GAL 4:8 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=minor/spelling Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs, orange:accusative/object, 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 But at that time, not having known God, you were enslaved to the ones by nature not being gods.

UST When you did not have a relationship with God, you served gods that really did not exist. You were like slaves at that time, because you were in spiritual bondage.

BLB But at that time indeed, not knowing God, you were enslaved to those by nature not being gods.

AICNT But at that time, not knowing God, you served those who by nature are not gods;

OEB ¶ Yet formerly, in your ignorance of God, you became slaves to “gods” which were no gods.

WEBBE However at that time, not knowing God, you were in bondage to those who by nature are not gods.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET Formerly when you did not know God, you were enslaved to beings that by nature are not gods at all.

LSV But then, indeed, having not known God, you were in servitude to those [that are] not by nature gods,

FBV At the time when you didn't know God, you were enslaved by the supposed “gods” of this world.

TCNT At that time, however, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to beings that by nature are not gods.

T4T When you did not have a relationship with God [MET], you served gods that really did not exist [MET]. You were their slaves.

LEB ¶ But at that time when you[fn] did not know God, you were enslaved to the things which by nature are not gods.

4:8 *Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“know”) which is understood as temporal

BBE But at that time, having no knowledge of God, you were servants to those who by right are no gods:

Moff In those days, when you were ignorant of God, you were in servitude to gods who are really no gods at all;

Wymth But at one time, you Gentiles, having no knowledge of God, were slaves to gods which in reality do not exist.

ASV Howbeit at that time, not knowing God, ye were in bondage to them that by nature are no gods:

DRA But then indeed, not knowing God, you served them, who, by nature, are not gods.

YLT But then, indeed, not having known God, ye were in servitude to those not by nature gods,

Drby But then indeed, not knowing [fn]God, ye were in bondage to those who by nature are not [fn]gods;

4.8 Elohim

RV Howbeit at that time, not knowing God, ye were in bondage to them which by nature are no gods:
(Howbeit at that time, not knowing God, ye/you_all were in bondage to them which by nature are no gods: )

SLT But then truly, not having known God, ye were in a servile condition to them not being gods by nature.

Wbstr However then, when ye knew not God, ye did service to them which by nature are no gods.

KJB-1769 Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods.
(Howbeit then, when ye/you_all knew not God, ye/you_all did service unto them which by nature are no gods. )

KJB-1611 Howbeit, then when ye knew not God, yee did seruice vnto them which by nature are no Gods.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation and punctuation)

Bshps Notwithstandyng, when ye knewe not God, ye dyd seruice vnto the which by nature are no Gods.
(Notwithstanding, when ye/you_all knew not God, ye/you_all did service unto the which by nature are no Gods.)

Gnva But euen then, when ye knewe not God, yee did seruice vnto them, which by nature are not gods:
(But even then, when ye/you_all knew not God, ye/you_all did service unto them, which by nature are not gods: )

Cvdl Notwithstondinge whan ye knewe not God, ye dyd seruyce vnto them, which by nature are no Goddes.
(Notwithstanding when ye/you_all knew not God, ye/you_all did service unto them, which by nature are no Goddes.)

TNT Notwithstondinge when ye knewe not God ye dyd service vnto them which by nature were no goddes.
(Notwithstanding when ye/you_all knew not God ye/you_all did service unto them which by nature were no gods. )

Wycl But thanne ye vnknowynge God, serueden to hem that in kynde weren not goddis.
(But then ye/you_all unknowing God, served to hem that in kind were not gods.)

Luth Aber zu der Zeit, da ihr GOtt nicht erkanntet, dientet ihr denen, die von Natur nicht Götter sind.
(But to/for the/of_the time/period, there you(pl)/their/her God not recognisedt, dientet you(pl)/their/her those, the from Natur not gods are.)

ClVg Sed tunc quidem ignorantes Deum, iis, qui natura non sunt dii, serviebatis.
(But then indeed ignorant God, to_them, who/which nature/element not/no are gods, serviebatis. )

UGNT ἀλλὰ τότε μὲν οὐκ εἰδότες Θεὸν, ἐδουλεύσατε τοῖς φύσει μὴ οὖσι θεοῖς;
(alla tote men ouk eidotes Theon, edouleusate tois fusei maʸ ousi theois;)

SBL-GNT Ἀλλὰ τότε μὲν οὐκ εἰδότες θεὸν ἐδουλεύσατε τοῖς ⸂φύσει μὴ⸃ οὖσι θεοῖς·
(Alla tote men ouk eidotes theon edouleusate tois ⸂fusei maʸ⸃ ousi theois;)

RP-GNT Ἀλλὰ τότε μέν, οὐκ εἰδότες θεόν, ἐδουλεύσατε τοῖς μὴ φύσει οὖσιν θεοῖς·
(Alla tote men, ouk eidotes theon, edouleusate tois maʸ fusei ousin theois;)

TC-GNT Ἀλλὰ τότε μέν, οὐκ εἰδότες Θεόν, ἐδουλεύσατε τοῖς [fn]μὴ φύσει οὖσι θεοῖς·
(Alla tote men, ouk eidotes Theon, edouleusate tois maʸ fusei ousi theois; )

4:8 μη φυσει ¦ φυσει μη 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

Paragraph 4:8–11

In Greek this paragraph begins with a conjunction that introduces a contrast. The contrast is between the Galatians’ position as adopted sons in the family of God and their pre-Christian past. Some ways to begin this paragraph are:

But

However, (NASB)

Many English versions, including the BSB, do not translate this conjunction. In some languages, it will not be necessary to translate it either.

4:8a

Formerly, when you did not know God,

¶ But in the past, when you^(plur) did not yet know God,
¶ Before you knew God, (CEV)

Formerly, when you did not know God: The Greek word that the BSB translates as Formerly also means “then” or “back then.” This word, together with the clause when you did not know God, refers to the time before the Galatians were believers.

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

In the past, before you knew God

Back then, when you did not know God

4:8b

you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods.

you^(plur) were slaves of idols/spirits which are not really/truly God.
you^(plur) served things that should not be worshiped.

you were slaves to: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as you were slaves to can also be translated as “you were slaves of.” Paul reminded the Galatians that before they believed in Christ, they were not free. They were like slaves.

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

it was as if you were in slavery to

you were controlled by

you served

those who by nature are not gods: This clause refers to:

The idols that the Galatians worshiped. In the books of Romans and 1 Corinthians, Paul taught that idols in themselves are not gods/spirits. Their nature is wood and stone, and men carve them.
The spirits/beings that the Galatians worshiped. These spirits are fallen angels or demons, and their nature is evil. They are false gods. They do not merit worship.

Some challenges in translating this verse are:

In some languages, the word for “idols/fetishes” is the same as the word for gods. So it is not possible to say that these things are not really gods when people can see them. If that is true in your language, you may need to translate this as:
idols that should not be worshiped
In others languages, the word “God” cannot be made plural. If that is true in your language, you may need to translate this as:
those spirits/idols that are not God

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

things which are really not gods at all (GW)

things/beings that are only false gods

by nature: The Greek word that the BSB translates as by nature means “has the character of.”

Another way to translate this word is:

really/truly

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-logic-contrast

ἀλλὰ

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἀλλά τότε μέν οὐκ εἰδότες Θεόν ἐδουλεύσατε τοῖς φύσει μή οὖσι θεοῖς)

The word But is introducing a contrast. Paul is contrasting the life of the Galatian believers before they believed in Christ with their life after they believed in Christ and as a result became God’s sons (which he explained in [4:1-7](../04/01.md)). Use a natural form in your language for introducing a contrast.

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

εἰδότες Θεὸν

˓having˒_known (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἀλλά τότε μέν οὐκ εἰδότες Θεόν ἐδουλεύσατε τοῖς φύσει μή οὖσι θεοῖς)

Here, the phrase having known God means knowing God in a close personal relationship. It means more than simply having heard about God or knowing some things about God. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could indicate that explicitly. Alternate translation: [having been in a close relationship with God]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ἐδουλεύσατε τοῖς φύσει μὴ οὖσι θεοῖς

˱you_all˲_served ˱for˲_the_‹ones› ˱by˲_nature (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἀλλά τότε μέν οὐκ εἰδότες Θεόν ἐδουλεύσατε τοῖς φύσει μή οὖσι θεοῖς)

Paul speaks of the Galatians' former way of life in which they practiced false religions and worshiped false gods as if it were slavery. 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 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

τοῖς φύσει μὴ οὖσι θεοῖς

˱for˲_the_‹ones› ˱by˲_nature (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἀλλά τότε μέν οὐκ εἰδότες Θεόν ἐδουλεύσατε τοῖς φύσει μή οὖσι θεοῖς)

The phrase, the ones by nature not being gods refers to the beings which the Galatians served when they were pagans and which were considered by them to be gods though they were not really gods. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could indicate that explicitly. Alternate translation: [false gods which were not really gods at all]

Parallel GAL 4:8

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

Paragraph 4:8–11

4:8a

4:8b