Galatians 4:26

Easy-to-Read Version

But the heavenly Jerusalem that is above is like the free woman, who is our mother.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.

King James Version (1611)
But Ierusalem which is aboue is free, which is the mother of vs all.

King James Version
But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

English Standard Version
But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.

New American Standard Bible
But the Jerusalem above is free; she is our mother.

New Century Version
But the heavenly Jerusalem, which is above, is like the free woman. She is our mother.

Amplified Bible
But the Jerusalem above [that is, the way of faith, represented by Sarah] is free; she is our mother.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
But the Jerusalem above is free; she is our mother.

Legacy Standard Bible
But the Jerusalem above is free; she is our mother.

Berean Standard Bible
But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.

Contemporary English Version
But our mother is the city of Jerusalem in heaven above, and she isn't a slave.

Complete Jewish Bible
But the Yerushalayim above is free, and she is our mother;

Darby Translation
but the Jerusalem above is free, which is our mother.

Geneva Bible (1587)
But Hierusalem, which is aboue, is free: which is the mother of vs all.

George Lamsa Translation
But the Jerusalem which is above is free, and is the mother of us all.

Good News Translation
But the heavenly Jerusalem is free, and she is our mother.

Lexham English Bible
But the Jerusalem above is free, which is our mother.

Literal Translation
but the Jerusalem from above is free, who is the mother of us all;

American Standard Version
But the Jerusalem that is above is free, which is our mother.

Bible in Basic English
But the Jerusalem on high is free, which is our mother.

Hebrew Names Version
But the Yerushalayim that is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

International Standard Version
But the heavenly Jerusalem is the free woman, and she is our mother.the mother of us all">[fn]Isaiah 2:2; Hebrews 12:22; Revelation 3:12;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
But she, Urishilem the high, is the free, who is our mother.

Murdock Translation
But the Jerusalem above, is the free woman, who is the mother of us.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
But Hierusalem which is aboue, is free: which is the mother of vs all.

English Revised Version
But the Jerusalem that is above is free, which is our mother.

World English Bible
But the Jerusalem that is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
But Jerusalem that is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

Weymouth's New Testament
But the Jerusalem which is above is free, and *she* is *our* mother.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
But that Jerusalem that is aboue, is fre, whiche is oure modir.

Update Bible Version
But the Jerusalem that is above is free, which is our mother.

Webster's Bible Translation
But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

New English Translation
But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.

New King James Version
but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.

New Living Translation
But the other woman, Sarah, represents the heavenly Jerusalem. She is the free woman, and she is our mother.

New Life Bible
But the Jerusalem of heaven is the free woman, and she is our mother.

New Revised Standard
But the other woman corresponds to the Jerusalem above; she is free, and she is our mother.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
But, the Jerusalem above, is free, - the which is our mother;

Douay-Rheims Bible
But that Jerusalem which is above is free: which is our mother.

Revised Standard Version
But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
But Ierusalem which is above is fre: which is the mother of vs all.

Young's Literal Translation
and the Jerusalem above is the free-woman, which is mother of us all,

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But Ierusalem that is aboue, is the fre woman, which is the mother of vs all.

Mace New Testament (1729)
but the heavenly Jerusalem is represented by the free-woman, who is the mother of us all.

Simplified Cowboy Version
But the other wife, Sarah, is like the Jerusalem that will come down from heaven. She is a free woman and this new city will be like our mother.

Contextual Overview

²¹ Some of you people want to be under the law. Tell me, do you know what the law says? ²² The Scriptures say that Abraham had two sons. The mother of one son was a slave woman, and the mother of the other son was a free woman. ²³ Abraham's son from the slave woman was born in the normal human way. But the son from the free woman was born because of the promise God made to Abraham. ²⁴ This true story makes a picture for us. The two women are like the two agreements between God and his people. One agreement is the law that God made on Mount Sinai. The people who are under this agreement are like slaves. The mother named Hagar is like that agreement. ²⁵ So Hagar is like Mount Sinai in Arabia. She is a picture of the earthly Jewish city of Jerusalem. This city is a slave, and all its people are slaves to the law. ²⁶ But the heavenly Jerusalem that is above is like the free woman, who is our mother. ²⁷ The Scriptures say, "Be happy, woman—you who cannot have children. Be glad you never gave birth. Shout and cry with joy! You never felt those labor pains. The woman who is alone will have more children than the woman who has a husband." ²⁸ My brothers and sisters, you are children who were born because of God's promise, just as Isaac was. ²⁹ But the other son of Abraham, who was born in the normal way, caused trouble for the one who was born by the power of the Spirit. It is the same today. ³⁰ But what do the Scriptures say? "Throw out the slave woman and her son! The son of the free woman will receive everything his father has, but the son of the slave woman will receive nothing."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Jerusalem: Psalms 87:3-6, Isaiah 2:2, Isaiah 2:3, Isaiah 52:9, Isaiah 62:1, Isaiah 62:2, Isaiah 65:18, Isaiah 66:10, Joel 3:17, Micah 4:1, Micah 4:2, Philippians 3:20, Hebrews 12:22, Revelation 3:12, Revelation 21:2, 10-27

free: Galatians 4:22, Galatians 5:1, John 8:36, Romans 6:14, Romans 6:18, 1 Peter 2:16

mother: Song of Solomon 8:1, Song of Solomon 8:2, Isaiah 50:1, Hosea 2:2, Hosea 2:5, Hosea 4:5, Revelation 17:5

Reciprocal: Genesis 17:16 - be a mother of nations 1 Kings 11:36 - the city 2 Chronicles 8:9 - But of the Psalms 45:16 - children Psalms 87:6 - this man Song of Solomon 1:5 - O ye Song of Solomon 3:4 - I had Song of Solomon 6:9 - General Isaiah 49:20 - children Isaiah 49:21 - seeing Isaiah 49:25 - I will save Isaiah 60:9 - thy sons Isaiah 66:7 - General Jeremiah 3:17 - the throne Jeremiah 50:12 - mother Ezekiel 16:61 - when Ezekiel 40:2 - as the Joel 2:23 - ye children Zechariah 14:2 - shall not Luke 13:34 - thy Ephesians 2:19 - but

Cross-References

Genesis 4:14
You are forcing me to leave the land, and I will not be able to be near you or have a home! Now I must wander from place to place, and anyone I meet could kill me."

Genesis 4:15
Then the Lord said to Cain, "No, if anyone kills you, I will punish that person much, much more." Then the Lord put a mark on Cain to show that no one should kill him.

Genesis 4:17
Cain had sexual relations with his wife. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son named Enoch. Cain built a city and gave the city the same name as his son Enoch.

Genesis 4:18
Enoch had a son named Irad. Irad had a son named Mehujael. Mehujael had a son named Methushael. And Methushael had a son named Lamech.

Genesis 12:8
Then he left that place and traveled to the mountains east of Bethel. He set up his tent there. Bethel was to the west, and Ai was to the east. Abram built another altar at that place to honor the Lord , and he worshiped the Lord there.

Genesis 26:25
So Isaac built an altar and worshiped the Lord in that place. He set up camp there, and his servants dug a well.

1 Kings 18:24
Prophets of Baal, pray to your god, and I will pray to the Lord . Whichever god answers the prayer and starts the fire is the true God." All the people agreed that this was a good idea.

Psalms 116:17
I will give you a thank offering. I will call on the Lord 's name.

Isaiah 44:5
"One man will call himself, ‘I am the Lord 's.' Another will use the name, ‘Jacob.' Another man will sign his name as ‘The Lord 's Hand.' And another will use the name, ‘Israel.'"

Isaiah 48:1
"Family of Jacob, listen to me! You people call yourself ‘Israel,' but you are from Judah's family. When you take an oath, I, the Lord , the God of Israel, am the one whose name you use, but you are not honest and sincere.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

But Jerusalem which is above,.... This Sarah was a type and figure of; she answered to, and agreed with this; which is to be understood, not of the church triumphant in heaven, but of the Gospel church state under the administration of the new covenant; and that, not as in the latter day glory, when the new Jerusalem shall descend from God out of heaven, but as it then was in the apostle's time, and has been since. Particular respect may be had to the first Gospel church at Jerusalem, which consisted of persons born from above, was blessed with a Gospel spirit, which is a spirit of liberty, out of which the Gospel went into all the world, and from among whom the apostles and first preachers of the word went forth everywhere, and were the means of the conversion of multitudes, both among Jews and Gentiles, and so might be truly said to be the mother of us all. The church in general, under the Gospel, may be, as it often is, called Jerusalem, because of its name, the vision of peace; being under the government of the Prince of peace; the members of it are sons of peace, who are called to peace, and enjoy it; the Gospel is the Gospel of peace, and the ordinances of it are paths of peace; and the new covenant, under the administration of which the saints are, is a covenant of peace. Jerusalem was the object of God's choice, the palace of the great King, the place of divine worship, was compact together, and well fortified: the Gospel church state consists of persons, who, in general, are the elect of God, among whom the Lord dwells, as in his temple. Here his worship is observed, his word is preached, and his ordinances administered; saints laid on the foundation, Christ, and being fitly framed together, grow up unto an holy temple in him, and are surrounded by him, as Jerusalem was with mountains, and are kept by his power unto salvation. This is said to be above, to distinguish it from the earthly Jerusalem, the inhabitants of which were chiefly men of the world, carnal men; but this heavenly Jerusalem, or Gospel church state, chiefly consists of persons born from above, called with an heavenly calling, and who bear the image of the heavenly one, whose conversation is in heaven, who are seeking things above, and in a little time will be there themselves; its constitution and form of government are from above, and so are its doctrines, and its ordinances. The Jews often Speak of

ירושלם דלעילא, or עלאה, or של מעלה, "Jerusalem above" x, as distinguished from Jerusalem below: and to this distinction the apostle seems to have respect here, who further says concerning this Jerusalem, that she

is free; from the servitude of sin, Satan, and the world, from the yoke of the law, and from a spirit of bondage; having the Spirit of God, the spirit of adoption, who is a free spirit, and makes such free that enjoy him; and where he is, there is true liberty. He adds,

which is the mother of us all; that are born again, whether Jews or Gentiles, as particularly the church at Jerusalem was, and the Gospel church state in general may be said to be; since here souls are born and brought forth to Christ, are nursed up at her side, and nourished with her breasts of consolation, the word and ordinances. This form of speech is also Jewish: thus it is said y that

"Zion, אמן דישראל, "the mother of Israel", shall bring forth her sons, and Jerusalem shall receive the children of the captivity.''

Again, explaining Proverbs 28:24 it is observed z, that there is no father but the ever blessed God, ואין אמו, "and no mother" but the congregation of Israel. Some copies leave out the word "all"; and so do the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Ethiopic versions, and only read, "the mother of us", or "our mother".

x Zohar in Gen. fol. 13. 2. & 16. 2. & 75. 4. & 77. 1. & 78. 2. & 114. 3. & 121. 1. & in Exod. fol. 6. 1. & 92. 2. T. Bab. Taanith, fol. 5. 1. Gloss. in T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 97. 2. Caphtor, fol. 14. 2. & 25. 2. & 65. 1. & 68. 2. & 71. 2. & 118. 2. Raziel, fol. 13. 1. & 27. 1. Tzeror Hammor, fol. 61. 3. & 150. 3. Nishmat Chayim, fol. 26. 2. Kimchi in Hos. xi. 19. y Targum in Cant. 8. 5. z Sithre Tora in Zohar in Gen. fol. 55. 2. & Raya Mehimna in Zohar in Lev. fol. 34. 1.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

But Jerusalem which is above - The spiritual Jerusalem; the true church of God. Jerusalem was the place where God was worshipped, and hence, it became synonymous with the word church, or is used to represent the people of God. The word rendered “above,” (ἄνω anō) means properly “up above,” that which is above; and hence, heavenly, celestial; Colossians 3:1-2; John 8:23. Here it means the heavenly or celestial Jerusalem; Revelation 21:2, “And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God, out of heaven.” Hebrews 12:22,” ye are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem.” Here it is used to denote the church, as being of heavenly origin.

Is free - The spirit of the gospel is that of freedom. It is freedom from sin, freedom from the bondage of rites and customs, and it tends to promote universal freedom; see the note at Galatians 4:7; compare John 8:32, John 8:36; and the note at 2 Corinthians 3:17.

Which is the mother of us all - Of all who are true Christians, whether we are by birth Jews or Gentiles. We should not, therefore, yield ourselves to any degrading and debasing servitude el any kind; compare the note at 1 Corinthians 6:12.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 26. But Jerusalem which is above — The apostle still follows the Jewish allegory, showing not only how the story of Hagar and Sarah, Ishmael and Isaac, was allegorized, but pointing out also that even Jerusalem was the subject of allegory; for it was a maxim among the rabbins, that "whatsoever was in the earth, the same was also found in heaven for there is no matter, howsoever small, in this world, that has not something similar to it in the spiritual world." On this maxim, the Jews imagine that every earthly thing has its representative in heaven; and especially whatever concerns Jerusalem, the law, and its ordinances. Rab. Kimchi, speaking of Melchizedec, king of Salem, says: זו ירושלם של מעלה zu Yerushalem shel malah, "This is the Jerusalem that is from above." This phrase frequently occurs among these writers, as may be seen in Schoettgen, who has written an express dissertation upon the subject. Hor. Hebr., vol. i. page 1205.

Is free, which is the mother of us all. — There is a spiritual Jerusalem, of which this is the type; and this Jerusalem, in which the souls of all the righteous are, is free from all bondage and sin: or by this, probably, the kingdom of the Messiah was intended; and this certainly answers best to the apostle's meaning, as the subsequent verse shows. There is an earthly Jerusalem, but this earthly Jerusalem typifies a heavenly Jerusalem: the former, with all her citizens, is in bondage; the latter is a free city, and all her inhabitants are free also. And this Jerusalem is our mother; it signifies the Church of Christ, the metropolis of Christianity, or rather the state of liberty into which all true believers are brought. The word παντων, of all, is omitted by almost every MS. and version of antiquity and importance, and by the most eminent of the fathers who quote this place; it is undoubtedly spurious, and the text should be read thus: But Jerusalem, which is above, is free, which is our mother.