And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect.
Parallel translations
- WEB Now I say this. A covenant confirmed beforehand by God in Christ, the law, which came four hundred thirty years after, does not annul, so as to make the promise of no effect.
- KJV And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.
- BSB What I mean is this: The law that came 430 years later does not revoke the covenant previously established by God, so as to nullify the promise.
- NASB What I am saying is this: the Law, which came 430 years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise.
- NLT This is what I am trying to say: The agreement God made with Abraham could not be canceled 430 years later when God gave the law to Moses. God would be breaking his promise.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The law, coming 430 years later, cannot annul the covenant God confirmed with Abraham. The earlier promise remains in force.
Overview
Paul argues that the Mosaic law, given centuries after the promise, does not nullify or replace it. God's covenant of promise stands prior and supreme, and the law cannot void it. Therefore salvation rests on the promise received by faith, not on the later-given law.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 37
- Rom 4:13–14For the promise to Abraham and to his offspring that he should be heir of the world wasn’t through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.
- Gen 15:13He said to Abram, “Know for sure that your offspring will live as foreigners in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them. They will afflict them four hundred years.
- Heb 11:39–40These all, having had testimony given to them through their faith, didn’t receive the promise,
- Exod 12:40–41Now the time that the children of Israel lived in Egypt was four hundred thirty years.
- 2 Cor 1:20For however many are the promises of God, in him is the “Yes.” Therefore also through him is the “Amen”, to the glory of God through us.
- Heb 6:13–18For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he could swear by no one greater, he swore by himself,
- Rom 3:3For what if some were without faith? Will their lack of faith nullify the faithfulness of God?
- John 1:17For the law was given through Moses. Grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.
- Gal 5:4You are alienated from Christ, you who desire to be justified by the law. You have fallen away from grace.
- Isa 14:27For Yahweh of Armies has planned, and who can stop it? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?”
- Gal 3:15Brothers, speaking of human terms, though it is only a man’s covenant, yet when it has been confirmed, no one makes it void, or adds to it.
- Col 2:4Now this I say that no one may delude you with persuasiveness of speech.
- 1 Cor 1:17For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the Good News — not in wisdom of words, so that the cross of Christ wouldn’t be made void.
- Gen 15:18In that day Yahweh made a covenant with Abram, saying, “I have given this land to your offspring, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates:
- 1 Cor 7:29But I say this, brothers: the time is short, that from now on, both those who have wives may be as though they had none;
- 1 Pet 1:11–12searching for who or what kind of time the Spirit of Christ, which was in them, pointed to, when he predicted the sufferings of Christ, and the glories that would follow them.
- Eph 4:17This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind,
- Isa 28:18Your covenant with death shall be annulled, and your agreement with Sheol shall not stand. When the overflowing scourge passes through, then you will be trampled down by it.
- Gen 17:19God said, “No, but Sarah, your wife, will bear you a son. You shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him.
- Ps 33:10Yahweh brings the counsel of the nations to nothing. He makes the thoughts of the peoples to be of no effect.
- 1 Cor 1:12Now I mean this, that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” “I follow Apollos,” “I follow Cephas,” and, “I follow Christ.”
- Gal 3:21Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could make alive, most certainly righteousness would have been of the law.
- 1 Cor 10:19What am I saying then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything?
- 2 Cor 9:6Remember this: he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. He who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
- Job 40:8Will you even annul my judgment? Will you condemn me, that you may be justified?
- Num 23:19God is not a man, that he should lie, nor the son of man, that he should repent. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not make it good?
- John 8:56–58Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day. He saw it, and was glad.”
- Heb 11:17–19By faith, Abraham, being tested, offered up Isaac. Yes, he who had gladly received the promises was offering up his one and only son,
- Heb 7:18For there is an annulling of a foregoing commandment because of its weakness and uselessness
- Luke 1:68–79“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people;
- Acts 7:6God spoke in this way: that his offspring would live as aliens in a strange land, and that they would be enslaved and mistreated for four hundred years.
- Rom 3:25whom God sent to be an atoning sacrifice, through faith in his blood, for a demonstration of his righteousness through the passing over of prior sins, in God’s forbearance;
- Gen 17:7–8I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God to you and to your offspring after you.
- Heb 11:13These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them and embraced them from afar, and having confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
- 1 Pet 1:20who was foreknown indeed before the foundation of the world, but was revealed in this last age for your sake,
- Num 30:8But if her husband forbids her in the day that he hears it, then he shall make void her vow which is on her, and the rash utterance of her lips, with which she has bound her soul. Yahweh will forgive her.
- Gal 5:16But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you won’t fulfill the lust of the flesh.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Christ became a curse for us to redeem us from the law's curse, that we might receive the Spirit and be sons — justified by faith in him, not by works.
How Galatians 3:17 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.