The Allegory of Hagar and Sarah

21 Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says?

Other Translations of Galatians 4:21

King James Version

The Allegory of Hagar and Sarah

21 Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?

English Standard Version

The Allegory of Hagar and Sarah

21 Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law?

The Message

The Allegory of Hagar and Sarah

21 Tell me now, you who have become so enamored with the law: Have you paid close attention to that law?

New King James Version

The Allegory of Hagar and Sarah

21 Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law?

New Living Translation

The Allegory of Hagar and Sarah

21 Tell me, you who want to live under the law, do you know what the law actually says?

Matthew Henry's Commentary on Galatians 4:21

Commentary on Galatians 4:21-27

(Read Galatians 4:21-27)

The difference between believers who rested in Christ only, and those who trusted in the law, is explained by the histories of Isaac and Ishmael. These things are an allegory, wherein, beside the literal and historical sense of the words, the Spirit of God points out something further. Hagar and Sarah were apt emblems of the two different dispensations of the covenant. The heavenly Jerusalem, the true church from above, represented by Sarah, is in a state of freedom, and is the mother of all believers, who are born of the Holy Spirit. They were by regeneration and true faith, made a part of the true seed of Abraham, according to the promise made to him.