< 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].
Ko eni, ʻoku ou pehē, Ko e foha hoko ʻi heʻene kei tamasiʻi, neongo ʻoku ʻeiki ia ki he meʻa kotoa pē, ʻoku ʻikai siʻi fai kehekehe ia mo e tamaioʻeiki;
2 Until the [day that] his father [previously] determined, [other] persons supervise him and manage his father’s property.
Ka ʻoku moʻulaloa ia ki he kau takiaki mo e kau tauhi, kaeʻoua ke hokosia ʻae kuonga kuo kotofa ʻe he tamai.
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].
ʻOku pehē pe ʻakitautolu, naʻa tau kei siʻi, pea tau nofo tokilalo ki he ngaahi ʻuluaki meʻa ʻoe māmani:
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].
Ka ʻi he hokosia mai hono kakato ʻoe kuonga, naʻe tuku atu ai ʻe he ʻOtua hono ʻAlo, ke fanauʻi ʻe he fefine, pea fanauʻi ia ʻo moʻulaloa ʻi he fono,
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].
Ke huhuʻi ʻakinautolu naʻe moʻulaloa ki he fono, koeʻuhi ke tau maʻu ai ʻae ohi ʻoe ngaahi foha.
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].
Pea koeʻuhi ko e ngaahi foha ʻakimoutolu, kuo fekau atu ai ʻe he ʻOtua ʻae Laumālie ʻo hono ʻAlo ki homou loto, ʻoku tangi, “ʻAapa, Tamai.”
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].
Ko ia ʻoku ʻikai ai te ke kei tamaioʻeiki, ka ko e foha; pea kapau ko e foha, ko e foha hoko ʻoe ʻOtua ʻia Kalaisi.
8 When you did not have a relationship with God [MET], you served gods that really did not exist [MET]. You were their slaves.
Ka ʻi he kuonga ko ia naʻe ʻikai te mou ʻiloʻi ʻae ʻOtua, naʻa mou tauhi ʻakinautolu ʻaia ʻoku ʻikai siʻi ko e ʻotua moʻoni.
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]
Ka ko eni, hili hoʻomou ʻilo ʻae ʻOtua, pe ko e ʻilo ʻakimoutolu ʻe he ʻOtua, ʻoku fēfē hoʻomou toe tafoki ki he ngaahi ʻuluaki meʻa vaivai mo masiva, ʻaia ʻoku mou holi ke mou toe pōpula ki ai?
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.
ʻOku mou tauhi ʻae ngaahi ʻaho, mo e ngaahi māhina, mo e ngaahi faʻahitaʻu, mo e ngaahi taʻu.
11 I (worry/am concerned) about your [mistaken ideas. I do not want] to have [so] strenuously served you in vain.
ʻOku ou manavahē kiate kimoutolu, telia naʻa kuo taʻeʻaonga ʻeku ngāue kiate kimoutolu.
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].
E kāinga, ʻoku ou fakakolekole kiate kimoutolu, ke mou hangē ko au; he ʻoku ou hangē ko kimoutolu: ʻoku ʻikai siʻi te mou fai ha kovi kiate au.
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].
ʻOku mou ʻilo, naʻaku malangaʻaki ʻae ongoongolelei kiate kimoutolu ʻi muʻa ʻi he sino vaivai.
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!
Pea ko hoku ʻahiʻahi, ʻaia naʻe ʻi hoku sino, naʻe ʻikai te mou fehiʻa pe siʻaki ai au; ka naʻa mou maʻu au ʻo hangē ko e ʻāngelo ʻae ʻOtua, pea hangē ko Kalaisi Sisu.
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]!
Pea kofaʻā ai ʻae monūʻia naʻa mou lea ki ai? He ʻoku ou fakamoʻoni kiate kimoutolu, ka ne faʻa fai, pehē, ne mou toʻo mai homou mata, ke foaki kiate au.
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.
Pea kuo u hoko au ko homou fili koā, ko e meʻa ʻi heʻeku tala ʻae moʻoni kiate kimoutolu?
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].
ʻOku nau ʻofa feinga kiate kimoutolu, ka ʻoku ʻikai lelei; ʻio, ko honau loto ke fakamavae ʻakimoutolu, ka mou ʻofa feinga pe kiate kinautolu.
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.
Ka ʻoku lelei ke fai feinga maʻuaipē ʻi he meʻa lelei, kaeʻoua naʻa ngata ʻi heʻeku ʻiate kimoutolu.
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].
A ʻeku fānau siʻi, ʻaia ʻoku ou toe langā ai kaeʻoua ke tupu ʻa Kalaisi ʻiate kimoutolu,
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].
ʻAmusiaange eni kuo u ʻiate kimoutolu, pea ke u liliu hoku leʻo; he ʻoku ou puputuʻu telia ʻakimoutolu.
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.
Tala mai kiate au, ʻakimoutolu ʻoku holi ke mou moʻulaloa ki he fono, ʻikai ʻoku mou fanongo ki he fono?
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.
He kuo tohi, naʻe toko ua ʻae foha ʻo ʻEpalahame, ko e tokotaha ʻi he fefine pōpula, pea ko e tokotaha ʻi he fefine tauʻatāina.
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].
Ka ko ia naʻe ʻoe fefine pōpula, naʻe tupu ia fakatangata pe; ka ko ia ʻoe fefine tauʻatāina, naʻe ʻi he talaʻofa ia.
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].
Ko e fakatātā ʻae ongo meʻa ko ia: he ko e fuakava eni ʻe ua; ko e taha mei he moʻunga ko Sainai, ʻaia ʻoku fānau ki he pōpula, ko Ekaa ia.
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].
He ko e Ekaa ni, ko e moʻunga ko Sainai ia ʻi ʻAlepea, pea ʻoku hangē ko Selūsalema ʻaia ʻoku ai ni, pea ʻoku pōpula ia mo ʻene fānau.
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].
Ka ko Selūsalema ʻoku ʻi ʻolunga, ʻoku tauʻatāina ia, ʻaia ko e faʻē ʻatautolu kotoa pē.
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].
He kuo tohi, “Fiefia, ʻa koe ko e paʻa, naʻe ʻikai ke fānau; ke hiki ho leʻo ʻo kalanga, ʻa koe naʻe ʻikai ke langā he ʻoku tokolahi ʻaupito ʻae fānau ʻo ia naʻe siʻaki ʻiate ia ʻoku ai hono husepāniti.”
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].
Pea ko eni, ʻe kāinga, ko e fānau ʻae talaʻofa ʻakitautolu, ʻo hangē ko ʻAisake.
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].
Kae hangē ko ʻena, ko ia naʻe tupu fakatangata pe, naʻa ne fakatanga ʻaia naʻe ʻoe Laumālie, pea ʻoku kei pehē ni.
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].
Ka ko e hā ʻae lea ʻoe tohi? “Kapusi kituʻa ʻae fefine pōpula mo ʻene tama: koeʻuhi ʻe ʻikai hoko fakataha ʻae tama ʻae fefine pōpula mo e tama ʻae fefine ʻoku tauʻatāina.”
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].
Ko ia, ʻe kāinga, ʻoku ʻikai ko e fānau ʻakitautolu ʻae fefine pōpula, ka ko e tauʻatāina.