Galatians 4
1 Now, I [will further] discuss [children and heirs]: [An heir is a person who will later] control all that his father has. But as long as that heir is a child, others [control] him, with the result that he is just like a slave [MET].
Dit stel ik vast: Zolang de erfgenaam onmondig is, verschilt hij in niets van den slaaf, ook al is hij heer van alles;
2 Until the [day that] his father [previously] determined, [other] persons supervise him and manage his father’s property.
maar hij staat onder voogden en beheerders tot aan de tijd, die door zijn vader is bepaald.
3 Likewise, when we [(inc)] (OR, we [(exc) Jews]) were [like] young children [MET], we were controlled by the spiritual powers of this world. They controlled us like [masters control their slaves] [MET].
Zó ook waren wij, toen we nog onmondig waren, als slaven onderworpen aan de leerbeginselen der wereld.
4 But exactly at the time [MTY] [that God had previously determined], he sent [Jesus], who is (his Son/the man who is also God), into the world. Jesus was born to a [human] mother. He had to obey the laws [that God gave to Moses].
Maar toen de volheid van de tijd was gekomen, heeft God zijn eigen Zoon gezonden, die uit een vrouw werd geboren en geboren werd onder de Wet,
5 God sent Jesus in order that he might redeem us who had to obey [God’s] laws. God wanted us all to receive from [God] the status of being his children [MET].
opdat Hij allen zou loskopen, die staan onder de Wet, en wij het kindschap zouden beërven.
6 Furthermore, we know that we are God’s children because God sent the Spirit, who is intimately related to Jesus, to live in our (inner beings/hearts). [The Spirit enables us to] pray fervently, “Daddy, Father!” [This shows that we are God’s children].
En het bewijs, dat gij kinderen zijt: God heeft den Geest van zijn Zoon in onze harten gezonden, en Deze roept: Abba, Vader!
7 So, [because of what God has done], no longer is [each of] you [like] a slave. Instead, [each of you is] a child [of God]. Furthermore, since [each of you is God’s] child, God has also made you his heir, [one who will receive all that he has promised].
Ge zijt dus geen slaaf meer, maar kind; zijt ge kind, dan zijt ge ook erfgenaam, dank zij God.
8 When you did not have a relationship with God [MET], you served gods that really did not exist [MET]. You were their slaves.
Zeker, vroeger hebt gij God niet gekend en zijt gij goden gaan dienen, die het in werkelijkheid niet zijn;
9 But now you have come to know God. Perhaps [it would be better to say that] now God knows you. [So now you are acting foolishly]! (You are again believing [that by obeying] rules and rites [you will benefit spiritually]! [RHQ] [Those rules are] ineffective and inadequate! You are wanting to [obey them] again [MET] like slaves obey their masters. [RHQ]
maar thans, nu gij God kent, of liever nog, door God wordt gekend, hoe zoudt gij u weer gaan wenden tot die zwakke en onbeduidende leerbeginselen, wier slaven gij weer worden wilt?
10 You [non-Jews] are carefully practicing [Jewish rules and rituals about what you should do] (on [Sabbaths/on Jewish days of rest]) and [on the first day of each] month and on [special] seasons and years.
Gij viert dagen en maanden, seizoenen en jaren?
11 I (worry/am concerned) about your [mistaken ideas. I do not want] to have [so] strenuously served you in vain.
Ik ben bang, dat ik misschien vruchteloos voor u heb gezwoegd!
12 My fellow believers, I strongly urge you that you do as I do. [Stop thinking that you have to obey (Jewish rules and rituals/ceremonial laws]). [When I was with you], I [did not obey all the Jewish rules and rituals], just like you [did not obey them]. [At that time] you treated me entirely as you should have [LIT].
Ik smeek u, broeders, wordt zoals ik; want ik werd aan u gelijk. —Nog nooit hebt gij mij enig verdriet aangedaan.
13 You know that the first time I preached to you, [I went to your area to regain my health, because I was physically weak].
Gij herinnert u toch, hoe ik u de eerste keer in lichaamszwakte het Evangelie verkondigd heb;
14 [Although] you might have [despised me because] I was physically weak, you did not despise me or act contemptuously/disrespectfully toward me. Instead, you welcomed me like [you would welcome] an angel from God. [You welcomed me] like [you would welcome] Christ Jesus!
en hoe gij me niet met smaad en minachting hebt bejegend om de beproeving, die mijn lichaam u bracht; maar hoe gij me hebt ontvangen als een engel van God, als Christus Jesus zelf.
15 (I am disappointed that you have forgotten [that then] you [declared that you were] pleased with [me]./Have you forgotten [that then] you [declared that you were] pleased with [me]?) [RHQ] I can testify that you [would have done anything to help me]. You would have gouged out your eyes [and] given them to me, [if that would have helped me]!
Waar is nu uw zalig geluk gebleven; want ik kan van u getuigen, dat gij zo mogelijk u de ogen zoudt hebben uitgerukt en ze aan mij zoudt hebben gegeven!
16 So I am very disappointed that you [now] act as though [RHQ] I have become hostile to you [because I have kept] speaking the true [message about Christ] to you.
Ben ik dan uw vijand geworden, omdat ik u de waarheid zeg?
17 Those [who are insisting on obeying Jewish rules] are eagerly [showing interest in] you, but [what they are doing is] not good. They even want you not to associate with [me and other true] believers, because they want you to eagerly show [interest in] them, [not in us].
Zij ijveren voor u, maar niet met zuivere bedoeling; maar ze trachten u van mij te vervreemden, opdat gij zoudt ijveren voor hen.
18 But [just like] it always feels good to have others show that they appreciate you, [I would like you] always [to appreciate me], and not only when I am with you.
Zeker, het valt te prijzen, wanneer er geijverd wordt; maar dan voor het goede en ten allen tijde; niet slechts als ik bij u ben.
19 You [who are like] my children, [once] again I am very worried/concerned about you [MET], [and I will continue to] be worried/concerned until Christ’s [nature becomes developed] in you [completely and wholeheartedly] [MET] [as a child] becomes developed [in his mother’s womb].
Mijn kinderkens, voor wie ik opnieuw barensweeën moet lijden, eer Christus in u is gevormd:
20 But I do wish that I could be with you now and that I might talk [more gently with you], because I do not know [what to do about] you [while we are apart].
ik zou op dit ogenblik wel bij u willen zijn, om de juiste toon te treffen; want ik ben ten einde raad over u.
21 Some of you desire [to obey all the laws] that God gave Moses. [I say that] you [should] consider [RHQ] [the implications of what Moses wrote in] the Scriptures.
Zegt me nu eens, gij die onder de Wet wilt staan, luistert gij niet naar de Wet?
22 [He] wrote that Abraham became the father of two sons. His female slave, [Hagar], bore one son, and his [wife Sarah], who was not a slave, bore the other.
Er staat toch geschreven, dat Abraham twee zonen had, één bij de slavin, en één bij de vrije vrouw;
23 Also, [the sons differed. Ishmael], the [son born by] the female slave, was conceived naturally. But [Isaac], the [son born by] his wife who was not a slave, was conceived [miraculously] as a result of what [God] had promised [Abraham].
maar de zoon der slavin was verwekt naar het vlees, maar die van de vrije vrouw uit kracht der Belofte.
24 [I am telling you this] as an illustration. These [two women] symbolize two agreements. [God made] the first [agreement, which involved obeying the laws that God gave to Moses] at Sinai Mountain. [Because that agreement forces those who accept it to keep obeying all its rules] [MET], [it is like a slave mother who] gives birth to slaves. [So] Hagar, [the female slave, symbolizes] that [agreement].
Deze dingen hebben een zinnebeeldige betekenis. Want de twee verbeelden tweeërlei verbond. Het éne, dat van de berg Sinaï, brengt slavenkinderen voort, en dat is Agar;
25 Also, the [word] ‘Hagar’ is [associated with] Sinai Mountain, [which is] in Arabia [land. Hagar, the female slave, also] represents Jerusalem as it is today. Jerusalem is [like] [MET] a slave [mother, and those who live there] [PRS] [are like] her slave children [MET] [because they all must obey the laws that God gave to Moses].
want de berg Sinaï ligt in Arabië, en Agar is het beeld van het hedendaags Jerusalem, want deze stad ligt in slavernij met haar kinderen.
26 But there will be a [new] Jerusalem in heaven [MTY], and we [who will go there] are free [from having to obey Jewish laws]. We [who belong to that city consider it to be] our mother [MET] [city because we are God’s true children].
Maar het Jerusalem uit den hoge is vrij, en dat is ònze moeder. Want er staat geschreven:
27 [Our new city will have more people than those who live in Jerusalem now. It will be just like] Isaiah foretold about [the people whom he expected would come back to Jerusalem from exile. He expected that they would be more numerous than those who] were taken into exile. He wrote: [You who live in Jerusalem, you will] rejoice! Now you have no children, like a barren [woman] who does not give birth to [children! But some day you will] shout [joyfully], (without restraint/as loudly as you can), [even though now you are few in number, like a woman who] cannot give birth [to children, and you] feel deserted. [You will be very happy] because [you will have many children who will come to you. Those children will be] more than [the children] any woman with a husband [could have borne].
"Jubel onvruchtbare, die niet baart; Breek uit in gejuich, die geen barensnood kent. Want talrijker zijn de kinderen der verlatene Dan van haar, die aan een man is gehuwd."
28 Now, [my] fellow believers, you have become children [of God as a result of believing God’s] promise to us, as Isaac [was born as a result of Abraham believing what God promised to him] [MET].
Welnu, broeders, gij zijt als Isaäk, kinderen der Belofte.
29 [Also, long ago Abraham’s son] Ishmael, the one who was conceived naturally, caused trouble for [Abraham’s son] Isaac, who [was conceived] supernaturally [MET]. Similarly, now [those who think that we must obey the laws that God gave Moses in order that God will save us are causing trouble for those who are trusting Abraham’s descendant, Christ].
Maar zoals eertijds hij, die naar het vlees was verwekt, hem ging vervolgen, die verwekt was naar de geest, zo gebeurt het ook thans.
30 But these are [RHQ] the words in the Scriptures [PRS]: “The son of the [woman] who was not a slave will inherit [what his father has]. The female slave’s son will certainly not inherit those things. So send away from [this place] the female slave and her son [MET]!” [That means that you should certainly expel from your groups those who insist that we obey all the laws God gave Moses] [MET].
Maar wat zegt de Schrift? "Jaag weg de slavin met haar zoon; want de zoon der slavin zal niet meeërven met den zoon der vrije vrouw."
31 [My] fellow believers, [Hagar symbolizes the laws that God gave to Moses. But we are not those who must obey all the laws that God gave to Moses] [MET]. [So] we are not [the] female slave [Hagar’s spiritual] descendants [MET]. But [Sarah’s descendants are those who were born as a result of believing what God promised to Abraham. So we are] the [spiritual] descendants of [Sarah, the woman] who was not a slave [MET].
Broeders, we zijn dus geen slavenkinderen, maar kinderen der vrije vrouw!
