Galatians 4:20

I desire to be present with you now, and to change my voice; for I stand in doubt of you.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
desire	ἤθελον ēthelon	G2309	to determine (as an active option from subjective impul… · verb — imperfect active indicative, 1st person singular
present	παρεῖναι pareinai	G3918	to be near · verb — second present active infinitive
with	πρὸς pros	G4314	a preposition of direction · preposition
you	ὑμᾶς hymâs	G5209	you (as the objective of a verb or preposition)
now	ἄρτι arti	G737	just now · adverb
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
change	ἀλλάξαι allaxai	G236	to make different · verb — aorist active infinitive
my	μοῦ moû	G3450	of me
voice	φωνήν phōnēn	G5456	a tone (articulate · noun — accusative singular feminine
for	ὅτι hoti	G3754	demonstrative · conjunction
doubt	ἀποροῦμαι aporoumai	G639	to have no way out · verb — present middle indicative, 1st person singular
of	ἐν en	G1722	"in · preposition
you	ὑμῖν hymîn	G5213	to (with or by) you

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

1 Thessalonians 2:17-18 But we, brethren, being taken from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavoured the more abundantly to see your face with gre…
1 Corinthians 4:19-21 But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will, and will know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power.
1 Thessalonians 3:9 For what thanks can we render to God again for you, for all the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes before our God;

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

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Galatians 4:19-20

That the apostle might the better dispose these Christians to bear with him in the reproofs which he was obliged to give them, he here expresses his great affection to them, and the very tender concern he had for their welfare: he was not like them - one thing when among them and another when absent from them. Their disaffection to him had not removed his affection from them; but he still bore the same respect to them which he had formerly done, nor was he like their false teachers, who pretended a great deal of affection to them, when at the same time they were only consulting their own interest; but he had a sincere concern for their truest advantage; he sought not theirs, but them. They w…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Galatians 4:20

Translate as Greek, "I could wish." If circumstances permitted (which they do not), I would gladly be with you [M. STUART]. now--as I was twice already. Speaking face to face is so much more effective towards loving persuasion than writing (Jo2 1:12; Jo3 1:13-14). change my voice--as a mother (Gal 4:19): adapting my tone of voice to what I saw in person your case might need. This is possible to one present, but not to one in writing [GROTIUS and ESTIUS]. I stand in doubt of you--rather, "I am perplexed about you," namely, how to deal with you, what kind of words to use, gentle or severe, to bring you back to the right path.

Adam Clarke on Galatians 4:20

I desire to be present with you - I wish to accommodate my doctrine to your state; I know not whether you need stronger reprehension, or to be dealt with more leniently. I stand in doubt of you - I have doubts concerning your state; the progress of error and conviction among you, which I cannot fully know without being among you, This appears to be the apostle's meaning, and tends much to soften and render palatable the severity of his reproofs.

John Gill on Galatians 4:20

I desire to be present with you now,.... His meaning is, either that be wished he was personally present among them; that he had but an opportunity of seeing them face to face, and telling them all his mind, and in such a manner as he could not in a single epistle; or that they would consider him, when they read this epistle, as if he was really among them; and as if they saw the concern of his mind, the agonies of his soul, the looks of his countenance, and heard the different tone of his voice: and to change my voice; when present with them, either by a different way of preaching; that whereas before he preached the Gospel of the grace of God unto them, and his voice was charming to them…

The Church Fathers

Holy Scripture edifies even when read but is much more profitable if one passes from written characters to the voice.… Knowing, then, that speech has more force when addressed to those who are present, the apostle longs to turn the epistolary voice, the voice confined within written characters, into actual presence.
— Jerome, EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 2.4.20

"I used coaxing words to you just now, … but for the sake of that love which prevents me from allowing my sons to perish and stray forever I wish that I were now present—if the bonds of my ministry did not prevent me—and change my coaxing tone to one of castigation. It is not because of fickleness that I am now coaxing, now irate. I am impelled to speak by love, by grief, by diverse emotions."
— Jerome, EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 2.4.20

"I would indeed be present with you now." — [OECUMENIUS] See love. "I am not content," he says, with letters; I sought to be present with you, and to exchange weeping and mourning for teaching delivered in words, so that, he says, I taught you with weeping. For I too am at a loss what to say about you. How is it that you who were exalted by the knowledge of the Gospel have been cast down and dragged to the ground, again held by the law? [end of the excerpt by Oecumenius] — "and to change my tone." For some, to turn it into weeping; for others, to marvel at the certainty.
— Oecumenius, Commentary on Galatians

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 4:20

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Galatians 4:19-20

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Galatians 4:20

Adam Clarke on Galatians 4:20

John Gill on Galatians 4:20

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Galatians 4:20

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Galatians 4:19-20

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Galatians 4:20

Adam Clarke on Galatians 4:20

John Gill on Galatians 4:20

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Galatians 4:12-20

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Galatians 4:20