GAL 4:19 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, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object, magenta:vocative.
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 My children, with whom I am in labor again until Christ would be formed in you—

UST You who are like my children, once again I am very concerned about you, and I will continue to be concerned about you until you become like the Messiah in your thinking and in your conduct.

BSB My children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you,

MSB My little children,[fn] for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you,

BLB My children, of whom I travail again until that Christ shall have been formed in you,

AICNT My [[children]],[fn] for whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you;

4:19, children: Later manuscripts read “little children.” BYZ TR

OEB you for whom I am again enduring a mother’s pains, until a likeness to Christ will have been formed in you.

WEBBE My little children, of whom I am again in travail until Christ is formed in you—

WMBB My little children, of whom I am again in travail until Messiah is formed in you—

NET My children – I am again undergoing birth pains until Christ is formed in you!

LSV my little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ may be formed in you,

FBV My dear friends, I want to work with you until Christ's character is duplicated in you.

TCNT My [fn]little children, for whom I am again suffering labor pains until Christ is formed in you,

4:19 little ¦ — NA SBL

T4T 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.

LEB My children, for whom I am having birth pains again, until Christ is formed in you!

BBE My children, of whom I am again in birth-pains till Christ is formed in you,

Moff O my dear children, you with whom I am in travail over again till Christ be formed within you,

Wymth you for whom I am again, as it were, undergoing the pains of childbirth, until Christ is fully formed within you.

ASV My little children, of whom I am again in travail until Christ be formed in you—

DRA My little children, of whom I am in labour again, until Christ be formed in you.

YLT my little children, of whom again I travail in birth, till Christ may be formed in you,

Drby my children, of whom I again travail in birth until Christ shall have been formed in you:

RV My little children, of whom I am again in travail until Christ be formed in you,

SLT My children, for whom I am again in travail until Christ be formed in you,

Wbstr My little children, of whom I travail in birth again, until Christ be formed in you,

KJB-1769 My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,

KJB-1611 My litle children, of whom I trauaile in birth againe, vntill Christ bee formed in you:
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps My litle chyldren, of whom I trauayle in birth agayne, vntyll Christe be fashioned in you.
(My little children, of whom I travail in birth again, until Christ be fashioned in you.)

Gnva My litle children, of whome I trauaile in birth againe, vntill Christ be formed in you.
(My little children, of whom I travail in birth again, until Christ be formed in you. )

Cvdl My litle children (of whom I trauayle in byrth agayne, vntyll Christ be fashioned in you)
(My little children (of whom I travail in birth again, until Christ be fashioned in you))

TNT My littel children (of whom I travayle in birth againe vntill Christ be fassioned in you)
(My littel children (of whom I travayle in birth again until Christ be fassioned in you) )

Wycl My smale children, whiche Y bere eftsoones, til that Crist be fourmed in you,
(My small children, which I bear soon_afterwards, till that Christ be formed in you,)

Luth Meine lieben Kinder, welche ich abermal mit Ängsten gebäre, bis daß Christus in euch eine Gestalt gewinne.
(My love(v) children, which I again with fears(n) give_birth, until that Christ in you a/one shape(n) wins.)

ClVg Filioli mei, quos iterum parturio, donec formetur Christus in vobis:[fn]
(Filioli my/mine, which again parturio, until formetur Christ/Messiah in/into/on to_you(pl): )

4.19 Donec Christus. Quem deformatis formosus sit in vobis. Vel, ut formosus aliis per vos appareat. Gravius dictum, quam si diceret eos formari in Christo.

4.19 Until Christ/Messiah. Which deformatis formosus be in/into/on to_you(pl). Or, as formosus to_others through you(pl) appear. Gravius said, how when/but_if would_say them formri in/into/on to_Christ/Messiah.

UGNT τέκνα μου, οὓς πάλιν ὠδίνω, μέχρις οὗ μορφωθῇ Χριστὸς ἐν ὑμῖν—
(tekna mou, hous palin ōdinō, meⱪris hou morfōthaʸ Ⱪristos en humin—)

SBL-GNT ⸀τέκνα μου, οὓς πάλιν ὠδίνω ⸀μέχρις οὗ μορφωθῇ Χριστὸς ἐν ὑμῖν·
(⸀tekna mou, hous palin ōdinō ⸀meⱪris hou morfōthaʸ Ⱪristos en humin;)

RP-GNT Τεκνία μου, οὓς πάλιν ὠδίνω, ἄχρι οὗ μορφωθῇ χριστὸς ἐν ὑμῖν,
(Teknia mou, hous palin ōdinō, aⱪri hou morfōthaʸ ⱪristos en humin,)

TC-GNT [fn]Τεκνία μου, οὓς πάλιν ὠδίνω, [fn]ἄχρις οὗ μορφωθῇ Χριστὸς ἐν ὑμῖν,
(Teknia mou, hous palin ōdinō, aⱪris hou morfōthaʸ Ⱪristos en humin, )

4:19 τεκνια ¦ τεκνα NA SBL

4:19 αχρις ¦ μεχρις CT

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, 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

4:19a

My children,

My children in Christ,
You are like my children.

My children: Paul used this phrase to remind the Galatians of their close relationship with him.

Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

My little children (ESV)

My own children in Christ

If the word children is only used literally and would be misunderstood, then you can say something like:

You are like my children

4:19b

for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth

I feel as if I’m going through labor pains for you again, (NLT)
Just like a woman who feels pain during childbirth, so I am once more suffering for you.

for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth: This clause is a metaphor. In this metaphor, Paul compared his ministry among the Galatians to childbirth. Paul had brought the Galatians to Christ. This was like giving birth to a child. They are similar in that both are difficult and painful.

Paul had already done this one time during his first visit. But the Galatians were turning away from their faith. So he had to bring them to the truth again. It was like Paul was giving birth to them again.

Some ways to translate this clause are:

Keep the metaphor. For example:
I am suffering birth pains for you again (GW)
again I feel the pain of childbirth for you (NCV)
Change the metaphor to a simile. For example:
I feel as if I’m going through labor pains for you again (NLT)
Like a woman who has pain when she gives birth, I am again suffering for you
Translate the meaning without using a figure of speech. For example:
I am suffering terrible pain on your behalf once more

until Christ is formed in you: This clause refers to Christ changing the lives of the Galatians. Paul stated that his birth pains would continue until the Galatians were mature in Christ.According to the commentaries, there are at least two ways to interpret this clause: (1) It is a complete change of the metaphor in 4:19a. According to this interpretation, the Galatians are now pictured as the pregnant mother. Christ’s nature is forming in them. Paul would be in pain until Christ was fully developed in them. Those who follow this interpretation are: Schreiner, p. 289; George, p. 330; Longenecker, p. 195; and Burton, pp. 248–249. (2) It continues the metaphor in 4:19b. According to this interpretation, Paul continues to be pictured as the pregnant mother. He would continue to be in the agony of childbirth until the Galatians developed and became like Christ. For example: “until you take the shape of Christ” (NEB). Even though the majority of commentators follow interpretation (1), there are many difficulties in finding a good way to translate this clause according to that interpretation. So it is recommended that translators follow interpretation (2) or translate the meaning of this clause without trying to keep the metaphor.

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

until you truly become like Christ (NCV)

until Christ is shown/revealed in you

until Christ’s nature is formed in you (GNT)

4:19c

until Christ is formed in you,

until you truly become like Christ. (NCV)
I will continue to suffer until you are more mature in Christ.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

τέκνα μου

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Τέκνα μού οὕς πάλιν ὠδίνω μέχρις οὗ μορφωθῇ Χριστός ἐν ὑμῖν)

Paul speaks of the Galatian believers as if they were his children and he was their parent. The Galatian believers experienced their spiritual birth as a result of Paul’s work of proclaiming the gospel to them, so he was their spiritual parent and they were his spiritual children. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning in plain language. Alternate translation: [You who believed the message about Jesus that I proclaimed to you] or [My spiritual children]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

πάλιν ὠδίνω

again ˱I˲_˓am˒_laboring_in_birth

Paul speaks of his work of seeking to help the Galatians grow in spiritual maturity and the mental and physical suffering he endured as a result of this work as if it were the labor that a mother endures when giving birth to a child. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could use a simile. Alternate translation: [I am again in anguish as though I am giving birth] or [it is as if I am in labor again]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / synecdoche

μορφωθῇ Χριστὸς ἐν ὑμῖν

˓may_be˒_formed (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Τέκνα μού οὕς πάλιν ὠδίνω μέχρις οὗ μορφωθῇ Χριστός ἐν ὑμῖν)

In the phrase Christ would be formed in you the word Christ refers Christ’s character and likeness. Christ being formed in them refers to them becoming mature in their spiritual thinking and acting in a way that resembles Jesus’ actions. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent expression from your culture or plain language. Alternate translation: [Christ’s nature becomes fully developed in you] or [you become a mature follower of Christ]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive