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OET (OET-LV) For/Because it_has_been_written:
Be_gladdened, barren woman, you not bearing, break_forth and shout, you not labouring_in_birth, because many are the children of_the desolate, more than of_the woman having the husband.
OET (OET-RV) because it’s been written in the scriptures:
⇔ ‘Be glad barren woman,
⇔ you who have never borne a child.
⇔ Be bold and shout,
⇔ you who have never been in labour,
⇔ because the lonely woman now has many children,
⇔ even more than the woman with a husband.’
In this section, Paul explained why the Galatians should return to freedom and reject the teaching of the false teachers. He contrasted two sons of Abraham: the son of the slave woman and the son of the free woman. The son of the slave woman represented slavery to the law. The son of the free woman represented the freedom of living in the grace of Christ. Living in slavery to the law is in conflict with living in the grace of Christ. Those who live in the grace of Christ must reject slavery to the law.
Some possible headings for this section are:
Hagar and Sarah
The covenant of the promise is better than the covenant of the law
Choose grace, not the law
In this paragraph, Paul explained why he introduced the contrast between Abraham’s two sons. He wanted the Galatians to understand the contrast between two covenants. One covenant is the covenant of law. This covenant results in slavery. God gave the covenant of law at Mount Sinai. The other covenant is the covenant of grace. This covenant results in freedom. God gave the covenant of grace to Abraham and completed it in Christ. Paul had introduced the contrast between the two covenants in 3:17.
Verse 4:27 is a quote from Isaiah 54:1. In Isaiah, these words refer to Jerusalem. Jerusalem is commanded to rejoice because God would bring back from captivity the people of this “barren” city. Paul connected Sarah to this verse. She had also been barren.
Paul applied this quotation to the heavenly Jerusalem. The heavenly Jerusalem is like the rejoicing woman. It is free, and those who belong to it are free. Paul wanted the Galatians to recognize that they also belong to the heavenly Jerusalem and are free. They too should rejoice and be glad.
For it is written:
For the Scriptures say,
It is written in the book of Isaiah:
As God’s word says,
For: Verse 4:27 supports Paul’s point in 4:26 that people who believe are free and belong to the Jerusalem in heaven. The Greek introduces this supporting statement with a conjunction that the BSB translates as For.
Another way to translate this conjunction is:
because
Some English versions do not translate this word. In some languages, it may not be necessary to translate this word either.
it is written: This clause introduces the quotation from Isaiah.
Some other ways to translate this clause are:
It is written in the Scriptures (NCV)
the scripture says (GNT)
as God’s word says
Isaiah wrote
This quote from Isaiah contains a form of poetry called parallelism. In this parallelism, the first part of 4:27b is similar in meaning to the first part of 4:27c. And the second part of 4:27b is similar in meaning to the second part of 4:27c.
27b Rejoice, O barren woman, who bears no children;
27c break forth and cry aloud, you who have never travailed;
In this parallelism, Isaiah described Jerusalem in two ways:
O barren woman, who bears no children
you who have never travailed
If a parallel structure in your language wrongly implies that these two clauses refer to two towns or two women, you may need to combine the parallel parts in these lines. For example:
b-cYou who have never given birth, rejoice!
“Rejoice, O barren woman, who bears no children;
“Rejoice, you barren woman, you who have never been pregnant.
“You childless woman who has never given birth, be happy!
“Be glad, you who have never given birth.
Rejoice: The Greek word that the BSB translates as Rejoice means “be glad/happy.” For example:
Be happy (GNT)
be glad (CEV)
O barren woman, who bears no children: The phrases O barren woman and who bears no children are two ways of describing a woman who cannot have children. It is common in Hebrew poetry to say the same thing in two ways.
Some other ways to translate this clause are:
childless woman, you who have never given birth (NLT)
You childless woman having a closed womb
woman who has not given birth, woman who has not known pregnancy
In some languages, it is too repetitive or poor style to repeat the same idea. If that is the case in your language, you could combine the two expressions into one expression. For example:
you childless woman (GNT)
break forth and cry aloud, you who have never travailed;
Raise your voice and shout for joy, you who have not experienced the pains of childbirth,
Make your voice strong and declare your happiness, you who have never had birth pains,
Shout for/with joy, you who have never borne a child,
break forth and cry aloud: The commands break forth and cry aloud both mean “shout.” (As in 4:27b, it is common in Hebrew poetry to say the same thing in two ways.) It is implied that the shouting is for joy. You may need to make this explicit. For example:
raise your voice and shout for joy
make your voice strong and declare your happiness
break into a shout of joy (REB)
raise your voice to make known your joy
Here the word cry does not mean “weep.”
As in 4:27b, if it would be considered too repetitive or poor style in your language to translate both expressions, you could combine the two expressions into one. For example:
shout with/for joy
you who have never travailed: The word travailed refers to the pain that a woman has when she gives birth. This clause is another way to refer to a childless woman. If you have an idiom to say this in your language, you can use it.
Some other ways to translate this clause are:
you who never felt the pains of childbirth (GNT)
you who have never suffered birth pains
because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband.”
because the deserted/abandoned woman will have more children than the woman who has a husband.”
because the woman whose husband had left her will have many children. She will have more children than the woman who has a husband.”
because: Verse 4:27d is the basis for the commands to rejoice in 4:27b–c. The Greek introduces this basis with a conjunction that the BSB translates as because. Another way to translate this word is:
for (ESV)
more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as desolate woman means “deserted woman” or “forsaken woman.” It refers to a woman whose husband has left her. In Isaiah, the desolate woman refers to Jerusalem, which God abandoned. Isaiah prophesied that God would bring back the exiles. The new Jerusalem would be bigger than the old one, the one who had a husband.
Paul applied this verse to the heavenly Jerusalem. The heavenly Jerusalem will have more people than the earthly Jerusalem.
Some other ways to translate these clauses are:
the deserted woman will have many more children than the woman who has a husband
many are the children of the forsaken woman. They are more than those of the woman who has a husband
are: In Greek, there is no verb in 4:27d. So English versions add a verb. Some use the future “will be” or “will have.” Others use the present are. For example:
the woman who was deserted will have more children (GNT)
more are the children of the desolate woman (NIV)
In this verse from Isaiah, the idea is that the woman had many children after her time of being desolate. So, in many languages, the future tense will be better.
Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-words-phrases
γάρ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: γέγραπται Γάρ Εὐφράνθητι στεῖρα ἡ οὒ τίκτουσα ῥῆξον καί βόησον ἡ οὐκ ὠδίνουσα ὅτι πολλά τά τέκνα τῆς ἐρήμου μᾶλλον ἤ τῆς ἐχούσης τόν ἄνδρα)
Here, Paul uses the word For to indicate that he is introducing material which supports what he said in [4:26](../04/26.md). Use a natural form in your language for introducing information which supports a prior claim.
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
γέγραπται
˱it˲_˓has_been˒_written
Here, Paul uses the phrase it is written to indicate that what follows is a quotation from the Old Testament Scriptures. Paul assumes that his readers will understand this. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable phrase that indicates that Paul is referring to an important text. Alternate translation: [it is written in the Scriptures]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
γέγραπται
˱it˲_˓has_been˒_written
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 the prophet Isaiah did it. Alternate translation: [Isaiah wrote]
Note 4 topic: writing-quotations
εὐφράνθητι, στεῖρα, ἡ οὐ τίκτουσα, ῥῆξον καὶ βόησον, ἡ οὐκ ὠδίνουσα, ὅτι πολλὰ τὰ τέκνα τῆς ἐρήμου μᾶλλον, ἢ τῆς ἐχούσης τὸν ἄνδρα
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: γέγραπται Γάρ Εὐφράνθητι στεῖρα ἡ οὒ τίκτουσα ῥῆξον καί βόησον ἡ οὐκ ὠδίνουσα ὅτι πολλά τά τέκνα τῆς ἐρήμου μᾶλλον ἤ τῆς ἐχούσης τόν ἄνδρα)
This is a quotation from Isaiah 54:1. Use a natural way of indicating that something is a quotation.
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism
εὐφράνθητι, στεῖρα, ἡ οὐ τίκτουσα, ῥῆξον καὶ βόησον, ἡ οὐκ ὠδίνουσα
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: γέγραπται Γάρ Εὐφράνθητι στεῖρα ἡ οὒ τίκτουσα ῥῆξον καί βόησον ἡ οὐκ ὠδίνουσα ὅτι πολλά τά τέκνα τῆς ἐρήμου μᾶλλον ἤ τῆς ἐχούσης τόν ἄνδρα)
These two phrases mean the same thing. Isaiah uses a common Hebrew poetic device and says the same thing twice, in slightly different ways. If it would be helpful in your language, you could combine the phrases into one. Alternate translation: [Rejoice, you who are barren] or [Rejoice, you who have been unable to have children]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
στεῖρα & ἡ οὐκ ὠδίνουσα
barren_‹woman› & you not laboring_in_birth
If your language requires you to state the person who is the object of a command, it is implied that a woman is being addressed. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could indicate that explicitly. Alternate translation: [you barren woman … you woman not suffering the pains of childbirth]
Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
εὐφράνθητι, στεῖρα, ἡ οὐ τίκτουσα, ῥῆξον καὶ βόησον, ἡ οὐκ ὠδίνουσα, ὅτι πολλὰ τὰ τέκνα τῆς ἐρήμου μᾶλλον, ἢ τῆς ἐχούσης τὸν ἄνδρα
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: γέγραπται Γάρ Εὐφράνθητι στεῖρα ἡ οὒ τίκτουσα ῥῆξον καί βόησον ἡ οὐκ ὠδίνουσα ὅτι πολλά τά τέκνα τῆς ἐρήμου μᾶλλον ἤ τῆς ἐχούσης τόν ἄνδρα)
Paul is quoting the prophet Isaiah, who is speaking of the city of Jerusalem as if it were a barren woman who is unable to give birth. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent metaphor from your culture. Alternatively, you could express the meaning plainly.
Note 8 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result
ὅτι
because
The word because is introducing the reason to Rejoice. Use a natural form for introducing a reason to do something.
Note 9 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
πολλὰ τὰ τέκνα τῆς ἐρήμου μᾶλλον, ἢ τῆς ἐχούσης τὸν ἄνδρα
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: γέγραπται Γάρ Εὐφράνθητι στεῖρα ἡ οὒ τίκτουσα ῥῆξον καί βόησον ἡ οὐκ ὠδίνουσα ὅτι πολλά τά τέκνα τῆς ἐρήμου μᾶλλον ἤ τῆς ἐχούσης τόν ἄνδρα)
The prophet Isaiah wrote this scripture passage during the time in which Jerusalem and its people had been conquered by the Babylonian army and the people taken away to Babylon. Isaiah is speaking of the city of Jerusalem as it was at the time of his writing, when it was without most of its original inhabitants. He compares the empty city to a desolate woman, a woman whose husband has left her, and he speaks of the inhabitants of Jerusalem as if they were children. In this passage from Isaiah 54:1, Isaiah is picturing Israel as a wife who is abandoned by her husband, which is God. Having children in this context refers to having inhabitants. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use equivalent metaphors from your culture. Alternatively, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [the woman who was abandoned by her husband has more children than does the woman living with her husband]
Note 10 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis
ἢ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: γέγραπται Γάρ Εὐφράνθητι στεῖρα ἡ οὒ τίκτουσα ῥῆξον καί βόησον ἡ οὐκ ὠδίνουσα ὅτι πολλά τά τέκνα τῆς ἐρήμου μᾶλλον ἤ τῆς ἐχούσης τόν ἄνδρα)
Paul is leaving out some of the words that a sentence would need in many languages to be complete. If it would be helpful in your language, you could supply these words from the context. Alternate translation: [than the children]
4:27 The quoted passage, Isa 54:1, promised Israel that they would be fruitful after the Exile. Because those who have faith in Christ are Sarah’s children (Gal 4:26), they fulfill the promise that Sarah (the childless woman) would be more abundantly fruitful than the slave-wife Hagar. To the Judaizers, those who don’t follow the law may have been considered “barren,” but through faith they are abundantly fruitful as the bride of Christ (2 Cor 11:2; Eph 5:31-33).
OET (OET-LV) For/Because it_has_been_written:
Be_gladdened, barren woman, you not bearing, break_forth and shout, you not labouring_in_birth, because many are the children of_the desolate, more than of_the woman having the husband.
OET (OET-RV) because it’s been written in the scriptures:
⇔ ‘Be glad barren woman,
⇔ you who have never borne a child.
⇔ Be bold and shout,
⇔ you who have never been in labour,
⇔ because the lonely woman now has many children,
⇔ even more than the woman with a husband.’
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.
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