GAL 4:8 Parallel Verse View

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Text critical issues=minor spelling Clarity of original=clear Importance=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) When you didn’t know God, you served others who are not really gods at all.

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 OET-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.

BSB § Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods.

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 No Moff GAL book available

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:

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 them 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 the/of_the Zeit, there you/their/her God not recognisedt, dientet you/their/her denen, the from Natur not gods sind.)

ClVg Sed tunc quidem ignorantes Deum, iis, qui natura non sunt dii, serviebatis.
(But tunc indeed ignorantes God, iis, who natura not/no are dii, 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;)

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).

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-logic-contrast

ἀλλὰ

but

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). Use a natural form in your language for introducing a contrast.

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

εἰδότες Θεὸν

/having/_known God

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 not being gods

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 not being gods

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