galatians-4:12-18-asv

The Pulpit Commentary - Galatians 4:15

Where is then (or, what was then ) the blessedness ye spake of? ( ποῦ οὖν [Receptus τίς οὖν ἦν ] ὁ μακαρισμὸς ὑμῶν ;); where , then , is that gratulation of yourselves (or, of yours )? The reading, ποῦ οὖν , which is that of the best manuscripts, is now generally accepted in preference to that of the Textus Receptus, τίς οὖν ἦν , in which, however, τίς οὖν stands on a higher footing of evidence than the remaining word ἦν . This... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Galatians 4:16

Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth? [ ὥστε ἐχθρὸς ὑμῶν γέγονα ἀληθεύων ὑμῖν ;]; so then , am I become your enemy , because I deal with you according to truth ? This is a wailing remonstrance against an apprehended incipient state of alienation. "So then," ὥστε (see note on Galatians 4:7 ), occurs repeatedly before an imperative; as 1 Corinthians 3:21 ; 1 Corinthians 4:5 ; 1 Corinthians 10:12 ; Philippians 2:12 ; Philippians... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Galatians 4:16

A friend mistaken for an enemy. On his first visit to Galatia, St. Paul was received, so he tells us, "as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus." He paid, it appears, a second visit to the province, and then the fickle people treated him with coldness and suspicion because he found it necessary to point out their faults and the danger of them, as though he had become their enemy solely because he told them the truth. This narrow and unfair conduct of the Galatians is only too common to... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Galatians 4:17

They zealously affect you, but not well ( ζηλοῦσιν ὑμᾶς οὐ καλῶς ); they admire you in no good way. Of the several senses of the verb ζηλοῦν , those of "envy," "emulate," "strive after," are plainly unsuitable in this verse and the one which follows. So also are the senses "to be zealous on one's behalf, to be jealous of one," which in Hellenistic usage crept into it, apparently from its having been in other senses adopted to represent the Hebrew verb qinne , and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Galatians 4:17-18

The tactics of the false teachers. The apostle is naturally led from the thought of the Galatian alienation to speak of the seductive arts by which it was caused. I. THEIR ARTS OF SEDUCTION . "They are paying court to you, but not honestly." They manifested an anxious zeal to win over the Galatians to their own party. They tried with fair words and fine speeches to seduce them, professing, no doubt, a deep interest in their welfare, as well as great zeal for the glory of God;... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Galatians 4:18

But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing, and not only when I am present with you ( καλὸν δὲ ζηλοῦσθαι , [Receptus, τὸ ζηλοῦσθαι ] ἐν καλῷ παντότε καὶ μὴ μόνον ἐν τῷ παρεῖναί με πρὸς ὑμᾶς ); but good it is to be admired , in what is good , at all times and not only when I am present with you. That is, but as to being admired and felicitated, the good kind of admiring felicitation is that which, being tendered on a good account, is... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Galatians 4:12

Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am ... - There is great brevity in this passage, and no little obscurity, and a great many different interpretations have been given of it by commentators. The various views expressed may be seen in Bloomfield’s Crit. Dig. Locke renders it, “Let you and I be as if we were all one, Think yourselves to be very me; as I in my own mind put no difference at all between you and myself.” Koppe explains it thus: Imitate my example; for I, though a Jew by birth, care no... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Galatians 4:13

Ye know how - To show them the folly of their embracing the new views which they had adopted, he reminds them of past times, and particularly of the strength of the attachment which they had evinced for him in former days.Through infirmity of the flesh - Greek “Weakness” (ἀσθένειαν astheneian); compare the 1 Corinthians 2:3 note; 2 Corinthians 10:10; 2 Corinthians 12:7 notes. read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Galatians 4:14

And my temptation - “My trial,” the thing which was to me a trial and calamity. The meaning is, that he was afflicted with various calamities and infirmities, but that this did not hinder their receiving him as an angel from heaven. There is, however, a considerable variety in the mss. on this verse. Many mss., instead of “my temptation,” read “your temptation;” and Mill maintains that this is the true reading. Griesbach hesitates between the two. But it is not very important to determine which... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Galatians 4:15

Where is then the blessedness - Margin, “What was” - in accordance with the Greek. The words “ye spake of” are not in the Greek, and should have been printed in italics. But they obscure the sense at any rate. This is not to be regarded as a question, asking what had become of the blessedness, implying that it had departed; but it is rather to be regarded as an exclamation, referring to the happiness of that moment, and their affection and joy when they thus received him. “What blessedness you... read more

The Pulpit Commentary - Galatians 4:15

The Pulpit Commentary - Galatians 4:16

The Pulpit Commentary - Galatians 4:16

The Pulpit Commentary - Galatians 4:17

The Pulpit Commentary - Galatians 4:17-18

The Pulpit Commentary - Galatians 4:18

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Galatians 4:12

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Galatians 4:13

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Galatians 4:14

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Galatians 4:15

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