| King James Bible | New International Version |
| 1Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; | 1What I am saying is that as long as an heir is underage, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. |
| 2But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. | 2The heir is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. |
| 3Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: | 3So also, when we were underage, we were in slavery under the elemental spiritual forces of the world. |
| 4But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, | 4But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, |
| 5To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. | 5to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. |
| 6And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. | 6Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." |
| 7Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. | 7So you are no longer a slave, but God's child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir. |
| 8Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. | 8Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. |
| 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? | 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? |
| 10Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. | 10You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! |
| 11I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain. | 11I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you. |
| 12Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am; for I am as ye are: ye have not injured me at all. | 12I plead with you, brothers and sisters, become like me, for I became like you. You did me no wrong. |
| 13Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you at the first. | 13As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you, |
| 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. | 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 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. | 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. |
| 16Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth? | 16Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth? |
| 17They zealously affect you, but not well; yea, they would exclude you, that ye might affect them. | 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. |
| 18But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing, and not only when I am present with you. | 18It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always, not just when I am with you. |
| 19My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you, | 19My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you, |
| 20I desire to be present with you now, and to change my voice; for I stand in doubt of you. | 20how I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I am perplexed about you! |
| 21Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law? | 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, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. | 22For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. |
| 23But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. | 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. |
| 24Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. | 24These things are being taken figuratively: The women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. |
| 25For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. | 25Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. |
| 26But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. | 26But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother. |
| 27For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. | 27For it is written: "Be glad, barren woman, you who never bore a child; shout for joy and cry aloud, you who were never in labor; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband." |
| 28Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. | 28Now you, brothers and sisters, like Isaac, are children of promise. |
| 29But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. | 29At that time the son born according to the flesh persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit. It is the same now. |
| 30Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. | 30But what does Scripture say? "Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman's son." |
| 31So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free. | 31Therefore, brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman. |
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