GAL 4:14 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object, red:negative.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT And you did not despise your trial in my flesh nor reject me, but you welcomed me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus.

UST Although you might have treated me contemptuously because of my physical malady, you did not treat me contemptuously or reject me. Instead, you welcomed me like you would welcome an angel that came from God. You welcomed me like you would welcome the Messiah Jesus himself!

BSB And [although] my [illness] [was a] trial to you, you did not despise [or] reject [me]. Instead, you welcomed me as if [I were] an angel of God, as if [I were] Christ Jesus [Himself].

MSB And [although] my [illness] [was a] trial to me,[fn] you did not despise [or] reject [me]. Instead, you welcomed me as if [I were] an angel of God, as if [I were] Christ Jesus [Himself].

BLB And of your test in my flesh, you did not despise me nor reject me with contempt, but you received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.

AICNT And you did not despise or reject the trial in my flesh, but you received me as an angel[fn] of God, as if I were Christ Jesus.

4:14, angel: That is, messenger. The Greek word can mean (1) a human messenger serving as an envoy, an envoy, one who is sent or (2) a transcendent power who carries out various missions or tasks, messenger, angel (BDAG, ἄγγελος).

OEB And as for what must have tried you in my condition, it did not inspire you with scorn or disgust, but you welcomed me as if I had been an angel of God – or Christ Jesus himself!

WEBBE That which was a temptation to you in my flesh, you didn’t despise nor reject; but you received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.

WMBB That which was a temptation to you in my flesh, you didn’t despise nor reject; but you received me as an angel of God, even as Messiah Yeshua.

NET and though my physical condition put you to the test, you did not despise or reject me. Instead, you welcomed me as though I were an angel of God, as though I were Christ Jesus himself!

LSV and you did not despise nor reject my trial that [is] in my flesh, but you received me as a messenger of God—as Christ Jesus;

FBV Even though my illness was difficult for you, you didn't despise or reject me—in fact you treated me like an angel of God, like Christ Jesus himself.

TCNT And you did not despise or reject me even though my physical condition was a trial [fn]for me. On the contrary, you received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus.

4:14 for me 83.7% ¦ for you CT 1.1% ¦ — MSS 11.4%

T4T 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!

LEB And you did not despise or disdain what was a trial for you in my flesh, but you welcomed me like an angel of God, like Christ Jesus.

BBE And you did not have a poor opinion of me because of the trouble in my flesh, or put shame on it; but you took me to your hearts as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.

Moff and though my flesh was a trial to you, you did not scoff at me nor spurn me, you welcomed me like an angel of God, like Christ Jesus. You congratulated yourselves.

Wymth and yet the bodily infirmity which was such a trial to you, you did not regard with contempt or loathing, but you received me as if I had been an angel of God or Christ Jesus Himself!

ASV and that which was a temptation to you in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but ye received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.

DRA You despised not, nor rejected: but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.

YLT and my trial that [is] in my flesh ye did not despise nor reject, but as a messenger of God ye did receive me — as Christ Jesus;

Drby and my temptation, which [was] in my flesh, ye did not slight nor reject with contempt; but ye received me as an angel of [fn]God, as Christ Jesus.

4.14 Elohim

RV and that which was a temptation to you in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but ye received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.
(and that which was a temptation to you in my flesh ye/you_all despised not, nor rejected; but ye/you_all received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus. )

SLT And my temptation in my flesh, ye counted not as nothing, nor spurned; but as an angel of God ye received me, as Christ Jesus.

Wbstr And my temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.

KJB-1769 And my temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.
(And my temptation which was in my flesh ye/you_all despised not, nor rejected; but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus. )

KJB-1611 And my temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor reiected, but receiued mee as an Angel of God, euen as Christ Iesus.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation and punctuation)

Bshps And my temptation which was in my fleshe, ye dispised not, neither abhorred: but receaued me as an Angel of God, euen as Christe Iesus.
(And my temptation which was in my flesh, ye/you_all despised not, neither abhorred: but received me as an Angel of God, even as Christ Yesus/Yeshua.)

Gnva And the trial of me which was in my flesh, ye despised not, neither abhorred: but ye receiued me as an Angel of God, yea, as Christ Iesus.
(And the trial of me which was in my flesh, ye/you_all despised not, neither abhorred: but ye/you_all received me as an Angel of God, yea, as Christ Yesus/Yeshua. )

Cvdl and my tentacion which I suffred after the flesh, ye despysed not, nether abhorred, but receaued me as an angell of God, yee euen as Christ Iesus.
(and my temptation which I suffered after the flesh, ye/you_all despised not, neither abhorred, but received me as an angel of God, ye/you_all even as Christ Yesus/Yeshua.)

TNT And my temptacion which I suffered by reason of my flesshe ye despysed not nether abhorred: but receaved me as an angell of god: ye as Christ Iesus.
(And my temptation which I suffered by reason of my flesh ye/you_all despised not neither abhorred: but received me as an angel of god: ye/you_all as Christ Yesus/Yeshua. )

Wycl and ye dispiseden not, nether forsoken youre temptacioun in my fleisch, but ye resseyueden me as an aungel of God, as `Crist Jhesu.
(and ye/you_all despised not, neither forsook your(pl) temptation in my flesh, but ye/you_all received me as an angel of God, as Christ Yhesu.)

Luth Und meine Anfechtungen, die ich leide nach dem Fleisch, habt ihr nicht verachtet noch verschmähet, sondern als einen Engel Gottes nahmet ihr mich auf, ja als Christum JEsum.
(And my challenge(n)en, the I suffer after to_him flesh, have you(pl)/their/her not despised still spurned/despised, rather as a angel God’s tooket you(pl)/their/her me on/in/to, ya as Christum Yesum.)

ClVg non sprevistis, neque respuistis: sed sicut angelum Dei excepistis me, sicut Christum Jesum.[fn]
(not/no sprevistis, nor respuistis: but like a_messenger/angel of_God excepistis me, like Christ/Messiah Yesus. )

4.14 Sed sicut angelum Dei, etc. Hoc dicit quia Deus loquitur in sanctis suis, et Paulus non seipsum, sed Deum in seipso diligi volebat; ideoque perhibet testimonium quibusdam, quod sicut angelum Dei et sicut Christum Jesum eum exceperant. In omnibus ergo sanctis suis ipse est amandus qui ait: Esurivi, et dedistis mihi manducare Matth. 25.. Tanta est charitas capitis erga corpus suum.

4.14 But like a_messenger/angel of_God, etc. This he_says because God speaks in/into/on to_the_saints to_his_own, and Paulus not/no himself, but God in/into/on seipso diligi wanted; and_therefore perhibet testimony to_some, that like a_messenger/angel of_God and like Christ/Messiah Yesus him exceperant. In to_all therefore to_the_saints to_his_own exactly_that/himself it_is amandus who/which he_said: Esurivi, and you_gaves to_me to_eat Matth. 25.. Tanta it_is charity of_the_head towards body his_own.

UGNT καὶ τὸν πειρασμὸν ὑμῶν ἐν τῇ σαρκί μου, οὐκ ἐξουθενήσατε οὐδὲ ἐξεπτύσατε, ἀλλὰ ὡς ἄγγελον Θεοῦ ἐδέξασθέ με, ὡς Χριστὸν Ἰησοῦν.
(kai ton peirasmon humōn en taʸ sarki mou, ouk exouthenaʸsate oude exeptusate, alla hōs angelon Theou edexasthe me, hōs Ⱪriston Yaʸsoun.)

SBL-GNT καὶ τὸν πειρασμὸν ⸀ὑμῶν ἐν τῇ σαρκί μου οὐκ ἐξουθενήσατε οὐδὲ ἐξεπτύσατε, ἀλλὰ ὡς ἄγγελον θεοῦ ἐδέξασθέ με, ὡς Χριστὸν Ἰησοῦν.
(kai ton peirasmon ⸀humōn en taʸ sarki mou ouk exouthenaʸsate oude exeptusate, alla hōs angelon theou edexasthe me, hōs Ⱪriston Yaʸsoun.)

RP-GNT Καὶ τὸν πειρασμόν μου τὸν ἐν τῇ σαρκί μου οὐκ ἐξουθενήσατε οὐδὲ ἐξεπτύσατε, ἀλλ' ὡς ἄγγελον θεοῦ ἐδέξασθέ με, ὡς χριστὸν Ἰησοῦν.
(Kai ton peirasmon mou ton en taʸ sarki mou ouk exouthenaʸsate oude exeptusate, all' hōs angelon theou edexasthe me, hōs ⱪriston Yaʸsoun.)

TC-GNT Καὶ τὸν πειρασμόν [fn]μου τὸν ἐν τῇ σαρκί μου οὐκ ἐξουθενήσατε οὐδὲ ἐξεπτύσατε, [fn]ἀλλ᾽ ὡς ἄγγελον Θεοῦ ἐδέξασθέ με, ὡς Χριστὸν Ἰησοῦν.
(Kai ton peirasmon mou ton en taʸ sarki mou ouk exouthenaʸsate oude exeptusate, all hōs angelon Theou edexasthe me, hōs Ⱪriston Yaʸsoun. )

4:14 μου τον 83.7% ¦ τον MSS 11.4% ¦ υμων CT 1.1%

4:14 αλλ ¦ αλλα NA²⁷ SBL WH

Key for above GNTs: red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 4:8–20: Paul begged the Galatians not to turn away from the true gospel

In this section, Paul again rebuked the Galatians for turning to the law and turning away from the true gospel. He begged them to change their thinking and their actions. He said that turning to the law put them back into the slavery that they were in before they knew Christ. He equated obeying the law with paganism. This is a startling and shocking comparison.

Paul appealed to the Galatians on the basis of the emotional bond between him and them. He reminded them of how that bond had developed and that it had resulted in their full acceptance of the true gospel. But now their turning away from the true gospel had perplexed him. He said that they were now like enemies because they followed the false teachers and had turned away from the true gospel.

But the false teachers were the real enemies. For selfish reasons, they taught the Galatians to add something to their faith. They taught them to obey the law. They were not working for the good of the Galatians.

Some possible headings for this section are:

The folly of turning to the law

Paul’s concern for the Galatians

4:14a–b

although my illness was a trial to you, you did not despise or reject me: The word although introduces the first clause in a pair of clauses, and it indicates that the second clause is unexpected.This logical relationship has traditionally been called “concession-contraexpectation.” The unexpected clause is 4:14b.

Some ways to translate this pair of clauses are:

Indicate in the first clause that an unexpected clause is coming. For example:
^a even though my illness was a trial to you, ^byou did not treat me with contempt or scorn (NIV)
Indicate in that second clause that it is unexpected. For example:
^amy condition was a trial to you, but ^bin spite of that, you did not scorn or despise me
Change the order of the clauses. For example:
^byou did not scorn or despise me, ^aeven though my condition was a trial to you

The individual parts of these two clauses are explained below.

4:14a

And although my illness was a trial to you,

And even though my illness was difficult for you^(plur),
My sickness was hard on you.

my illness: The Greek word that the BSB translates as illness refers to Paul’s condition. This same word also occurs in 4:13.

Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

my condition (ESV)

my sickness (NCV)

was a trial to you: The Greek word that the BSB translates as trial means hardship or difficulty. Paul’s difficult illness could have led the Galatians to reject Paul and his message, but instead they developed a close relationship with him.

Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

was a trouble for you (NCV)

was a hardship for you

was difficult for you (GW)

4:14b

you did not despise or reject me.

you did not reject me and refuse to receive me.
In spite of that, you^(plur) did not look down on me or despise me.

you did not despise or reject me: The words despise and reject are a doublet. This means that these words are similar in meaning. The word despise means “loathe someone,” “be disgusted by someone” or “reject someone.” The word reject means “dismiss someone as inadequate” or “dismiss someone because they do not meet a certain standard.”

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

you did not treat me with contempt or scorn (NIV)

you did not look down on me or be disgusted/repulsed

you didn’t hate me or turn me away (CEV)

4:14c

Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God,

You^(plur) welcomed me as if I were a messenger from God,
Rather, you^(plur) received me in the same way that you would receive one of God’s angels.

Instead: There is a contrast between 4:14b and 4:14c. The contrast is between the negative way that the Galatians could have treated Paul and the positive way that they actually did treat him. Languages have different ways to indicate this negative-positive type of contrast. Some of the ways are:

With the conjunction “but.”
With a conjunction other than “but.” This is a common way in English to show this type of contrast. For example:
rather
on the contrary
Instead (BSB, NIV)
With no conjunction. For example:
^byou didn’t hate me or turn me away because of it. ^cYou welcomed me as though I were one of God’s angels or even Christ Jesus himself. (CEV)

you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God: The verb that the BSB translates as welcomed means “received.” In this clause Paul stated that the Galatians welcomed him with great honor and respect. He compared the welcome they gave him to the welcome they might give to a messenger from heaven.

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

You welcomed me as though I were one of God’s angels (CEV)

you took me in and cared for me as though I were an angel from God (NLT)

angel of God: The word angel means “messenger.” It can be either a human messenger or a divine messenger. The phrase of God shows that here it refers to a divine messenger. It is a spirit being who serves God.

Some ways to translate angel of God are:

messenger of/from God

holy/good spirit-being from God

The word angel first occurs in 1:8a. See also angel in the Glossary for more information.

4:14d

as if I were Christ Jesus Himself.

or/and as if I were Christ Jesus himself.
You received me in the same way that you would receive Jesus the Christ himself.

as if I were Christ Jesus Himself: The words “you welcomed me” from 4:14c are implied here. Paul said that his welcome could also be compared to the way the Galatians would welcome Jesus Christ.

Some ways to translate this comparison are:

as though I were Christ Jesus himself (NET)

You received me in the same way that you would have received Jesus Christ himself.

Your translation should not imply that Paul thought of himself as equal to an angel of God or to Jesus Christ.

Christ Jesus Himself: The BSB translates the phrase Christ Jesus Himself in the same order as in Greek. Remember that Christ is a title, and Jesus is a name.

Another way to translate this phrase is:

Jesus the Christ/Messiah

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / extrainfo

τὸν πειρασμὸν ὑμῶν ἐν τῇ σαρκί μου

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί τόν πειρασμόν ὑμῶν ἐν τῇ σαρκί μού οὐκ ἐξουθενήσατε οὐδέ ἐξεπτύσατε ἀλλʼ ὡς ἄγγελον Θεοῦ ἐδέξασθε μέ ὡς Χριστόν Ἰησοῦν)

The phrase your trial in my flesh means that Paul had some physical problem or malady that either itself caused difficulty (a trial) for the Galatians or caused difficulty (a trial) for them because they had to care for or help him as a result of his physical problem. Because Paul does not reveal specifically how his physical malady created a trial for the Galatians, it is best to translate this phrase with a general phrase which leaves room for either possibility.

οὐκ ἐξουθενήσατε

not ˱you_all˲_scorned

Alternate translation: [you did not scorn] or [you did not hate]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

τὸν πειρασμὸν

If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of trial, you could express the same idea some other way that would be natural in your language.

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / synecdoche

σαρκί

flesh

Here, Paul uses the word flesh, one part of his body, to refer to his entire body. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent expression from your culture or use plain language. See how you translated the phrase the flesh in [2:20](../02/20.md) where it is used with the same meaning. Alternate translation: [body]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ὡς ἄγγελον Θεοῦ

as ˓a˒_messenger ˱of˲_God

The phrase as an angel of God means “as if I were an angel of God.” If it would be helpful to your readers, you could indicate that explicitly. Alternate translation: [as if I were an angel of God]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ὡς Χριστὸν Ἰησοῦν

as as (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί τόν πειρασμόν ὑμῶν ἐν τῇ σαρκί μού οὐκ ἐξουθενήσατε οὐδέ ἐξεπτύσατε ἀλλʼ ὡς ἄγγελον Θεοῦ ἐδέξασθε μέ ὡς Χριστόν Ἰησοῦν)