But I say that so long as the heir is a child, he differeth nothing from a bondservant though he is lord of all;
but is under guardians and stewards until the day appointed of the father.
So we also, when we were children, were held in bondage under the {Or, elements 2 Peter 3:10, 12}rudiments of the world:
but when the fulness of the time came, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
that he might redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
And because ye are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
So that thou art no longer a bondservant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.
Howbeit at that time, not knowing God, ye were in bondage to them that by nature are no gods:
but now that ye have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how turn ye back again to the weak and beggarly {Or, elements See verse 3.}rudiments, whereunto ye desire to be in bondage over again?
Ye observe days, and months, and seasons, and years.
I am afraid of you, lest by any means I have bestowed labor upon you in vain.
I beseech you, brethren, become as I am, for I also am become as ye are. Ye did me no wrong:
but ye know that because of an infirmity of the flesh I {See marginal note on chapter 1:8.}preached the gospel unto you the {Greek: former.}first time:
and that which was a temptation to you in my flesh ye despised not, nor {Greek: spat out.}rejected; but ye received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.
Where then is that gratulation {Or, of yours}of yourselves? for I bear you witness, that, if possible, ye would have plucked out your eyes and given them to me.
So then am I become your enemy, {Or, by dealing truly with you}by telling you the truth?
They zealously seek you in no good way; nay, they desire to shut you out, that ye may seek them.
But it is good to be zealously sought in a good matter at all times, and not only when I am present with you.
My little children, of whom I am again in travail until Christ be formed in you—
but I could wish to be present with you now, and to change my tone; for I am perplexed about you.
Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?
For it is written, {Genesis 16:15.}that Abraham had two sons, one by the handmaid, and one by the freewoman.
{Genesis 21:2}Howbeit the son by the handmaid is born after the flesh; but the son by the freewoman is born through promise.
Which things contain an allegory: for these women are two covenants; one from mount Sinai, bearing children unto bondage, which is Hagar.
{Many ancient authorities read For Sinai is a mountain in Arabia.}Now this Hagar is mount Sinai in Arabia and answereth to the Jerusalem that now is: for she is in bondage with her children.
But the Jerusalem that is above is free, which is our mother.
For it is written,
{Isaiah 54:1}Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not;
Break forth and cry, thou that travailest not:
For more are the children of the desolate than of her that hath the husband.
Now {Many ancient authorities read ye.}we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise.
But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, so also it is now.
Howbeit what saith the scripture? {Genesis 21:10, 12}Cast out the handmaid and her son: for the son of the handmaid shall not inherit with the son of the freewoman.
Wherefore, brethren, we are not children of a handmaid, but of the freewoman.
Querverweise zu Galater 4,26 Gal 4,26
Glorious things are spoken of thee,O city of God. [Selah
I will make mention of {Or, Egypt}Rahab and Babylon as among them that know me:Behold, Philistia, and Tyre, with {Hebrew: Cush.}Ethiopia:This one was born there.
Yea, of Zion it shall be said, This one and that one was born in her;And the Most High himself will establish her.
Jehovah will count, when he writeth up the peoples,This one was born there. [Selah
For it is written, {Genesis 16:15.}that Abraham had two sons, one by the handmaid, and one by the freewoman.
Oh that thou wert as my brother,That sucked the breasts of my mother!When I should find thee without, I would kiss thee;Yea, and none would despise me.
And it shall come to pass in the latter days, that the mountain of Jehovah's house shall be established {Or, at the head}on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
For freedom did Christ set us free: stand fast therefore, and be not entangled again in a yoke of bondage.
I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mother's house, {Or, That thou mightest}Who would instruct me;I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine,Of the {Or, sweet wine}juice of my pomegranate.
And many peoples shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth {Or, instruction}the law, and the word of Jehovah from Jerusalem.
If therefore the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
Thus saith Jehovah, Where is the bill of your mother's divorcement, wherewith I have put her away? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities were ye sold, and for your transgressions was your mother put away.
Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem; for Jehovah hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem.
For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under law, but under grace.
Contend with your mother, contend; for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband; and let her put away her whoredoms from her face, and her adulteries from between her breasts;
For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until her righteousness go forth as brightness, and her salvation as a lamp that burneth.
and being made free from sin, ye became {Greek: bondservants.}servants of righteousness.
for their mother hath played the harlot; she that conceived them hath done shamefully; for she said, I will go after my lovers, that give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, mine oil and my {Hebrew: drinks.}drink.
And the nations shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory, and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of Jehovah shall name.
as free, and not {Greek: having.}using your freedom for a cloak of {Or, malice 1 Corinthians 14:20.}wickedness, but as bondservants of God.
And thou shalt stumble in the day, and the prophet also shall stumble with thee in the night; and I will destroy thy mother.
But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create; for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.
and upon her forehead a name written, {Or, a mystery, Babylon the Great}MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn over her;
So shall ye know that I am Jehovah your God, dwelling in Zion my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.
But in the latter days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of Jehovah's house shall be established {Or, at the head}on the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and peoples shall flow unto it.
And many nations shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths. For out of Zion shall go forth {Or, instruction}the law, and the word of Jehovah from Jerusalem;
For our {Or, commonwealth}citizenship is in heaven; whence also we wait for a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
but ye are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, {Or, and to innumerable hosts, the general assembly of angels, and the church &c.}and to {Greek: myriads of angels.}innumerable hosts of angels,
He that overcometh, I will make him a pillar in the {Or, sanctuary}temple of my God, and he shall go out thence no more: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God, and mine own new name.
And I saw {Or, the holy city Jerusalem coming down new out of heaven}the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,
having the glory of God: her {Greek: luminary.}light was like unto a stone most precious, as it were a jasper stone, clear as crystal:
having a wall great and high; having twelve {Greek: portals.}gates, and at the {Greek: portals.}gates twelve angels; and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:
on the east were three {Greek: portals.}gates; and on the north three {Greek: portals.}gates; and on the south three {Greek: portals.}gates; and on the west three {Greek: portals.}gates.
And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
And he that spake with me had for a measure a golden reed to measure the city, and the {Greek: portals.}gates thereof, and the wall thereof.
And the city lieth foursquare, and the length thereof is as great as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs: the length and the breadth and the height thereof are equal.
And he measured the wall thereof, a hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel.
And the building of the wall thereof was jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto pure glass.
The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, {Or, lapis lazuli}sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald;
the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, {Or, sapphire}jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst.
And the twelve {Greek: portals.}gates were twelve pearls; each one of the several {Greek: portals.}gates was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, {Or, transparent as glass}as it were transparent glass.
And I saw no {Or, sanctuary}temple therein: for the Lord God the Almighty, and the Lamb, are the {Or, sanctuary}temple thereof.
And the city hath no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine upon it: for the glory of God did lighten it, {Or, and the Lamb, the lamp thereof}and the lamp thereof is the Lamb.
And the nations shall walk {Or, by}amidst the light thereof: and the kings of the earth bring their glory into it.
And the {Greek: portals.}gates thereof shall in no wise be shut by day (for there shall be no night there):
and they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it:
and there shall in no wise enter into it anything {Greek: common.}unclean, or he that {Or, doeth}maketh an abomination and a lie: but only they that are written in the Lamb's book of life.