Galatians 3:8 kjv
And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
Galatians 3:8 nkjv
And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, "In you all the nations shall be blessed."
Galatians 3:8 niv
Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed through you."
Galatians 3:8 esv
And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "In you shall all the nations be blessed."
Galatians 3:8 nlt
What's more, the Scriptures looked forward to this time when God would make the Gentiles right in his sight because of their faith. God proclaimed this good news to Abraham long ago when he said, "All nations will be blessed through you."
Galatians 3 8 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Gen 12:3 | "...in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." | Promise to Abraham for all nations |
| Gen 18:18 | "...all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him." | Confirmation of promise to Abraham |
| Gen 22:18 | "...in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed," | Reinforcement of Abrahamic covenant |
| Deut 32:21 | "They have made me jealous by what is no god... I will make them jealous by what is no people, by a foolish nation I will anger them." | God's inclusion of Gentiles |
| Psa 67:2 | "that your way may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations." | Desire for universal salvation |
| Psa 117:1 | "Praise the LORD, all nations! Extol him, all peoples!" | Universal praise of God |
| Isa 49:6 | "...I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth." | Servant as light to Gentiles |
| Isa 54:3 | "For you shall spread to the right and to the left... and shall make the nations your heirs..." | Expansion and inheritance for Gentiles |
| Jer 3:17 | "At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD, and all nations shall gather to it..." | Jerusalem as center for nations |
| Zech 8:20 | "...peoples shall come, even inhabitants of many cities, and the inhabitants of one shall say to another, 'Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the LORD...'" | Gentiles seeking God |
| Acts 10:34 | "So Peter opened his mouth and said, 'Truly I understand that God shows no partiality,'" | Peter's realization about Gentiles |
| Acts 13:47 | "For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, 'I have set you in the light for the Gentiles, that you may salvation to the end of the earth.'" | Paul quotes Isaiah regarding Gentiles |
| Acts 14:27 | "And when they arrived and gathered the church, they reported what God had done through them, how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles." | God opening door of faith to Gentiles |
| Acts 17:24 | "The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by hand." | God's universal sovereignty |
| Acts 17:27 | "...that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us." | Gentiles seeking God's presence |
| Rom 1:16 | "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to Jew first and also to Greek." | Gospel for Jew and Greek |
| Rom 3:22 | "...the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:" | God's righteousness by faith, no distinction |
| Rom 9:24 | "even whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers." | Predestination and God's plan |
| Rom 15:10 | "Again he says, 'Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, laud him, all peoples!'" | Gentiles praised for praising God |
| 1 Cor 10:33 | "I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved." | Aiming for salvation of many |
| 2 Cor 5:19 | "that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them..." | God reconciling the world through Christ |
| Eph 2:11-13 | "Remember that you Gentiles... you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel... But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ." | Gentiles brought near by Christ's blood |
| Gal 2:16 | "...yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified." | Justification by faith, not law |
| Gal 3:14 | "so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith." | Abraham's blessing to Gentiles by faith |
| Col 1:27 | "...this mystery, which is for you and for generations to come, is Christ in you, the hope of glory." | Christ in Gentiles, hope of glory |
| Heb 11:6 | "And without faith it is impossible to please God, since anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who diligently seek him." | Faith necessary to please God |
| 1 Pet 4:10 | "As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace." | Stewarding God's grace |
Galatians 3 verses
Galatians 3 8 Meaning
Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith. This means the good news of salvation through faith was planned by God even before the coming of Christ.
Galatians 3 8 Context
Galatians 3:8 is part of a larger argument Paul is making in his letter to the churches in Galatia. The Galatians, a Gentile audience, were being influenced by Jewish "Judaizers" who insisted that Gentiles must be circumcised and follow the Mosaic Law to be truly saved and become part of God's people. Paul is countering this by emphasizing that salvation comes through faith in Jesus Christ, not through adherence to the Law. This verse situates the Gentile inclusion in God's plan of salvation firmly in the Old Testament.
Galatians 3 8 Word Analysis
- PROÏDŌN (προΐδὼν): From pro- (before, forward) and eido (to see). "Foresaw," "perceived beforehand," or "envisaged." Implies a divine, intentional vision or plan in advance.
- Hoti (ὅτι): "That," introducing a subordinate clause stating what was foreseen.
- Dikaiōsei (δικαιώσει): Future active indicative of dikaioō (to justify, make righteous). "Will justify." This signifies God's action to declare righteous those who believe.
- Ta Ethne (τὰ ἔθνη): Neuter plural of ethnos (nation, people, Gentile). "The Gentiles," referring to non-Jewish people.
- Ek pisteōs (ἐκ πίστεως): Preposition ek (from, out of) with pistis (faith, belief, trust). "By faith," indicating the source or means of justification.
- Logos (λόγος): "Word," "statement," "message." Refers to God's declaration or promise recorded in scripture.
- Humon (ὑμῶν): Second person plural possessive pronoun, "your." Refers to the audience of Galatians, or more broadly to believers.
- Proeuangelizato (προευηγγελίζετο): Imperfect middle/passive indicative of proeuangelizō (to announce good news beforehand, to evangelize in advance). "Announced the gospel beforehand." This indicates an ongoing action in the past, revealing the good news to previous generations.
Words-group by words-group analysis
- "Scripture foresaw": Connects divine prophecy with the written Word of God, establishing that God's plan for Gentiles was not an afterthought but divinely ordained. This links the Old Testament prophets and promises to the New Testament fulfillment in Christ.
- "God would justify the Gentiles by faith": This is the core theological statement. It establishes faith as the exclusive means of justification for Gentiles and, by extension, for all people, directly contradicting the necessity of adhering to the Mosaic Law.
- "Announced the gospel beforehand": This phrase highlights that the message of salvation through faith, now fully revealed in the gospel of Jesus Christ, was implicitly present and proclaimed in God's dealings with His people from antiquity.
Galatians 3 8 Bonus Section
The word "foresaw" (proïdoon) suggests not merely a passive prediction but an active, purposeful foreknowledge and ordaining of future events. This reflects a robust doctrine of divine providence and predestination. The verb "announced the gospel beforehand" (proeuangelizeto) directly links the concept of the Gospel with Old Testament prophecy, identifying it as the unfolding of God's eternal plan rather than a new, unrelated message. This serves to validate the Gospel message for the Galatians, grounding it in their own scriptural heritage and demonstrating that its inclusiveness of Gentiles is not novel but part of God's long-standing purpose.
Galatians 3 8 Commentary
This verse asserts that the inclusion of Gentiles in God's salvation plan was a deliberate and foreseen action of God, not a later alteration. It emphasizes that Scripture itself testified to this, specifically through God's promises to Abraham, which included blessing all nations. The justification of Gentiles by faith, a central theme of Paul's argument in Galatians, is thus rooted in God's ancient prophetic revelation and promises. It underlines that God's covenantal plan always encompassed more than just ethnic Israel, and this inclusion was to be achieved through faith, echoing the faith of Abraham. The "good news" concerning Gentiles' justification by faith was therefore a message "announced beforehand" through God's redemptive historical actions and prophecies, culminating in the work of Christ.