30But what does the scripture say? “Drive out the enslaved woman and her child, for the child of the enslaved woman will not share the inheritance with the child of the free woman.”
The Greek that is translated “scripture” or “scriptures” in English is translated as “God’s word which people wrote” in Guerrero Amuzgo (source: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125) and “paper writings” in Copainalá Zoque (source: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.).
While the term “Bible,” often used as a synonym, does not appear in the Bible itself, there’s an interesting translation of that word in Dehu. Missionaries had translated “Bible” as “Container of the Word” until they realized that this was also used for “penis sheath.” (Source: Clifford 1992, p. 87)
Following are a number of back-translations of Galatians 4:30:
Uma: “But what is written in the Holy Book? It is written like this: "Expel that woman who is a slave, along with her child! For the child of a slave is not allowed to receive the inheritance of his father together with the child who was born from the woman who is not a slave."” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “But what does the holy-book say? The holy-book says, ‘Cause-to-leave/send-away the slave woman and her child because there is no inheritance given to the slave’s child. All the inheritance belongs to the child of the not slave woman.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And what is the advice of the written word of God? There is a written word of His which says, ‘Cause the slave woman and her son to go away, because the child of the slave, it’s not possible that he be the possessions of his father. The only one who can come to own these is the son of the woman who was not a slave.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “But let us remember what God caused-to-be-written which says, ‘Cause-to-leave that slave and that child of hers, because it is not possible for the child of a slave to join-in-inheriting what the child of the non slave will inherit.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “But it says in the writing, ‘Send away now that woman who is a slave, and also her child. Because as for that child of the slave, it certainly isn’t possible/acceptable that he inherit along with that child of the one who is not a slave.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “But you know what is written in the Holy Book, that it says: ‘The woman who is a servant will be thrown outside along with her son. Because that son will not have a part in what is inherited by the son of the woman of the house.'” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between. One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a benefactive construction as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017.
Here, oidashite (追い出して) or “chase out” is used in combination with kudasaru (くださる), a respectful form of the benefactive kureru (くれる). A benefactive reflects the good will of the giver or the gratitude of a recipient of the favor. To convey this connotation, English translation needs to employ a phrase such as “for me (my sake)” or “for you (your sake).” (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
The connective but at the beginning of this verse marks Paul’s alternative to the persecution mentioned in the previous verse (compare Phillips “yet”).
For languages in which one cannot speak of the scripture or “the Hebrew Scriptures” (equivalent to the Old Testament) saying something, it may be possible, as in many other contexts, to read “But what does one read in the Scriptures?” or “… the Holy Writings?”
The quotation itself is from Genesis 21.10 and consists of the words of Sarah to Abraham, asking him to do something either because of Ishmael’s hostility towards Isaac or because of his inheriting along with Isaac. Paul quotes from the Septuagint, as is his usual practice, but he makes certain innovations. While the Septuagint ends with “will not inherit with my son Isaac,” Paul changes this to “will not inherit with the son of the free woman.” This should not bother us, for biblical writers frequently made adaptations in their quotations to suit their particular purposes. One should also remember that at that time very few copies of Scripture were available, and most quotations were made from memory, thus allowing a certain degree of freedom in rendering the meaning of a quotation rather than a strictly literal repetition of its words.
In place of Send the slave woman and her son away, it may be more appropriate in a number of languages to translate as “Banish the slave woman and her son,” or “Make the slave woman and her son go away.”
The phrase will not have a part of the father’s property is literally “will not inherit.” As employed by Paul in this context, “inherit” is used in the sense of receiving what God has promised. For translating this word, see the comments on Galatians 3.18,29; 4.1, 7. One must translate in some languages “the son of the slave woman must not have any of the father’s property; it is to go to the son of the free woman,” or “… the son of the father’s wife who is not a slave.”
Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Galatians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1976. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
But: There is a contrast between 4:29 and 4:30. The contrast is between the way that the false teachers were treating the Galatians (persecuting them) and the way that the Galatians should treat the false teachers (cast them out). The Greek indicates this contrast with a conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as But.
Many English versions do not translate this conjunction. In some languages, it will not be necessary to translate this conjunction either.
what does the Scripture say?: This is a rhetorical question. Paul used this rhetorical question to emphasize what the Scripture says.
Some ways to translate this emphasis are:
• As a rhetorical question. For example:
what do the Scriptures say about that? (New Living Translation (2004))
• As a statement. For example:
consider what God’s word says:
Use whichever form is most natural in your language.
4:30b
Expel the slave woman and her son: This is a quotation from Genesis 21:10. God told Abraham to send Hagar and her son away from the household.
Some other ways to translate this clause are:
Send away the slave woman and her son -or-
Throw out the slave woman and her son. (New Century Version) -or-
Cast out/Banish the slave woman and her son
Paul probably quoted this verse to tell the Galatian Christians to expel those people who were telling them to follow the law.
4:30c
for: Verse 4:30c is the basis for the command to send away the slave woman and her son (in 4:30b). The Greek introduces this basis with a conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as for. Another way to translate this conjunction is:
b Get rid of the slave woman and her son, cbecause the son of the slave woman must never share the inheritance d with the son of the free woman. (God’s Word)
In some language, no conjunction is needed to introduce the basis for the command. For example:
b Get rid of the slave woman and her son! c He won’t be given anything. d The son of the free woman will receive everything. (Contemporary English Version)
In other languages, it is more natural to put the basis before the command. For example:
c The son of the slave woman must never share the inheritance d with the son of the free woman. b So throw out the slave woman and her son.
the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance: In the case of Abraham, his possessions that were to be inherited as part of the inheritance included the spiritual blessing of the covenant that God made with him. The son of the slave woman was not part of that covenant.
Some other ways to translate the phrase will never share in the inheritance are:
will not be an heir -or-
will not have a part of the father’s property (Good News Translation) -or-
will not receive the blessing
4:30d
with the free woman’s son: In some languages, it may be more natural to make this phrase a separate sentence. For example:
The son of the free woman will be the heir of everything. -or-
The son of the free women will inherit/receive all his father’s possessions.
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
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