Galatians 6:2

Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
ye	βαστάζετε bastazete	G941	to lift · verb — present active imperative, 2nd person plural
another’s	ἀλλήλων allēlōn	G240	one another · reciprocal pronoun — genitive plural masculine
burdens	βάρη barē	G922	compare G899 (βάθος)) · noun — accusative plural neuter
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
so	οὕτως houtōs	G3779	in this way (referring to what precedes or follows) · adverb
fulfil	ἀναπληρώσετε anaplērōsete	G378	to complete · verb — future active indicative, 2nd person plural
law	νόμον nomon	G3551	law (through the idea of prescriptive usage) · noun — accusative singular masculine
Christ	Χριστοῦ. Christou	G5547	anointed · noun — genitive singular masculine, a title

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

Romans 15:1 We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
1 Thessalonians 5:14 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.
John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
1 John 4:21 And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.
John 15:12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
James 2:8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:
Galatians 5:13-14 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
John 13:14-15 If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet.

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

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Galatians 6:1-10

The apostle having, in the foregoing chapter, exhorted Christians by love to serve one another (Gal 6:13), and also cautioned us (Gal 6:16) against a temper which, if indulged, would hinder us from showing the mutual love and serviceableness which he had recommended, in the beginning of this chapter he proceeds to give some further directions, which, if duly observed, would both promote the one and prevent the other of these, and render our behaviour both more agreeable to our Christian profession and more useful and comfortable to one another: particularly, I. We are here taught to deal tenderly with those who are overtaken in a fault, Gal 6:1. He puts a common case: If a man be overtaken i…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Galatians 6:2

If ye, legalists, must "bear burdens," then instead of legal burdens (Mat 23:4), "bear one another's burdens," literally, "weights." Distinguished by BENGEL from "burden," Gal 6:4 (a different Greek word, "load"): "weights" exceed the strength of those under them; "burden" is proportioned to the strength. so fulfil--or as other old manuscripts read, "so ye will fulfil," Greek, "fill up," "thoroughly fulfil." the law of Christ--namely, "love" (Gal 5:14). Since ye desire "the law," then fulfil the law of Christ, which is not made up of various minute observances, but whose sole "burden" is "love" (Joh 13:34; Joh 15:12); Rom 15:3 gives Christ as the example in the particular duty here.

Adam Clarke on Galatians 6:2

Bear ye one another's burdens - Have sympathy; feel for each other; and consider the case of a distressed brother as your own. And so fulfill the law of Christ - That law or commandment, Ye shall love one another; or that, Do unto all men as ye would they should do unto you. We should be as indulgent to the infirmities of others, as we can be consistently with truth and righteousness: our brother's infirmity may be his burden; and if we do not choose to help him to bear it, let us not reproach him because he is obliged to carry the load.

John Gill on Galatians 6:2

The Church Fathers

By "burdens" he means the needs of the body. So to the extent that anyone is richer in resources, he is called to bear the poor person's burden and relieve poverty by his abundance.
— Origen of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON ROMANS 10.6

I Exhort thee in God, that thou add [speed] to thy course, and that thou vindicate thy dignity. Have a care to preserve concord with the saints. Bear [the burdens of] the weak, that "thou mayest fulfil the law of Christ."
— Ignatius of Antioch, Epistle of Pseudo-Ignatius to Hero, a Deacon of Antioch

This means: "You have one deficiency but not another. The neighbor's case is the opposite. He has another deficit but not the one you have. You must bear his and he yours. For thus is the law of love fulfilled." By "the law of Christ" he means love, for he himself said, "I give you a new commandment, to love one another."
— Theodoret of Cyrus, EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 6.2

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

Cutting — The flesh in various ways was an idolatrous practice, a part of idol-worship (Deut. 14:1; 1 Kings 18:28). The Israelites were commanded not to imitate this practice (Lev. 19:28; 21:5; Deut. 14:1).…
Fellowship — (1.) With God, consisting in the knowledge of his will (Job 22:21; John 17:3); agreement with his designs (Amos 3:2); mutual affection (Rom. 8: 38, 39); enjoyment of his presence (Ps. 4:6);…
Afflicted, Duty Toward The · To sympathise with them — To sympathise with them
Burden · .Of oppressions — .Of oppressions
Commandments · PRECEPTS OF PAUL. EXPLICITLY STATED OR IMPLIED IN DIDACTIC EPISTLES — PRECEPTS OF PAUL. EXPLICITLY STATED OR IMPLIED IN DIDACTIC EPISTLES
Conduct, Christian · Sympathising with others — Sympathising with others
Fellowship · 1:10;10:16,17;12:13;16:19,20; — 1:10;10:16,17;12:13;16:19,20;
Fraternity · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Kindness · 6:30,34,35; — 6:30,34,35;
Love To Man · Should be exhibited, in: Supporting the weak — Should be exhibited, in: Supporting the weak
Selfishness · 1:10; — 1:10;

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 6:2

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Galatians 6:1-10

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Galatians 6:2

Adam Clarke on Galatians 6:2

John Gill on Galatians 6:2

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Galatians 6:2

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Galatians 6:1-10

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Galatians 6:2

Adam Clarke on Galatians 6:2

John Gill on Galatians 6:2

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Galatians 6:1-5

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Galatians 6:2