Galatians 4:25
What does Galatians 4:25 mean?
A plain-English look at Galatians 4:25 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Galatians 4:25 means
Paul identifies Hagar with Mount Sinai in Arabia and says she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, which is in bondage with her children. “Present Jerusalem” represents the religious system centered on the Law apart from Christ. Those clinging to it for justification remain enslaved. The point is not geography but spiritual condition. By associating Hagar with Sinai and current Judaism hostile to the gospel, Paul shows that insisting on the Law for righteousness places one among the slave-born. This is a sober assessment: zeal for the Law, without Christ, does not free but imprisons. Only grace brings believers into the liberty of the promised inheritance.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000Now this Hagar is mount Sinai in Arabia and answereth to the Jerusalem that now is: for she is in bondage with her children.
KJV
King James Version · 1611For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901Now this Hagar is mount Sinai in Arabia and answereth to the Jerusalem that now is: for she is in bondage with her children.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949Now this Hagar is the mountain Sinai in Arabia, and is the image of the Jerusalem which now is: which is a servant with her children.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862for this Hagar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and doth correspond to the Jerusalem that now <FI>is<Fi> , and is in servitude with her children,
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752For Sina is a mountain in Arabia, which hath affinity to that Jerusalem which now is: and is in bondage with her children.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890For Hagar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which [is] now, for she is in bondage with her children;
Context
Following the allegory’s introduction (v. 24), verse 25 specifies Hagar’s connections—Sinai and present Jerusalem—and states their shared characteristic: bondage. This sets a stark backdrop for verse 26’s alternative, the Jerusalem above, which is free. The contrast will be sharpened with a prophetic citation in verse 27, supporting the abundance of the freewoman’s children, and then applied directly to the Galatians in verse 28.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Luke 13:34
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killeth the prophets, and stoneth them that are sent unto her! how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her own brood under her wings, and ye would not!
- Luke 19:44
and shall dash thee to the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.
- Deuteronomy 33:2
And he said, Jehovah came from Sinai, And rose from Seir unto them; He shined forth from mount Paran, And he came from the ten thousands of holy ones: At his right hand was a fiery law for them.
- Galatians 1:17
neither went I up to Jerusalem to them that were apostles before me: but I went away into Arabia; and again I returned unto Damascus.
- Psalms 68:8
The earth trembled, The heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God: Yon Sinai trembled at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
- Psalms 68:17
The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands upon thousands: The Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the sanctuary.
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