4:8 Formerly when you did not know God, you were enslaved to beings that by nature are not gods at all. 15
4:21 Tell me, you who want to be under the law, do you not understand the law? 16
1 tn Or “by sight”; Grk “by face.”
2 tn Grk “But,” translated here as “Yet” for stylistic reasons (note the use of “but” in v. 2).
3 tn Grk “Having begun”; the participle ἐναρξάμενοι (enarxamenoi) has been translated concessively.
4 tn Or “by the Spirit.”
5 tn The verb ἐπιτελεῖσθε (epiteleisqe) has been translated as a conative present (see ExSyn 534). This is something the Galatians were attempting to do, but could not accomplish successfully.
6 tn Grk “in/by [the] flesh.”
4 tn Grk “know.”
5 tn The phrase “sons of Abraham” is used here in a figurative sense to describe people who are connected to a personality, Abraham, by close nonmaterial ties. It is this personality that has defined the relationship and its characteristics (BDAG 1024-25 s.v. υἱός 2.c.α).
5 tn Or “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”
6 tn Grk “seed.” See the note on the first occurrence of the word “descendant” in 3:16.
7 tn The Greek term translated “guardians” here is ἐπίτροπος (epitropo"), whose semantic domain overlaps with that of παιδαγωγός (paidagwgo") according to L&N 36.5.
8 tn Grk “the,” but the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).
8 tn Grk “and if a son, then also an heir.” The words “you are” have been supplied twice to clarify the statement.
9 tc The unusual expression διὰ θεοῦ (dia qeou, “through God”) certainly prompted scribes to alter it to more customary or theologically acceptable ones such as διὰ θεόν (dia qeon, “because of God”; F G 1881 pc), διὰ Χριστοῦ (dia Cristou, “through Christ”; 81 630 pc sa), διὰ ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ (dia Ihsou Cristou, “through Jesus Christ”; 1739c), θεοῦ διὰ Χριστοῦ (“[an heir] of God through Christ”; א2 C3 D [P] 0278 [6 326 1505] Ï ar sy), or κληρονόμος μὲν θεοῦ, συγκληρονόμος δὲ Χριστοῦ (klhronomo" men qeou, sugklhronomo" de Cristou, “an heir of God, and fellow-heir with Christ”; Ψ pc [cf. Rom 8:17]). Although it is unusual for Paul to speak of God as an intermediate agent, it is not unprecedented (cf. Gal 1:1; 1 Cor 1:9). Nevertheless, Gal 4:7 is the most direct statement to this effect. Further testimony on behalf of διὰ θεοῦ is to be found in external evidence: The witnesses with this phrase are among the most important in the NT (Ì46 א* A B C* 33 1739*vid lat bo Cl).
9 tn Grk “those that by nature…” with the word “beings” implied. BDAG 1070 s.v. φύσις 2 sees this as referring to pagan worship: “Polytheists worship…beings that are by nature no gods at all Gal 4:8.”
10 tn Or “will you not hear what the law says?” The Greek verb ἀκούω (akouw) means “hear, listen to,” but by figurative extension it can also mean “obey.” It can also refer to the process of comprehension that follows hearing, and that sense fits the context well here.
11 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:11.
12 tn “And” is supplied here as a matter of English style, which normally inserts “and” between the last two elements of a list or series.
13 tc The phrase “in Christ Jesus” is found after “For” in some
14 tn Grk “is.”
15 tn Grk “but a new creation”; the words “the only thing that matters” have been supplied to reflect the implied contrast with the previous clause (see also Gal 5:6).