Galaterbrevet 4
1 Vad jag vill säga är detta: Så länge arvingen är barn, finnes ingen skillnad mellan honom och en träl, fastän han är herre över alla ägodelarna;
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].
2 ty han står under förmyndare och förvaltare, intill den tid som fadern har bestämt.
Until the [day that] his father [previously] determined, [other] persons supervise him and manage his father’s property.
3 Sammalunda höllos ock vi, när vi voro barn, i träldom under världens "makter".
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].
4 Men när tiden var fullbordad, sände Gud sin Son, född av kvinna och ställd under lagen,
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].
5 för att han skulle friköpa dem som stodo under lagen, så att vi skulle få söners rätt.
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].
6 Och eftersom I nu ären söner, har han sänt i våra hjärtan sin Sons Ande, som ropar: "Abba! Fader!"
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].
7 Så är du nu icke mer träl, utan son; och är du son, så är du ock arvinge, insatt därtill av Gud.
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].
8 Förut, innan I ännu känden Gud, voren I trälar under gudar som till sitt väsende icke voro gudar.
When you did not have a relationship with God [MET], you served gods that really did not exist [MET]. You were their slaves.
9 Men nu, sedan I haven lärt känna Gud och, vad mer är, haven blivit kända av Gud, huru kunnen I nu vända tillbaka till de svaga och arma "makter", under vilka I åter på nytt viljen bliva trälar?
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]
10 I akten ju på dagar och på månader och på särskilda tider och år. --
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.
11 Jag är bekymrad för eder och fruktar att jag till äventyrs har arbetat förgäves för eder.
I (worry/am concerned) about your [mistaken ideas. I do not want] to have [so] strenuously served you in vain.
12 Jag beder eder, mina bröder: Bliven såsom jag är, eftersom jag har blivit såsom I voren. I haven icke gjort mig något för när.
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].
13 I veten ju att det var på grund av kroppslig svaghet som jag första gången kom att förkunna evangelium för eder.
You know that the first time I preached to you, [I went to your area to regain my health, because I was physically weak].
14 Och fastän mitt kroppsliga tillstånd då väl hade kunnat innebära en frestelse för eder, så sågen I det ändå icke med ringaktning eller leda, utan togen emot mig såsom en Guds ängel, ja, såsom Kristus Jesus själv.
[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!
15 När hör man eder nu prisa eder saliga? Det vittnesbördet kan jag nämligen giva eder, att I då, om så hade varit möjligt, skullen hava rivit ut edra ögon och givit dem åt mig.
(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]!
16 Så har jag då blivit eder ovän därigenom att jag säger eder sanningen!
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.
17 Man söker med iver att vinna eder för sig, men icke med en god iver; nej, del vilja avspärra eder från andra, för att I med så mycket större iver skolen hålla eder till dem.
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].
18 Och det är nu gott att I bliven omfattade med ivrig omsorg, i en god sak, alltid, och icke allenast när jag är tillstädes hos eder,
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.
19 I mina barn, som jag nu åter med vånda måste föda till livet, intill dess att Kristus har tagit gestalt i eder.
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].
20 Jag skulle önska att jag just nu vore hos eder och kunde göra min röst rätt bevekande. Ty jag vet mig knappt någon råd med eder.
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].
21 Sägen mig, I som viljen stå under lagen: haven I icke hört vad lagen säger?
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.
22 Det är ju skrivet att Abraham fick två söner, en med sin tjänstekvinna, och en med sin fria hustru.
[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.
23 Men tjänstekvinnans son är född efter köttet, då däremot den fria hustruns son är född i kraft av löftet.
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].
24 Dessa ord hava en djupare mening; ty de båda kvinnorna beteckna två förbund. Av dessa kommer det ena från berget Sina och föder sina barn till träldom, och detta har sin förebild i Agar.
[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].
25 Berget Sina kallas nämligen i Arabien för Agar och svarar emot det nuvarande Jerusalem, ty detta lever med sina barn i träldom.
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].
26 Men det Jerusalem som är därovan, det är fritt, och det är vår moder.
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].
27 Så är ju skrivet: "Jubla, du ofruktsamma, du som icke föder barn; brist ut och ropa, du som icke bliver moder, Ty den ensamma skall hava många barn, flera än den som har man."
[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].
28 Och I, mina bröder, ären löftets barn, likasom Isak var.
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].
29 Men likasom förr i tiden den son som var född efter köttet förföljde den som var född efter Anden, så är det ock nu.
[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].
30 Dock, vad säger skriften? "Driv ut tjänstekvinnan och hennes son; ty tjänstekvinnans son skall förvisso icke ärva med den fria hustruns son."
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].
31 Alltså, mina bröder, vi äro icke barn av en tjänstekvinna, utan av den fria hustrun.
[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].
