Galatians 3:16

“Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.”

King James Version (KJV)

Other Translations for Galatians 3:16

Now to Abraham and his seede were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many, but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
- King James Version (1611) - View 1611 Bible Scan

Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, "And to seeds, as {referring} to many, but {rather} to one, "And to your seed," that is, Christ."
- New American Standard Version (1995)

Now to Abraham were the promises spoken, and to his seed. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
- American Standard Version (1901)

Now to Abraham were the undertakings given, and to his seed. He says not, And to seeds, as of a great number; but as of one, he says, And to your seed, which is Christ.
- Basic English Bible

But to Abraham were the promises addressed, and to his seed: he does not say, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed; which is Christ.
- Darby Bible

Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
- Webster's Bible

(Now the promises were given to Abraham and to his seed. God did not say "and to seeds," as if speaking of many, but "and to your seed," since He spoke of only one--and this is Christ.)
- Weymouth Bible

Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He doesn't say, "To seeds," as of many, but as of one, "To your seed," which is Christ.
- World English Bible

The biheestis weren seid to Abraham and to his seed; he seith not, In seedis, as in many, but as in oon, And to thi seed, that is, Crist.
- Wycliffe Bible

and to Abraham were the promises spoken, and to his seed; He doth not say, `And to seeds,' as of many, but as of one, `And to thy seed,' which is Christ;
- Youngs Literal Bible

Bible Commentary for Galatians 3:16

Wesley's Notes for Galatians 3:16


3:16 Now the promises were made to Abraham and his seed - Several promises were made to Abraham; but the chief of all, and which was several times repeated, was that of the blessing through Christ. He - That is, God. Saith not, And to seeds, as of many - As if the promise were made to several kinds of seed. But as of one - That is, one kind of seed, one posterity, one kind of sons. And to all these the blessing belonged by promise. Which is Christ - including all that believe in him. #Gen 22:18|.



People's Bible Notes for Galatians 3:16


Ga 3:16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promise made. The covenant with its promises was made with Abraham and his seed. There were promises spoken on several occasion. See Ge 12:3,7 13:16 15:5 17:7. The promises of the covenant were to the seed, as well as to Abraham, and hence did not terminate with his death. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many, but . . . to thy seed. This passage has excited much criticism. Many have thought that Paul made a grammatical mistake. Even Luther says: ``My dear brother Paul, this argument won't stick.'' The criticism is that "sperma", the Greek word rendered "seed", is a collective noun and may include all Abraham's descendants. Paul elsewhere (Ro 4:18 9:7) shows that he knew just the meaning of "sperma", but the question here is not one of grammar, but of spiritual meaning. Paul does not mean that "sperma" ("seed") excludes plurality, but that it implies unity. Not the word "children" or "descendants" is used. This would embrace the children of Ishmael, of Esau, and of Keturah. But there is a seed to whom the promise is given; a seed that embraces many, but is one. That seed is Christ the head, and all in Christ. See 1Co 12:12 The whole spiritual seed of Abraham concentrates in Christ. The promise is to Christ and all in Christ. Paul understood Greek as well as his critics, and also knew what he meant.

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