GAL 3:8 Interlinear View

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 3:1–14: We are justified by believing, not by obeying the law

In this section, Paul contrasted “doing” and “believing.” He began by rebuking the Galatians because they had forgotten something. They had forgotten that they had been made right with God (justified) and had received the Holy Spirit by believing. They should not then begin to do/obey the law to be made right with God.

Being made right with God (justification) has always been an issue of believing. Abraham himself was justified because he believed. People who are Abraham’s children are those who believe. They are the ones who are blessed. People who try to be made right with God by obeying the law are cursed, because no one can obey the entire law.

Paul wanted the Galatians to change their ways. He was convinced that if they thought about their actions and understood the truth, they would change.

Some other examples for a heading for this section are:

Justification by Law or by Faith? (NET)

Law or Faith

Paragraph 3:6–9

The implied response to Paul’s rhetorical questions in 3:1–5 is that the Galatians received the Spirit by faith in Christ. Paul then talked about Abraham to support his case that salvation is by faith. Abraham was a familiar example of a person with great faith.

Paul explained that God accepted Abraham as righteous because of his faith. Salvation never depended on keeping the law.

3:8a

The Scripture foresaw that

Furthermore, in the Scripture, God saw ahead of time that
What’s more, in God’s book, it says that he looked ahead/forward to the time when
The God of the holy book/writings saw into the future. He saw that

In verse 3:8, Paul added some more information to his statement about the people who are the true sons of Abraham. He stated that Gentiles would be included in the people who are the true sons of Abraham. Paul introduces this added information with a Greek conjunction that is often translated as “and.” Some English versions, such as the ESV and NET, translate it that way. Here are some other ways to introduce this added information:

Furthermore

In addition

What’s more (NLT)

The BSB has not translated this conjunction, and some other versions, such as the NIV and GNT, also do not translate it. In some languages, it will not be necessary to translate this conjunction either. Connect 3:8a to 3:7b in a way that is natural in your language.

The Scripture: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as The Scripture is more literally “the writing.” It refers to the words that God directed someone to write.

In this verse, the Scripture “foresaw” (3:8a) and “foretold” (3:8c) things to Abraham. There was no Scripture when Abraham was alive. (It was centuries later when Moses wrote about these things.) So in this verse, it is best to understand The Scripture to mean “In the Scripture, God.”

Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

It is written in the Bible that God

In God’s book, it says that he

God’s written word says that he

The God of Scripture

foresaw that: The Greek word that the BSB translates as foresaw means “seeing something before it happens” or “seeing into the future.”

Some other ways to translate this word are:

saw ahead of time that (GW)

looked forward to this time when (NLT)

3:8b

God would justify the Gentiles by faith,

he would make the Gentiles right by means of their faith.
he would cause the non-Jews to be blameless/straight because they believe in Christ.
he will consider right the people who are not Jews. He will do this through their trust in Christ.

God would justify the Gentiles by faith: The Greek word that the BSB translates as justify means “cause/make to be acceptable/right.” The noun form of this word occurs in 3:6b. There it is translated as “righteousness.”

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

God would make the non-Jewish people right through their faith (NCV)

God would consider the Gentiles straight by means of their faith

it is because of their faith/belief that God would regard the Gentiles as right/straight

Paul’s point is that a person’s faith is the means by which he is made right with God. It is not by obeying the law.

This clause does not imply that God would justify the Jews by some other means. Here the focus is on the Gentiles.

See justify in the Glossary for more information.

the Gentiles: This is the same word that Paul used in 1:16b and 2:2b. It refers to non-Jewish people. For example:

non-Jewish people (GW)

See also Gentiles, Meaning 1, in the Glossary.

by faith: In Greek, this is the same phrase as in 2:16d, 3:2c, and 3:5b.

Some ways to translate this phrase are:

by means of their faith in Christ

if/when we they believe in Christ

because of their belief/trust in Christ

3:8c

and foretold the gospel to Abraham:

So he announced the good news to Abraham in advance when he said,
So he told Abraham the good news before it happened. He said,
God/He told this good news to Abraham ahead of time. He said that

There are several ways to interpret the way that 3:8c is connected to 3:8b:

It is the result of 3:8b. For example:
So Scripture announced the Good News to Abraham ahead of time (GW) (NJB, GNT, CEV, GW)
It is an additional statement that says something similar to 3:8b. According to this interpretation, these two clauses can be connected by (a) the conjunction “and” or (b) made into two separate sentences with no conjunction joining them. For example:
and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham (NIV) (BSB, NIV, NLT, NCV)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).

and foretold the gospel to Abraham: The subject of the verb foretold is the noun “Scripture” in 3:8a. So this part of the verse is saying that “the Scripture foretold the gospel to Abraham.”

As mentioned in 3:8a, the written Scriptures did not yet exist when Abraham lived. So in this verse, it is best to understand “the Scripture” to mean “in the Scripture, God foretold” or “the God of Scripture foretold.”

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

This Good News was told to Abraham beforehand, as the Scripture says (NCV)

The Scripture says that God told this good news to Abraham before it happened

and foretold the gospel: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as foretold the gospel means “preached the gospel before it happened.” For example:

announced the Good News to Abraham ahead of time (GW)

announced the future gospel (NJB)

the gospel: Paul often used the expression the gospel to refer to the good news of the Messiah’s death for our sins and his victory over death. Here Paul used the gospel in a much broader sense. Here it refers to salvation for everyone whom God justifies because of their faith. Salvation will be for all people, including Gentiles. This is also part of the good news.

3:8d

“All nations will be blessed through you.”

“All nations/people will be blessed because of you.”^(sing)
“I will give something good to the people of all the nations of the world through you.”
all nations would be blessed because of him. (CEV)

All nations will be blessed through you: This is a quotation from the book of Genesis. It occurs in Genesis 12:3, 18:18, and 22:18, with slight variations. In Genesis 22:18 the words “in/through your offspring” occur instead of just through you. These words help us understand that the blessing will reach all the peoples of the earth through one of Abraham’s descendants. We know that the descendant is Jesus.

This quotation is passive. Some ways to translate it are:

Use a passive clause. For example:
All nations will be blessed in you (NASB)
All nations will be blessed because of you
Use an active clause. For example:
Through you God will bless all people (GNT)
God will cause/use you to bless all the people of the earth

In some languages, it may be more natural to translate this quotation as indirect speech. For example:

all nations would be blessed because of him (CEV)

he/God will bless all nations through him/Abraham

nations: In Greek, this word is the same as the word “Gentiles” in 3:8b. But here is has a broader meaning. Here it refers to the people of all nations. It includes Jews and non-Jews.

Some other ways to translate this word are:

all the people of the world (GW)

all people (GNT)

See Gentiles, Meaning 2 in the Glossary for more information.

will be blessed: The Greek word that the BSB translates as will be blessed means “will be given something good” or “something good will be done to…” It can be a material or a spiritual thing. God blesses us when he gives us eternal life. He also blesses us when he gives us our daily food.

Some other ways to translate this word are:

will be given good things

God will do good things to…

See bless, Meaning 1 in the Glossary for more information.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / personification

προϊδοῦσα & ἡ Γραφὴ, ὅτι ἐκ πίστεως δικαιοῖ τὰ ἔθνη ὁ Θεὸς, προευηγγελίσατο τῷ Ἀβραὰμ

˓having˒_foreseen & the (Some words not found in SR-GNT: προϊδοῦσα Δέ ἡ Γραφή ὅτι ἐκ πίστεως δικαιοῖ τά ἔθνη ὁ Θεός προευηγγελίσατο τῷ Ἀβραάμ ὅτι ἐνευλογηθήσονται ἐν σοί Παντᾶ τά ἔθνη)

Here, the Scripture is spoken of as though it were a person who could foresee that God would justify the Gentiles by faith and preach the gospel. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this meaning plainly.

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ἐκ πίστεως

by faith

If it would be helpful to your readers, you could indicate the object of faith explicitly. Alternate translation: [by their faith in God]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

ἐκ πίστεως

by faith

If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of faith, you could express the same idea with a verb such as “believing.” Alternate translation: [by believing in Jesus]

Note 4 topic: writing-quotations

προευηγγελίσατο τῷ Ἀβραὰμ

˱he˲_foretold_the_gospel ¬the (Some words not found in SR-GNT: προϊδοῦσα Δέ ἡ Γραφή ὅτι ἐκ πίστεως δικαιοῖ τά ἔθνη ὁ Θεός προευηγγελίσατο τῷ Ἀβραάμ ὅτι ἐνευλογηθήσονται ἐν σοί Παντᾶ τά ἔθνη)

The sentence In you all the nations will be blessed is a quotation from Genesis 12:3. Use a natural way of introducing direct quotations in your language. Alternate translation: [preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham where it is written] or [preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham when Moses wrote]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

πάντα τὰ ἔθνη

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: προϊδοῦσα Δέ ἡ Γραφή ὅτι ἐκ πίστεως δικαιοῖ τά ἔθνη ὁ Θεός προευηγγελίσατο τῷ Ἀβραάμ ὅτι ἐνευλογηθήσονται ἐν σοί Παντᾶ τά ἔθνη)

Here, the term nations refers to the people who make up these nations. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent expression or plain language. Alternate translation: [people from all the nations] or [people from every nation]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

ἐνευλογηθήσονται ἐν σοὶ πάντα τὰ ἔθνη

˓will_be_being˒_blessed in (Some words not found in SR-GNT: προϊδοῦσα Δέ ἡ Γραφή ὅτι ἐκ πίστεως δικαιοῖ τά ἔθνη ὁ Θεός προευηγγελίσατο τῷ Ἀβραάμ ὅτι ἐνευλογηθήσονται ἐν σοί Παντᾶ τά ἔθνη)

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: [In you God will bless all the nations]

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.

Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.

OET interlinear GAL 3:8

SR Greek word order (including unused variant words in grey)

Section 3:1–14: We are justified by believing, not by obeying the law

Paragraph 3:6–9

3:8a

3:8b

3:8c

3:8d

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)