Galatians 4:12

Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am; for I am as ye are: ye have not injured me at all.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
Brethren	Ἀδελφοί, Adelphoi	G80	a brother (literally or figuratively) near or remote (m… · noun — vocative plural masculine
beseech	δέομαι deomai	G1189	to beg (as binding oneself) · verb — present middle or passive deponent indicative, 1st person singular
you	ὑμῶν hymōn	G5216	of (from or concerning) you
be	Γίνεσθε Ginesthe	G1096	to cause to be ("gen"-erate) · verb — present middle or passive deponent imperative, 2nd person plural
as	ὡς hōs	G5613	which how · particle
I	ἐγώ, egō	G1473	I · personal pronoun — 1st person nominative singular
I	κἀγώ kagṓ	G2504	so also the dative case
as	ὡς hōs	G5613	which how · particle
ye	ὑμεῖς hymeîs	G5210	you (as subjective of verb)
have	ἠδικήσατε. ēdikēsate	G91	to be unjust · verb — aorist active indicative, 2nd person plural
not	οὐδέν ouden	G3762	not even one (man · adjective — accusative singular neuter
injured	ἀδικέω adikéō	G91	to be unjust
me	με me	G3165	me · personal pronoun — 1st person accusative singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

2 Corinthians 2:5 But if any have caused grief, he hath not grieved me, but in part: that I may not overcharge you all.
1 Kings 22:4 And he said unto Jehoshaphat, Wilt thou go with me to battle to Ramoth-gilead? And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as thou art,…
Genesis 34:15 But in this will we consent unto you: If ye will be as we be, that every male of you be circumcised;
1 Corinthians 9:20-23 And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them th…
Acts 21:21 And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to…
2 Corinthians 6:13 Now for a recompence in the same, (I speak as unto my children,) be ye also enlarged.
Galatians 2:14 But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew,…
Galatians 6:14 But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Galatians 4:12-16

That these Christians might be the more ashamed of their defection from the truth of the gospel which Paul had preached to them, he here reminds them of the great affection they formerly had for him and his ministry, and puts them upon considering how very unsuitable their present behaviour was to what they then professed. And here we may observe, I. How affectionately he addresses himself to them. He styles them brethren, though he knew their hearts were in a great measure alienated from him. He desires that all resentments might be laid aside, and that they would bear the same temper of mind towards him which he did to them; he would have them to be as he was, for he was as they were, and…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Galatians 4:12

be as I am--"As I have in my life among you cast off Jewish habits, so do ye; for I am become as ye are," namely, in the non-observance of legal ordinances. "The fact of my laying them aside among Gentiles, shows that I regard them as not at all contributing to justification or sanctification. Do you regard them in the same light, and act accordingly." His observing the law among the Jews was not inconsistent with this, for he did so only in order to win them, without compromising principle. On the other hand, the Galatian Gentiles, by adopting legal ordinances, showed that they regarded them as needful for salvation. This Paul combats. ye have not injured me at all--namely, at the period…

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Adam Clarke on Galatians 4:12

Be as I am - Thoroughly addicted to the Christian faith and worship, from the deepest conviction of its truth. For I am as ye are - I was formerly a Jew, and as zealously addicted to the rites and ceremonies of Judaism as ye are, but I am saved from that mean and unprofitable dependence: "Be therefore as I am now; who was once as you now are." Others think the sense to be this: "Be as affectionate to me as I am to you; for ye were once as loving to me as I am now to you." Ye have not injured me at all - I do not thus earnestly entreat you to return to your Christian profession because your perversion has been any loss to me, nor because your conversion can be to me any gain: ye have not inju…

The Church Fathers

He is saying something like this: "Just as I was made weak for your weakness and could not speak as to spiritual people … so you should also be as I am, that is, understand more spiritually." … This he says indeed as an imitator of the Savior, who … "was found in fashion as a man," that we might come to the divine life from being men.
— Jerome, EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 2.4.12

O trumpet of peace to the soul that is at war! O weapon that puttest to flight terrible passions! O instruction that quenches the innate fire of the soul! The Word exercises an influence which does not make poets: it does not equip philosophers nor skilled orators, but by its instruction it makes mortals immortal, mortals gods; and from the earth transports them to the realms above Olympus. Come, be taught; become as I am, for I, too, was as ye are.
— Justin Martyr, Discourse to the Greeks, Chapter V

A disciple harms his master if he wastes his precepts and his work by his own neglect. The Galatians had not harmed the apostle, because they had observed his gospel and his commands right up to the present.… Or else [he means]: "When I first preached the gospel to you … I pretended to be weak that I might be helpful to you in your weakness; did you not receive me as an angel, as Christ Jesus? When, therefore, you did me no harm at that time and thought me in my downcast and lowly state to be like the Son of God, why am I harmed by you when I stir you up to greater things?"
— Jerome, EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 2.4.13

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Heaven — (1.) Definitions. The phrase “heaven and earth” is used to indicate the whole universe (Gen. 1:1; Jer. 23:24; Acts 17:24). According to the Jewish notion there were three heavens, (a) The firmament,…

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Galatians 4:12

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Galatians 4:12-16

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Galatians 4:12

Adam Clarke on Galatians 4:12

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Galatians 4:12

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Galatians 4:12-16

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Galatians 4:12

Adam Clarke on Galatians 4:12

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on Galatians 4:12

John Calvin on Galatians 4:12-20

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Galatians 4:12-20