Have you suffered so much for nothing, if it really was for nothing?
Parallel translations
- WEB Did you suffer so many things in vain, if it is indeed in vain?
- KJV Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.
- NKJV Have you suffered so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?
- NASB Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?
- NLT Have you experienced so much for nothing? Surely it was not in vain, was it?
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
Paul asks whether their sufferings and experiences were for nothing. To abandon the gospel would render their past faith meaningless.
Overview
The Galatians had likely endured hardship for the faith, and Paul warns that turning to a false gospel would empty those experiences of value. His words carry a note of hope that their faith is not, in fact, in vain. The appeal urges them to hold fast to the grace by which they first believed.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- 2 Jn 1:8Watch yourselves, so that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be fully rewarded.
- 1 Cor 15:2By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
- Heb 10:32–39Remember the early days that you were in the light. In those days, you endured a great conflict in the face of suffering.
- Ezek 18:24But if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and practices iniquity, committing the same abominations as the wicked, will he live? None of the righteous acts he did will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness and sin he has committed, he will die.
- 2 Pet 2:20–22If indeed they have escaped the corruption of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, only to be entangled and overcome by it again, their final condition is worse than it was at first.
- Heb 6:4–6It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 3:4 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.