the Week of Proper 26 / Ordinary 31
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New King James Version
Galatians 4:3
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It is the same for us. We were once like children, slaves to the useless rules of this world.
So with us; when we were children, we were slaves to the elemental spirits of the universe.
Even so we as longe as we were chyldren were in bondage vnder the ordinaunces of the worlde.
So we also, when we were children, were held in bondage under the elements of the world.
So we too, when we were children, were held in bondage under the elementary principles of the world.
It is the same for us. We were once like children, slaves to the useless rules of this world.
So we also, when we were children, were being made slaves under the rudiments of the world:
Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:
In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world.
So we also, when we were children, were held in bondage under the elements of the world.
So we also, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world.
So we also, when spiritually we were children, were subject to the world's rudimentary notions, and were enslaved.
So we, whanne we weren litle children, we serueden vndur the elementis of the world.
So we also, when we were children, were held in bondage under the rudiments of the world:
So also, when we were children, we were enslaved under the basic principles of the world.
That is how it was with us. We were like children ruled by the powers of this world.
So also we [whether Jews or Gentiles], when we were children (spiritually immature), were kept like slaves under the elementary [man-made religious or philosophical] teachings of the world.
So we also, when we were children, were held in bondage under the rudiments of the world:
So we, when we were young, were kept under the first rules of the world;
So it is with us — when we were "children" we were slaves to the elemental spirits of the universe;
So we also, when we were children, were held in bondage under the principles of the world;
It was the same way with us. While we were children, we were slaves to the basic principles of the world.the elemental spirits of the universe">[fn]Galatians 4:23; 4:9; 5:1; Colossians 2:8,20; Hebrews 9:10;">[xr]
So we also, while children, under the principles of the world were subjected.
So also we, while we were children, were in subordination under the elements of the world.
Euen so we, when wee were children, were in bondage vnder the Elements of the world:
And that's the way it was with us before Christ came. We were like children; we were slaves to the basic spiritual principles of this world.
We were as children also held by the Law. We obeyed the Law in our religious worship.
So with us; while we were minors, we were enslaved to the elemental spirits of the world.
Euen so, we when wee were children, were in bondage vnder the rudiments of the world.
Even so we, when we were young, were subject to the principles of this world:
So also, we, when we were infants, under the elementary principles of the world, were held in servitude;
So we also, when we were children, were serving under the elements of the world.
Euen so we, when we were chyldren, were in bondage vnder ye rudimentes of the worlde:
In the same way, we too were slaves of the ruling spirits of the universe before we reached spiritual maturity.
In the same way we also, when we were children, were in slavery under the elements of the world.
Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:
So also we, when we were children, we were enslaved under the elemental spirits of the world.
So we also, when we were infants, we were under the elements of the world, being enslaved.
so also we, when we were babes, under the elements of the world were in servitude,
Euen so we also, wha we were children, were in bondage vnder the outwarde tradicions.
even so we, whilst we were children, were in a state of servitude to the elements of the world. but when the time appointed was accomplished,
So also we, when we were minors, were enslaved under the basic forces of the world.
That's what it was like before Jesus came. We were like children. We were subject to the ways of this world until he came.
So also we, while we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world.
So also we, while we were children, were enslaved under the elemental things of the world.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
when: Galatians 3:19, Galatians 3:24, Galatians 3:25
in: Galatians 4:9, Galatians 4:25, Galatians 4:31, Galatians 2:4, Galatians 3:23, Galatians 5:1, Matthew 11:28, John 8:31, Acts 15:10, Romans 8:15
elements: or, rudiments, Galatians 4:9, Colossians 2:8, Colossians 2:20, Hebrews 7:16
Reciprocal: Acts 6:14 - change 2 Corinthians 11:20 - if a man bring Ephesians 4:6 - God Hebrews 7:11 - perfection Hebrews 9:10 - carnal
Cross-References
Luke 11:51; Hebrews 11:4; 12:24">[xr] Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, "I have acquired a man from the LORD."
So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand.
"All the best of the oil, all the best of the new wine and the grain, their firstfruits which they offer to the LORD, I have given them to you.
And it happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.
But during all this I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I had returned to the king. Then after certain days I obtained leave from the king,
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Even so we,.... Jews, for of such the apostle is only speaking, and to whom he applies the above case of heirs in minority; it was to the Jews he had spoken of the law, as being a military guard, a prison, and a schoolmaster to them; and then having addressed the Gentiles, as being the children of God, baptized into Christ, one in him, interested in him, the spiritual seed of Abraham, and heirs of all the blessings of grace and glory; he returns to the Jews, and represents their estate and condition under the law by the above simile, which he here makes an application of:
when we were children; not in age, but in knowledge of divine, spiritual, and evangelical things; which must be understood not of every individual person among them, for there were some grown men, men of great faith, light, knowledge, and experience; but of the bulk and generality of the people of the Jews, and that also in comparison of the clear understanding of the saints under the Gospel dispensation. The Jews were like children, peevish, froward, and perverse, and often stood in need of correction and chastisement; and as children are pleased with pictures, shows, sights, and gaudy amusements, so they were taken with an external pompous form of worship, and which they had, and was suited to their infant state; and which infant state of the Jewish church commenced from the time of their coming up out of Egypt, and lasted until the times of the Messiah; see Hosea 11:1.
Were in bondage under the elements of the world; by which are meant, not the four elements of fire, water, earth, and air; nor the angels, who by some are thought to preside over them; nor the sun and moon, according to whose revolutions the festivals of the Jews were regulated; but the several institutions of the Mosaic economy, which were to the Jews what an A B C, or an alphabet of letters, is to one that is beginning to learn; or what an accidence and grammar be to such who are learning any language, and which contain the rudiments of it; as the physical elements are the first principles of nature, and the general rules of speech and language are the rudiments thereof, so the Mosaic institutions were the elements, rudiments, or first principles of the Jewish religion, taught them by the law, as their schoolmaster, and by which they were used as children: these are called "elements", in allusion to the first principles of nature and learning; and the elements "of the world", because they lay in outward worldly and earthly things, as meats, drinks, divers washings, c. and because that hereby God instructed the world, at least a part of it, the world of the Jews: or as the word κοσμος may be rendered "beauty", or "elegancy", these were elegant elements, which in a most beautiful manner taught the people of the Jews the first principles of the doctrine of Christ: but nevertheless, whilst they were under the instructions and discipline of the law as a schoolmaster, "they were in bondage" referring not to their bondage in Egypt, nor in the several captivities into which they were carried by their neighbours; nor to the bondage of sin and Satan, common to all men in a state of nature; but to the bondage which the law naturally gendered, led them to, induced upon them, and kept them in, through its sanctions and penalties; for, through fear of death, they were under a servile disposition, and were all their lifetime subject to bondage; they carried a yoke of bondage upon their necks, and were under a spirit of bondage unto fear; they were like children closely kept to school to learn their letters, say their lessons, and perform their tasks; and, if not, receive due correction, which kept them in continual fear and bondage.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Even so we - We who were Jews - for so I think the word here is to be limited, and not extended to the pagan, as Bloomfield supposes. The reasons for limiting it are:
- That the pagans in no sense sustained such a relation to the Law and promises of Gad as is here supposed;
- Such an interpretation would not be pertinent to the design of Paul. He is stating reasons why there should not be subjection to the laws of Moses, and his argument is, that that condition was like that of bondage or minorship.
When we were children - (νήπιοι nēpioi). Minors; see the note at Galatians 4:1. The word is not υἱοι huioi, “sons;” but the idea is, that they were in a state of non-age; and though heirs, yet were under severe discipline and regimen. They were under a kind of government that was suited to that state, and not to the condition of those who had entered on their inheritance.
Were in bondage - In a state of servitude. Treated as servants or slaves.
Under the elements of the world - Margin, Rudiments. The word rendered “elements” (sing. στοιχεῖον stoicheion), properly means a row or series; a little step; a pin or peg, as the gnomen of a dial; and then anything “elementary,” as a sound, a letter. It then denotes the elements or rudiments of any kind of instruction, and in the New Testament is applied to the first lessons or principles of religion; Hebrews 5:12. It is applied to the elements or component parts of the physical world; 2 Peter 3:10, 2 Peter 3:12. Here the figure is kept up of the reference to the infant Galatians 4:1, Galatians 4:3; and the idea is, that lessons were taught under the Jewish system adapted to their nonage - to a state of childhood. They were treated as children under tutors and governors. The phrase “the elements of the world,” occurs also in Colossians 2:8, Colossians 2:20. In Galatians 4:9, Paul speaks of these lessons as “beggarly elements,” referring to the same thing as here.
Different opinions have been held as to the reason why the Jewish institutions are here called “the elements of the world.” Rosenmuller supposes it was because many of those rites were common to the Jews and to the pagan - as they also had altars, sacrifices, temples, libations, etc. Doddridge supposes it was because those rites were adapted to the low conceptions of children, who were most affected with sensible objects, and have no taste for spiritual and heavenly things. Locke supposes it was because those institutions led them not beyond this world, or into the possession and taste of their heavenly inheritance. It is probable that there is allusion to the Jewish manner of speaking, so common in the Scriptures, where this world is opposed to the kingdom of God, and where it is spoken of as transient and worthless compared with the future glory. The world is fading, unsatisfactory, temporary. In allusion to this common use of the word, the Jewish institutions are called the wordly rudiments. It is not that they were in themselves evil - for that is not true; it is not that they were adapted to foster a worldly spirit - for that is not true; it is not that they had their origin from this world - for that is not true; nor is it from the fact that they resembled the institutions of the pagan world - for that is as little true; but it is, that, like the things of the world, they were transient, temporary, and of little value. They were unsatisfactory in their nature, and were soon to pass away, and to give place to a better system - as the things of this world are soon to give place to heaven.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Galatians 4:3. Even so we — The whole Jewish people were in a state of nonage while under the law.
The elements of the world — A mere Jewish phrase, יסודי עולם הזה yesodey olam hazzeh, "the principles of this world;" that is, the rudiments or principles of the Jewish religion. The apostle intimates that the law was not the science of salvation, it was only the elements or alphabet of it; and in the Gospel this alphabet is composed into a most glorious system of Divine knowledge: but as the alphabet is nothing of itself, unless compounded into syllables, words, sentences, and discourses; so the law, taken by itself, gives no salvation; it contains indeed the outlines of the Gospel, but it is the Gospel alone that fills up these outlines.
