Galatians 4:9-23
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 4
9But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles, to which you want to be enslaved all over again? 10You meticulously observe days and months and seasons and years. 11I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored over you in vain.
12I beg of you, brothers and sisters, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You have done me no wrong;
13but you know that it was because of a bodily illness that I preached the gospel to you the first time;
14and you did not despise that which was a trial to you in my bodily condition, nor express contempt, but you received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus Himself.
15Where then is that sense of blessing you had? For I testify about you that, if possible, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me.
16So have I become your enemy by telling you the truth?
17They eagerly seek you, not in a commendable way, but they want to shut you out so that you will seek them.
18But it is good always to be eagerly sought in a commendable way, and not only when I am present with you.
19My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you—
20but I could wish to be present with you now and to change my tone of voice, for I am at a loss about you!
King James Version
Chapter 4
9But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? 10Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. 11I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.
12Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am; for I am as ye are: ye have not injured me at all.
13Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you at the first.
14And my temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.
15Where is then the blessedness ye spake of? for I bear you record, that, if it had been possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to me.
16Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?
17They zealously affect you, but not well; yea, they would exclude you, that ye might affect them.
18But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing, and not only when I am present with you.
19My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,
20I desire to be present with you now, and to change my voice; for I stand in doubt of you.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 4
9But now, since you know God, or rather have become known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elements? Do you want to be enslaved to them all over again? 10You are observing special days, months, seasons, and years. 11I am fearful for you, that perhaps my labor for you has been wasted.
12I beg you, brothers and sisters: Become like me, for I also became like you. You have not wronged me;
13you know that previously I preached the gospel to you because of a weakness of the flesh.
14You did not despise or reject me though my physical condition was a trial for you. On the contrary, you received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus himself.
15Where, then, is your blessing? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me.
16So then, have I become your enemy because I told you the truth?
17They court you eagerly, but not for good. They want to exclude you from me, so that you would pursue them.
18But it is always good to be pursued in a good manner—and not just when I am with you.
19My children, I am again suffering labor pains for you until Christ is formed in you.
20I would like to be with you right now and change my tone of voice, because I don’t know what to do about you.
New Living Translation
Chapter 4
9So now that you know God (or should I say, now that God knows you), why do you want to go back again and become slaves once more to the weak and useless spiritual principles of this world? 10You are trying to earn favor with God by observing certain days or months or seasons or years. 11I fear for you. Perhaps all my hard work with you was for nothing.
12Dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to live as I do in freedom from these things, for I have become like you Gentiles — free from those laws. You did not mistreat me when I first preached to you.
13Surely you remember that I was sick when I first brought you the Good News.
14But even though my condition tempted you to reject me, you did not despise me or turn me away. No, you took me in and cared for me as though I were an angel from God or even Christ Jesus himself.
15Where is that joyful and grateful spirit you felt then? I am sure you would have taken out your own eyes and given them to me if it had been possible.
16Have I now become your enemy because I am telling you the truth?
17Those false teachers are so eager to win your favor, but their intentions are not good. They are trying to shut you off from me so that you will pay attention only to them.
18If someone is eager to do good things for you, that’s all right; but let them do it all the time, not just when I’m with you.
19Oh, my dear children! I feel as if I’m going through labor pains for you again, and they will continue until Christ is fully developed in your lives.
20I wish I were with you right now so I could change my tone. But at this distance I don’t know how else to help you.
21Tell me, you who want to live under the law, do you know what the law actually says?
22The Scriptures say that Abraham had two sons, one from his slave wife and one from his freeborn wife.
23The son of the slave wife was born in a human attempt to bring about the fulfillment of God’s promise. But the son of the freeborn wife was born as God’s own fulfillment of his promise.
English Standard Version
Chapter 4
9But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? 10You observe days and months and seasons and years! 11I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain.
12Brothers, I entreat you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You did me no wrong.
13You know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first,
14and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus.
15What then has become of your blessedness? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have gouged out your eyes and given them to me.
16Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth?
17They make much of you, but for no good purpose. They want to shut you out, that you may make much of them.
18It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and not only when I am present with you,
19my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!
20I wish I could be present with you now and change my tone, for I am perplexed about you.
New International Version
Chapter 4
9But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces ? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? 10You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! 11I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.
12I plead with you, brothers and sisters, become like me, for I became like you. You did me no wrong.
13As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you,
14and even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself.
15Where, then, is your blessing of me now? I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me.
16Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?
17Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may have zeal for them.
18It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always, not just when I am with you.
19My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you,
20how I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I am perplexed about you!
21Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says?
22For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman.
23His son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh, but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a divine promise.
New King James Version
Chapter 4
9But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage? 10You observe days and months and seasons and years. 11I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain.
12Brethren, I urge you to become like me, for I became like you. You have not injured me at all.
13You know that because of physical infirmity I preached the gospel to you at the first.
14And my trial which was in my flesh you did not despise or reject, but you received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.
15What then was the blessing you enjoyed? For I bear you witness that, if possible, you would have plucked out your own eyes and given them to me.
16Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?
17They zealously court you, but for no good; yes, they want to exclude you, that you may be zealous for them.
18But it is good to be zealous in a good thing always, and not only when I am present with you.
19My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you,
20I would like to be present with you now and to change my tone; for I have doubts about you.
