Galatians 4
1 Now, I [will further] discuss [children and heirs]: [An heir is a person who will later] control all that his father has. But as long as that heir is a child, others [control] him, with the result that he is just like a slave [MET].
Ich sage nun: Solange der Erbe noch nicht mündig ist, unterscheidet er sich in nichts von einem Sklaven, obgleich er Herr von allem ist.
2 Until the [day that] his father [previously] determined, [other] persons supervise him and manage his father’s property.
Er steht vielmehr unter Vormündern und Verwaltern bis auf die vom Vater festgesetzte Zeit.
3 Likewise, when we [(inc)] (OR, we [(exc) Jews]) were [like] young children [MET], we were controlled by the spiritual powers of this world. They controlled us like [masters control their slaves] [MET].
So war es auch bei uns: Solange wir noch nicht mündig waren, lebten wir geknechtet unter den Weltgeistern.
4 But exactly at the time [MTY] [that God had previously determined], he sent [Jesus], who is (his Son/the man who is also God), into the world. Jesus was born to a [human] mother. He had to obey the laws [that God gave to Moses].
Da kam die Fülle der Zeit, und Gott sandte seinen Sohn, der, vom Weib geboren, dem Gesetz unterworfen war.
5 God sent Jesus in order that he might redeem us who had to obey [God’s] laws. God wanted us all to receive from [God] the status of being his children [MET].
Er sollte die, die unter dem Gesetze standen, loskaufen, und wir sollten die Annahme an Sohnes Statt erhalten.
6 Furthermore, we know that we are God’s children because God sent the Spirit, who is intimately related to Jesus, to live in our (inner beings/hearts). [The Spirit enables us to] pray fervently, “Daddy, Father!” [This shows that we are God’s children].
Weil ihr nun Söhne seid, so sandte Gott in unsere Herzen den Geist seines Sohnes, und dieser ruft:"Abba!" "Vater!"
7 So, [because of what God has done], no longer is [each of] you [like] a slave. Instead, [each of you is] a child [of God]. Furthermore, since [each of you is God’s] child, God has also made you his heir, [one who will receive all that he has promised].
So bist du also nicht mehr Sklave, sondern Sohn; wenn aber Sohn, dann Erbe durch Gott.
8 When you did not have a relationship with God [MET], you served gods that really did not exist [MET]. You were their slaves.
Damals freilich, als ihr Gott nicht kanntet, da dientet ihr den Göttern, die es in Wirklichkeit doch gar nicht gibt.
9 But now you have come to know God. Perhaps [it would be better to say that] now God knows you. [So now you are acting foolishly]! (You are again believing [that by obeying] rules and rites [you will benefit spiritually]! [RHQ] [Those rules are] ineffective and inadequate! You are wanting to [obey them] again [MET] like slaves obey their masters. [RHQ]
Jetzt aber erkennt ihr Gott, vielmehr, ihr seid von Gott erkannt. Wie könnt ihr euch wiederum den schwachen und armseligen Geistern zuwenden und ihnen noch einmal von neuem dienstbar werden?
10 You [non-Jews] are carefully practicing [Jewish rules and rituals about what you should do] (on [Sabbaths/on Jewish days of rest]) and [on the first day of each] month and on [special] seasons and years.
Ihr beobachtet ja Tage, Monate, Festzeiten und Jahre.
11 I (worry/am concerned) about your [mistaken ideas. I do not want] to have [so] strenuously served you in vain.
Ich fürchte für euch, ob ich mich nicht vergeblich unter euch abgemüht habe.
12 My fellow believers, I strongly urge you that you do as I do. [Stop thinking that you have to obey (Jewish rules and rituals/ceremonial laws]). [When I was with you], I [did not obey all the Jewish rules and rituals], just like you [did not obey them]. [At that time] you treated me entirely as you should have [LIT].
Liebe Brüder, ich bitte euch, werdet wie ich! Auch ich bin euch gleich geworden, ihr habt mir nichts zuleid getan.
13 You know that the first time I preached to you, [I went to your area to regain my health, because I was physically weak].
Ihr wißt, wie ich in körperlicher Schwachheit euch damals das Evangelium verkündet habe.
14 [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!
Jedoch trotz der Prüfung, die für euch in meinem schwachen Zustande lag, habt ihr mich nicht verachtet noch vor mir ausgespuckt, vielmehr mich aufgenommen wie einen Engel Gottes, ja wie Christus Jesus selbst.
15 (I am disappointed that you have forgotten [that then] you [declared that you were] pleased with [me]./Have you forgotten [that then] you [declared that you were] pleased with [me]?) [RHQ] I can testify that you [would have done anything to help me]. You would have gouged out your eyes [and] given them to me, [if that would have helped me]!
Wo ist jetzt eure freudige Begeisterung? Ich kann es euch bezeugen: Ihr hättet, wenn es möglich wäre, euch die Augen ausgerissen und sie mir gegeben.
16 So I am very disappointed that you [now] act as though [RHQ] I have become hostile to you [because I have kept] speaking the true [message about Christ] to you.
Bin ich denn nunmehr euer Feind geworden, weil ich euch die Wahrheit Sage?
17 Those [who are insisting on obeying Jewish rules] are eagerly [showing interest in] you, but [what they are doing is] not good. They even want you not to associate with [me and other true] believers, because they want you to eagerly show [interest in] them, [not in us].
Jene werben um euch nicht in guter Absicht. Sie möchten euch abwendig machen, damit ihr sie alsdann umwerbet.
18 But [just like] it always feels good to have others show that they appreciate you, [I would like you] always [to appreciate me], and not only when I am with you.
Es ist ja schön, wenn man umworben wird, allerdings nur in einer guten Sache und allezeit und nicht bloß, solange ich bei euch bin.
19 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].
Liebe Kinder! Von neuem liege ich mit euch in Wehen, bis Christus in euch Gestalt gewonnen hat.
20 But I do wish that I could be with you now and that I might talk [more gently with you], because I do not know [what to do about] you [while we are apart].
Ich möchte jetzt bei euch sein und einen anderen Ton anschlagen können; in großer Sorge bin ich euretwegen.
21 Some of you desire [to obey all the laws] that God gave Moses. [I say that] you [should] consider [RHQ] [the implications of what Moses wrote in] the Scriptures.
Sagt mir, ihr, die ihr so gern unter dem Gesetz stehen möchtet: Hört ihr das Gesetz nicht?
22 [He] wrote that Abraham became the father of two sons. His female slave, [Hagar], bore one son, and his [wife Sarah], who was not a slave, bore the other.
Es steht geschrieben: "Abraham hatte zwei Söhne, den einen von der Magd, den anderen von der Freien.
23 Also, [the sons differed. Ishmael], the [son born by] the female slave, was conceived naturally. But [Isaac], the [son born by] his wife who was not a slave, was conceived [miraculously] as a result of what [God] had promised [Abraham].
Der Sohn der Magd war natürlich geboren worden; der Sohn der Freien aber durch Verheißung."
24 [I am telling you this] as an illustration. These [two women] symbolize two agreements. [God made] the first [agreement, which involved obeying the laws that God gave to Moses] at Sinai Mountain. [Because that agreement forces those who accept it to keep obeying all its rules] [MET], [it is like a slave mother who] gives birth to slaves. [So] Hagar, [the female slave, symbolizes] that [agreement].
Das ist bildlich zu verstehen: Diese (Frauen) sind die beiden Testamente; das eine das Testament vom Berge Sinai, das nur Knechte gebiert, das ist die Agar.
25 Also, the [word] ‘Hagar’ is [associated with] Sinai Mountain, [which is] in Arabia [land. Hagar, the female slave, also] represents Jerusalem as it is today. Jerusalem is [like] [MET] a slave [mother, and those who live there] [PRS] [are like] her slave children [MET] [because they all must obey the laws that God gave to Moses].
Agar bedeutet nämlich den Berg Sinai in Arabien. Es entspricht dem jetzigen Jerusalem, das samt den Kindern in der Knechtschaft ist.
26 But there will be a [new] Jerusalem in heaven [MTY], and we [who will go there] are free [from having to obey Jewish laws]. We [who belong to that city consider it to be] our mother [MET] [city because we are God’s true children].
Doch frei ist das Jerusalem dort oben, und das ist unsere Mutter.
27 [Our new city will have more people than those who live in Jerusalem now. It will be just like] Isaiah foretold about [the people whom he expected would come back to Jerusalem from exile. He expected that they would be more numerous than those who] were taken into exile. He wrote: [You who live in Jerusalem, you will] rejoice! Now you have no children, like a barren [woman] who does not give birth to [children! But some day you will] shout [joyfully], (without restraint/as loudly as you can), [even though now you are few in number, like a woman who] cannot give birth [to children, and you] feel deserted. [You will be very happy] because [you will have many children who will come to you. Those children will be] more than [the children] any woman with a husband [could have borne].
Es steht ja auch geschrieben: "Freu dich, du unfruchtbare, die du nicht geboren hast, o juble laut du, die du keine Wehen kennst! Zahlreicher sind die Kinder der Vereinsamten als die der Vermählten."
28 Now, [my] fellow believers, you have become children [of God as a result of believing God’s] promise to us, as Isaac [was born as a result of Abraham believing what God promised to him] [MET].
Ihr aber, liebe Brüder, seid, wie Isaak, Kinder der Verheißung.
29 [Also, long ago Abraham’s son] Ishmael, the one who was conceived naturally, caused trouble for [Abraham’s son] Isaac, who [was conceived] supernaturally [MET]. Similarly, now [those who think that we must obey the laws that God gave Moses in order that God will save us are causing trouble for those who are trusting Abraham’s descendant, Christ].
Wie aber damals der natürlich Geborene den nach dem Geiste Geborenen verfolgte, so ist es auch heute noch. Was sagt jedoch die Schrift?
30 But these are [RHQ] the words in the Scriptures [PRS]: “The son of the [woman] who was not a slave will inherit [what his father has]. The female slave’s son will certainly not inherit those things. So send away from [this place] the female slave and her son [MET]!” [That means that you should certainly expel from your groups those who insist that we obey all the laws God gave Moses] [MET].
"Verstoße die Magd und ihren Sohn; der Sohn der Magd darf nicht mit dem Sohn der Freien erben!"
31 [My] fellow believers, [Hagar symbolizes the laws that God gave to Moses. But we are not those who must obey all the laws that God gave to Moses] [MET]. [So] we are not [the] female slave [Hagar’s spiritual] descendants [MET]. But [Sarah’s descendants are those who were born as a result of believing what God promised to Abraham. So we are] the [spiritual] descendants of [Sarah, the woman] who was not a slave [MET].
So sind wir also, meine lieben Brüder, nicht Kinder der Magd, sondern der Freien.
