we are all in a common relationship with Jesus Christ. Also, since you are Christ's family, then you are Abraham's famous "descendant," heirs according to the covenant promises.
Here's something that will maybe help you understand this better. When a contract is drawn up and agreed to by both sides and signed by a judge, you have to go by it. You can't be adding to or taking away from it just because you changed your mind for a minute.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
I speak: Romans 6:19, 1 Corinthians 15:32
it be: Hebrews 9:17
covenant: or, testament
Reciprocal: Genesis 15:18 - made Genesis 21:27 - made Deuteronomy 4:2 - General 1 Chronicles 16:16 - which he made Job 40:8 - disannul Psalms 111:9 - he hath Isaiah 42:6 - and give Luke 1:72 - and Acts 7:8 - the covenant Romans 3:5 - I speak Galatians 3:17 - cannot Galatians 4:24 - the two Hebrews 7:18 - a disannulling Hebrews 8:9 - the covenant
Cross-References
The snake was the most clever of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. The snake spoke to the woman and said, "Woman, did God really tell you that you must not eat from any tree in the garden?"
But there is one tree we must not eat from. God told us, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden. You must not even touch that tree, or you will die.'"
But the snake said to the woman, "You will not die.
The woman could see that the tree was beautiful and the fruit looked so good to eat. She also liked the idea that it would make her wise. So she took some of the fruit from the tree and ate it. Her husband was there with her, so she gave him some of the fruit, and he ate it.
Then it was as if their eyes opened, and they saw things differently. They saw that they were naked. So they got some fig leaves, sewed them together, and wore them for clothes.
During the cool part of the day, the Lord God was walking in the garden. The man and the woman heard him, and they hid among the trees in the garden.
The man said, "I heard you walking in the garden, and I was afraid. I was naked, so I hid."
Then the Lord God said to the woman, "What have you done?" She said, "The snake tricked me, so I ate the fruit."
So the Lord God said to the snake, "You did this very bad thing, so bad things will happen to you. It will be worse for you than for any other animal. You must crawl on your belly and eat dust all the days of your life.
I will make you and the woman enemies to each other. Your children and her children will be enemies. You will bite her child's foot, but he will crush your head."
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Brethren,.... Whereas in Galatians 3:1, he calls them "foolish Galatians", which might seem too harsh and severe, therefore, to mitigate and soften their resentments, he styles them brethren; hoping still well of them, and that they were not so far gone, but that they might be recovered; and imputing the blame and fault rather to their leaders and teachers, than to them:
I speak after the manner of men; agreeably to a Talmudic form of speech in use among the Jews, דברה תורה כלשין בני אדם, "the law speaks according to the language of the children of men", or "after the manner of men" b, when they argue from any Scripture, in which a word is repeated, and the latter word seems to point out something peculiar: but the apostle's meaning is, that the thing he was about to speak of was taken from among men, in common use with them, and what was obvious to the common sense and understanding of men, and might easily be applied and argued from, as it is by him:
though it be but a man's covenant, or testament, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth or addeth thereto; if a covenant made between men, or a man's will and testament, be confirmed, signed, sealed, and witnessed, in a proper manner, no other man can make them void, or take anything from them, or add anything to them, only the parties concerned by their own will and consent; and if this be the case among men, much less can the covenant of God, confirmed by two immutable things, his word and oath, or his will and testament, or any branch of it, be ever disannulled, or be capable of receiving any addition thereunto. The apostle seems to have a particular respect to that branch of the covenant and will of God, which regards the justification of men in his sight by the righteousness of Christ, to which the false teachers were for adding the works of the law.
b T. Bab Ceritot, fol. 11. 1. Bava Metzia, fol. 94. 2. Sanhedrin, fol. 90. 2. Maccot, fol. 12. 1. Vid Halicot Olam, tract 4. c. 3. p. 199.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Brethren, I speak after the manner of men - I draw an illustration from what actually occurs among people. The illustration is, that when a contract or agreement is made by people involving obligations and promises, no one can add to it or take from it. It will remain as it was originally made. So with God. He made a solemn promise to Abraham. That promise pertained to his posterity. The blessing was connected with that promise, and it was of the nature of a compact with Abraham. But if so, then this could not be effected by the Law which was four hundred years after, and the Law must have been given to secure some different object from that designed by the promise made to Abraham, Galatians 3:19. But the promise made to Abraham was designed to secure the “inheritance,” or the favor of God; and if so, then the same thing could not be secured by the observance of the Law, since there could not be two ways so unlike each other of obtaining the same thing.
God cannot have two ways of justifying and saving people; and if he revealed a mode to Abraham, and that mode was by faith, then it could not be by the observance of the Law which was given so long after. The main design of the argument and the illustration here (Galatians 3:15 ff) is to show that the promise made to Abraham was by no means made void by the giving of the Law. The Law had another design, which did not interfere with the promise made to Abraham. That stood on its own merits, irrespective of the demands and the design of the Law. It is possible, as Rosenmuller suggests, that Paul may have had his eye on an objection to his view. The objection may have been that there were important acts of legislation which succeeded the promise made to Abraham, and that that promise must have been superseded by the giving of the Law. To this he replies that the Mosaic law given at a late period could not take away or nullify a solemn promise made to Abraham, but that it was intended for a different purpose.
Though it be but a man’s covenant - A compact or agreement between man and man. Even in such a case no one can add to it or take from it. The argument here is, that such a covenant or agreement must be much less important than a promise made by God. But even that could not be annulled. How much less, therefore, could a covenant made by God be treated as if it were vain. The word “covenant” here (διαθήκη diathēkē) is in the margin rendered “Testament;” that is, will. So Tyndale renders it. Its proper Classical signification is will or testament, though in the Septuagint and in the New Testament it is the word which is used to denote a covenant or compact; see the note at Acts 3:25. Here it is used in the proper sense of the word covenant, or compact; a mutual agreement between man and man. The idea is, that where such a covenant exists; where the faith of a man is solemnly pledged in this manner, no change can be made in the agreement. It is ratified, and firm, and final. “If it be confirmed.” By a seal or otherwise.
No man disannulleth ... - It must stand. No one can change it. No new conditions can be annexed; nor can there be any drawing back from its terms. It binds the parties to a faithful fulfillment of all the conditions. This is well understood among people; and the apostle says that the same thing must take place in regard to God.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse 15. I speak after the manner of men — I am about to produce an example taken from civil transactions. If it be confirmed-If an agreement or bond be signed, sealed, and witnessed, and, in this country, being first duly stamped;
No man disannulleth — It stands under the protection of the civil law, and nothing can be legally erased or added.
