OET interlinear GAL 3:19

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion

τί οὖν ὁ νόμος

why therefore the law

Paul is not asking for information, but is using the question form to anticipate a question that the Galatian believers might have regarding the purpose of the law and to introduce his answer to this anticipated question. If it would help your readers, you could translate his words as a statement. Alternate translation: “I will tell you what the purpose of the law is” or “Let me tell you why God added the law to the covenant”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

ὁ νόμος

the law

Paul is leaving out some of the words that a sentence would need in many languages to be complete. If your readers might misunderstand this, you could supply these words from the context. Alternate translation: “was the law given” or “did God give the law” or “was the law added”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

προσετέθη

˱it˲_/was/_added

If your language does not use the passive form in this way, you could state this in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: “God added it” or “God added the law”

Note 4 topic: grammar-connect-logic-goal

τῶν παραβάσεων χάριν προσετέθη

the transgressions for_reason_of ˱it˲_/was/_added

The phrase because of transgressions could refer to: (1) the purpose for which the law was added to the covenant with Abraham, namely to show what transgression is. Alternate translation: “It was added to show what transgression is” (2) what caused God to decide that the law should be added to the covenant with Abraham, which was that people were committing transgressions. The phrase because of transgressions would then be stating the cause for the law being added, namely because people were sinning. Alternate translation: “It was added because people were committing transgressions”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

τῶν παραβάσεων

the transgressions

If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of transgressions, you could express the same idea with an adjective such as “sinful”, or you could express the meaning in some other way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: “people’s sinful behavior”

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

διαταγεὶς δι’ ἀγγέλων

/having_been/_directed through angels

If your language does not use the passive form in this way, you could state this in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. If you must state who did the action, Paul implies that God did it. Alternate translation: “and God used angels to put it into effect” or “and God gave the law through angels”

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

διαταγεὶς δι’ ἀγγέλων

/having_been/_directed through angels

Translate the phrase through angels in a way that indicates that God, not angels, was the source of the law. The Bible records in Deuteronomy 33:2, Hebrews 2:2, and Acts 7:38, and 53 that God used angels to give Moses his law. This is what Jewish people believed regarding how God delivered his law to Moses. Alternate translation: “and God used angels to put it into effect” or “God gave the law through angels”

Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ἄχρις οὗ ἔλθῃ τὸ σπέρμα

until ˱of˲_which /may/_come the seed

When Paul says that the law was administered by the hand of a mediator until the seed would come to whom the promise had been made, Paul is implicitly telling the Galatian believers that the law was temporary and was only needed until Christ, whom he calls the seed, came. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could indicate that explicitly. Alternate translation: “until the seed, who is Christ, would come”

Note 9 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

ἐν χειρὶ μεσίτου

in /the/_hand ˱of˲_/a/_mediator

The phrase by the hand of is an idiom which means “through.” If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent idiom or use plain language. Alternate translation: “through a mediator”

Note 10 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

μεσίτου

˱of˲_/a/_mediator

Moses is the mediatorto whom Paul is referring. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could indicate that explicitly. Alternate translation: “of Moses, who acted as a mediator”

Note 11 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

ἐπήγγελται

˱he˲_/has_been/_promised

If your language does not use the passive form in this way, you could state this in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: “God had made the promise”