Restore the Fallen and Sow to the Spirit
Galatians 6:1-10
Gal.6.1 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- Αδελφοι: NOUN,voc,pl,m
- εαν: CONJ
- και: CONJ
- προλημφθη: VERB,aor,pass,subj,3,sg
- ανθρωπος: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- εν: PREP
- τινι: PRON,dat,sg,neut
- παραπτωματι: NOUN,dat,sg,n
- υμεις: PRON,nom,pl,2
- οι: ART,nom,pl,m
- πνευματικοι: ADJ,nom,pl,m
- καταρτιζετε: VERB,pres,act,ind,2,pl
- τον: ART,acc,sg,m
- τοιουτον: ADJ,acc,sg,m
- εν: PREP
- πνευματι: NOUN,dat,sg,n
- πραυτητος: NOUN,gen,sg,f
- σκοπων: PTCP,pres,act,nom,sg,m
- σεαυτον: PRON,acc,sg,m
- μη: PART
- και: CONJ
- συ: PRON,nom,sg,2
- πειρασθης: VERB,aor,pass,subj,2,sg
Parallels
- Matthew 18:15 (thematic): Instruction for restoring a sinning brother privately — addresses correction within the community and the goal of restoration, paralleling Gal.6:1’s concern for dealing with a fellow believer’s fault.
- Luke 17:3-4 (verbal): Explicit directive ‘if your brother sins, rebuke him…’ and the call to forgiveness/restore after repentance echo the wording and pastoral intent of Gal.6:1.
- James 5:19-20 (thematic): Emphasizes turning a sinner from error to save his soul, matching Gal.6:1’s goal of spiritual restoration and concern for the erring person’s well-being.
- 2 Timothy 2:24-26 (allusion): Describes the Lord’s servant as gentle and patient in correcting opponents so they may come to repentance and escape the devil’s snare — closely paralleling Gal.6:1’s call to restore gently and the warning against being tempted.
- Galatians 6:2 (structural): Immediate context: bearing one another’s burdens complements the mandate to restore a fallen brother, situating restoration within mutual responsibility and communal care.
Alternative generated candidates
- Brothers, if anyone is found in a transgression, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, watching yourselves, lest you also be tempted.
- Brothers, if anyone is overtaken in a transgression, you who are spiritual should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness—watching yourselves, lest you too be tempted.
Gal.6.2 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- αλληλων: PRON,gen,pl,m
- τα: ART,acc,pl,n
- βαρη: NOUN,acc,pl,n
- βασταζετε: VERB,pres,act,imp,2,pl
- και: CONJ
- ουτως: ADV
- αναπληρωσετε: VERB,fut,act,ind,2,pl
- τον: ART,acc,sg,m
- νομον: NOUN,acc,sg,m
- του: ART,gen,sg,n
- Χριστου: NOUN,gen,sg,m
Parallels
- Galatians 6:1 (structural): Immediate context: exhorts believers to restore those caught in sin gently and to bear one another’s burdens as part of mutual care within the community.
- Romans 15:1 (thematic): Urges the strong to bear with the failings of the weak—similar ethical call to support and carry others’ burdens.
- John 13:34–35 (allusion): Jesus’ new command to love one another functions as the ‘law of Christ’; bearing one another’s burdens is presented as an expression of that love.
- Leviticus 19:18 (thematic): ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ provides the Torah background for commands to care for others, which Paul sees fulfilled in Christ‑like mutual care.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:14 (thematic): Commands believers to encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, and be patient—parallel instructions for communal support and bearing burdens.
Alternative generated candidates
- Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
- Bear one another's burdens, and in this way fulfill the law of Christ.
Gal.6.3 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ει: VERB,pres,act,ind,2,sg
- γαρ: PART
- δοκει: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
- τις: PRON,nom,sg,?
- ειναι: VERB,pres,act,inf
- τι: PRON,int,nom,sg,n
- μηδεν: PRON,acc,sg,n
- ων: PRON,gen,pl,m
- φρεναπατα: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
- εαυτον·: PRON,acc,sg,m
Parallels
- Romans 12:3 (verbal): Both verses warn against an inflated estimate of oneself — Romans 12:3 explicitly commands not to think of oneself more highly than one ought, paralleling Galatians' rebuke of self-deception about one’s status.
- 1 Corinthians 4:7 (thematic): Paul stresses that believers have nothing they did not receive, undercutting grounds for boasting; this fits Galatians' critique of those who imagine themselves to be 'something' and thus deceive themselves.
- 1 John 1:8 (verbal): Uses the same basic idea and language of self-deception ('if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves'), directly paralleling Galatians' assertion that self-exaltation is self-deception.
- 1 Corinthians 10:12 (thematic): A caution against overconfidence — 'if you think you stand, take heed lest you fall' — this warning about presumptuous self-assurance echoes Galatians' condemnation of erroneous self-estimation.
Alternative generated candidates
- For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
- For if anyone thinks himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
Gal.6.4 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- το: ART,acc,sg,n
- δε: CONJ
- εργον: NOUN,acc,sg,n
- εαυτου: PRON,gen,sg,m
- δοκιμαζετω: VERB,pres,act,imp,3,sg
- εκαστος: ADJ,nom,sg,m
- και: CONJ
- τοτε: ADV
- εις: PREP
- εαυτον: PRON,acc,sg,masc,reflex
- μονον: ADV
- το: ART,acc,sg,n
- καυχημα: NOUN,nom,sg,n
- εξει: VERB,fut,act,ind,3,sg
- και: CONJ
- ουκ: PART,neg
- εις: PREP
- τον: ART,acc,sg,m
- ετερον: ADJ,nom,sg,n
Parallels
- 2 Corinthians 13:5 (verbal): Direct exhortation to self-examination ('examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith')—same Pauline motif of testing oneself rather than judging others.
- 1 Corinthians 4:3-5 (thematic): Paul argues against seeking human commendation and insists that ultimate judgment/praise comes from God, paralleling Gal.6:4’s warning about boasting in relation to others.
- Romans 12:3 (thematic): Admonition to have a sober estimate of oneself ('not to think of himself more highly than he ought'), echoing Galatians’ call to self-assessment rather than comparison and vaunting over another.
- Matthew 7:3-5 (thematic): Jesus’ teaching to address one’s own fault before criticizing another—parallels Gal.6:4’s emphasis on first testing one’s own work instead of boasting over others.
- 2 Corinthians 10:12 (verbal): Paul criticizes those who compare themselves with one another and boast; similar concern with improper comparison and boasting found in Galatians 6:4–5.
Alternative generated candidates
- But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting only in himself and not in another.
- But let each one test his own work, and then he will have reason to boast in himself alone, and not in another.
Gal.6.5 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- εκαστος: ADJ,nom,sg,m
- γαρ: PART
- το: ART,acc,sg,n
- ιδιον: ADJ,acc,sg,neut
- φορτιον: NOUN,acc,sg,n
- βαστασει: VERB,fut,act,ind,3,sg
Parallels
- Galatians 6:2 (thematic): Immediately paired in context: 'Bear one another's burdens' balances communal aid with 6:5's emphasis that ultimately each person bears his own load—shows tension between mutual responsibility and personal obligation.
- Luke 14:27 (verbal): Jesus' call to 'carry his own cross' uses the same imagery of personally bearing a burden, underlining individual cost and commitment in discipleship similar to 'bear his own load.'
- Matthew 16:24 (verbal): Parallel saying to Luke 14:27—'take up his cross' conveys the personal, costly duty of following Christ, resonating with Paul’s insistence on personal bearing of one’s load.
- Romans 14:12 (thematic): 'Each of us will give an account of himself to God' echoes the principle of individual responsibility before God that lies behind Paul’s statement that each must carry his own load.
- 2 Corinthians 5:10 (thematic): The image of appearing before Christ's judgment seat where each receives what is due highlights individual accountability for actions, paralleling Gal. 6:5’s focus on personal burden and responsibility.
Alternative generated candidates
- For each will bear his own load.
- For each will bear his own load.
Gal.6.6 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- Κοινωνειτω: VERB,pres,act,imp,3,sg
- δε: CONJ
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- κατηχουμενος: PART,pres,pass,nom,sg,m
- τον: ART,acc,sg,m
- λογον: NOUN,acc,sg,m
- τω: ART,dat,sg,m
- κατηχουντι: PART,pres,act,dat,sg,m
- εν: PREP
- πασιν: ADJ,dat,pl,m
- αγαθοις: ADJ,dat,pl,neut
Parallels
- 1 Corinthians 9:11-14 (thematic): Argues that those who proclaim the gospel should benefit materially from it (support and share in goods with those who teach), paralleling Gal.6:6’s instruction to share all good things with one’s teacher.
- 1 Timothy 5:17-18 (quotation): Commands honor and material support for elders, citing Scripture ('The laborer deserves his wages'), directly related to providing for and supporting those who teach.
- Luke 10:7 (verbal): Jesus tells the sending disciples that 'the laborer deserves his wages,' a verbal parallel used elsewhere to justify material provision for ministers and teachers.
- Deuteronomy 25:4 (quotation): The OT law 'You shall not muzzle an ox...' is later invoked (e.g., 1 Tim 5:18, Luke 10:7) to justify that those who serve (including teachers) deserve material support—underlying principle behind Gal.6:6.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 (thematic): Urges respect and peaceful relations toward leaders and recognition of their work—complements Gal.6:6’s concern that those taught provide for and support their teachers.
Alternative generated candidates
- Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with his teacher.
- Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with his teacher.
Gal.6.7 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- μη: PART
- πλανασθε: VERB,pres,mp,ind,2,pl
- θεος: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- ου: PART,neg
- μυκτηριζεται·ο: VERB,pres,pass,ind,3,sg
- γαρ: PART
- εαν: CONJ
- σπειρη: VERB,aor,act,subj,3,sg
- ανθρωπος: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- τουτο: PRON,nom,sg,n
- και: CONJ
- θερισει·: VERB,fut,act,ind,3,sg
Parallels
- Hosea 8:7 (verbal): Uses the sowing/reaping image ('they sow the wind and reap the whirlwind') to express inevitable consequences, echoing Gal.6:7's principle that what one sows one will reap.
- 2 Corinthians 9:6 (verbal): Paul elsewhere employs the same agricultural maxim ('whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly'), using sowing and reaping as a moral and spiritual law of reciprocity.
- Proverbs 22:8 (thematic): Wisdom tradition linking sowing with future outcome ('whoever sows injustice will reap calamity'), paralleling Gal.6:7's claim that actions produce corresponding results.
- Luke 6:38 (thematic): Jesus' teaching about reciprocal measure ('with the measure you use, it will be measured to you') reflects the same ethic of reciprocal consequence articulated in Gal.6:7.
Alternative generated candidates
- Do not be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever one sows, that will he also reap.
- Do not be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever one sows, that will he also reap.
Gal.6.8 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- οτι: CONJ
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- σπειρων: PART,pres,act,nom,sg,m
- εις: PREP
- την: ART,acc,sg,f
- σαρκα: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- εαυτου: PRON,gen,sg,m
- εκ: PREP
- της: ART,gen,sg,f
- σαρκος: NOUN,gen,sg,f
- θερισει: VERB,fut,act,ind,3,sg
- φθοραν: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- δε: CONJ
- σπειρων: PART,pres,act,nom,sg,m
- εις: PREP
- το: ART,acc,sg,n
- πνευμα: NOUN,acc,sg,n
- εκ: PREP
- του: ART,gen,sg,n
- πνευματος: NOUN,gen,sg,n
- θερισει: VERB,fut,act,ind,3,sg
- ζωην: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- αιωνιον: ADJ,acc,sg,f
Parallels
- Galatians 6:7 (verbal): Immediate context: the same sowing/ reaping proverb—'whatever one sows, that will he also reap,' which grounds the specific flesh/Spirit application in v.8.
- 2 Corinthians 9:6 (verbal): Uses the same agricultural sowing/reaping imagery ('whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly') to teach moral consequence, echoing Paul's metaphor.
- Romans 8:6–8 (thematic): Contrasts living according to the flesh versus the Spirit—'to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life'—paralleling Gal.6:8's flesh/Spirit and death/life polarity.
- Romans 6:23 (thematic): Contrasts the consequence of sin (death) with God's gift (eternal life), a theological parallel to Gal.6:8's 'corruption' versus 'eternal life.'
- Hosea 10:12 (allusion): OT prophetic sowing/harvest imagery ('sow for yourselves righteousness, reap steadfast love') that Paul likely draws on—an antecedent use of sowing language to promise a moral harvest.
Alternative generated candidates
- For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
- For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
Gal.6.9 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- το: ART,acc,sg,n
- δε: CONJ
- καλον: ADJ,nom/acc,sg,neut
- ποιουντες: VERB,pres,act,part,nom,pl,m
- μη: PART
- εγκακωμεν: VERB,pres,act,subj,1,pl
- καιρω: NOUN,dat,sg,m
- γαρ: PART
- ιδιω: ADJ,dat,sg,m
- θερισομεν: VERB,fut,act,ind,1,pl
- μη: PART
- εκλυομενοι: VERB,pres,mid/pass,part,nom,pl,m
Parallels
- Galatians 6:7 (verbal): Same sowing/reaping imagery and immediate context: what one sows one will reap, providing the rationale for not growing weary in doing good.
- 2 Thessalonians 3:13 (verbal): Uses the same injunction not to grow/become weary in doing good (μὴ ἐκκακεῖσθε/μὴ ἀποκακείτε), a near-echo of Gal. 6:9.
- James 5:7 (thematic): Employs harvest imagery (the farmer waiting for the precious fruit) to exhort patience and perseverance until the appointed time—parallels Gal. 6:9's 'in due season we shall reap.'
- Hebrews 6:10-12 (thematic): Encourages perseverance by assuring believers God remembers their works and urging them not to be slothful but to imitate those who inherit promises through faith and patience—same encouragement to persist in good works.
- 1 Corinthians 15:58 (structural): Calls for steadfastness and abounding in the Lord’s work because such labor is not in vain—a parallel exhortation to continue doing good with confidence about the ultimate outcome.
Alternative generated candidates
- Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap, if we do not give up.
- And let us not grow weary in doing good; for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
Gal.6.10 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- αρα: PART
- ουν: CONJ
- ως: ADV
- καιρον: NOUN,acc,sg,m
- εχομεν: VERB,pres,act,ind,1,pl
- εργαζωμεθα: VERB,pres,mid,subj,1,pl
- το: ART,acc,sg,n
- αγαθον: ADJ,acc,sg,m
- προς: PREP
- παντας: ADJ,acc,pl,m
- μαλιστα: ADV
- δε: CONJ
- προς: PREP
- τους: ART,acc,pl,m
- οικειους: ADJ,acc,pl,m
- της: ART,gen,sg,f
- πιστεως: NOUN,gen,sg,f
Parallels
- Galatians 6:2 (structural): Immediate contextual parallel in the same chapter: believers are instructed to 'bear one another's burdens,' which grounds the call to do good to others, especially fellow believers.
- Romans 12:13 (thematic): Commands sharing with the needs of the saints and hospitality—similar concern for caring for fellow believers ('household of faith').
- 1 Thessalonians 5:15 (verbal): Urges believers to 'always seek to do good to one another and to everyone,' closely echoing the broader injunction to do good to all people.
- Hebrews 13:16 (verbal): Begins with 'do not neglect to do good and to share,' a parallel exhortation emphasizing active generosity as pleasing to God.
- James 2:14-17 (thematic): Stresses that genuine faith is demonstrated by works of help and charity—underscores the necessity of doing good (practical care), especially toward those in need.
Alternative generated candidates
- So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who belong to the household of faith.
- So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the household of faith.
Brothers, if anyone is caught in a transgression, you who are spiritual should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, watching yourselves, lest you too be tempted.
Bear one another's burdens, and in this way fulfill the law of Christ.
For if anyone thinks himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then he will have reason to boast in himself alone, and not in another.
For each one will bear his own burden.
Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with his teacher.
Do not be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever one sows, that will he also reap.
For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
Let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the household of faith.