But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing, and not only when I am present with you.
Parallel translations
- WEB But it is always good to be zealous in a good cause, and not only when I am present with you.
- BSB Nevertheless, it is good to be zealous if it serves a noble purpose—at any time, and not only when I am with you.
- NKJV But it is good to be zealous in a good thing always, and not only when I am present with you.
- NASB But it is good always to be eagerly sought in a commendable way, and not only when I am present with you.
- NLT If someone is eager to do good things for you, that’s all right; but let them do it all the time, not just when I’m with you.
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
Zeal is good when it is for a good purpose and consistent, not just when Paul is present. He commends right-hearted earnestness while contrasting it with the false teachers' selfish zeal.
Overview
Paul concedes that enthusiasm itself is commendable, provided its object is good and it endures in his absence. He implies the Galatians' zeal had been misdirected by the agitators. The verse encourages steadfast, well-aimed devotion that does not depend on the presence of a particular leader.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Phil 2:12Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
- Rev 3:19As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
- Phil 1:27Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;
- Titus 2:14Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
- 1 Cor 15:58Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
- Gal 4:13Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you at the first.
- Ps 119:139My zeal hath consumed me, because mine enemies have forgotten thy words.
- John 2:17And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.
- Ps 69:9For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.
- Isa 59:17For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak.
- Num 25:11–13Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy.
- Gal 4:20I desire to be present with you now, and to change my voice; for I stand in doubt of you.
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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 4:18 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
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