1 D ar cîtă vreme moştenitorul este nevrîstnic, eu spun că nu se deosebeşte cu nimic de un rob, măcar că este stăpîn pe tot.

Let me say this another way. A young child who will get all the riches of his family is not different from a servant who is owned by the family. And yet the young child owns everything.

2 C i este supt epitropi şi îngrijitori, pînă la vremea rînduită de tatăl său.

While he is young, he is cared for by men his father trusts. These men tell the child what he can and cannot do. The child cannot do what he wants to do until he has become a certain age.

3 T ot aşa şi noi, cînd eram nevrîstnici, eram supt robia învăţăturilor începătoare ale lumii.

We were as children also held by the Law. We obeyed the Law in our religious worship.

4 D ar cînd a venit împlinirea vremii, Dumnezeu a trimes pe Fiul Său, născut din femeie, născut supt Lege,

But at the right time, God sent His Son. A woman gave birth to Him under the Law.

5 c a să răscumpere pe cei ce erau supt Lege, pentru ca să căpătăm înfierea.

This all happened so He could buy with His blood and make free all those who were held by the Law. Then we might become the sons of God.

6 Ş i pentru că sînteţi fii, Dumnezeu ne -a trimes în inimă Duhul Fiului Său, care strigă:,, Ava``, adică:,, Tată!``

Because you are the sons of God, He has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts. The Spirit cries, “Father!”

7 A şa că nu mai eşti rob, ci fiu; şi dacă eşti fiu, eşti şi moştenitor, prin Dumnezeu.

So now you are no longer a servant who is owned by someone. You are a son. If you are a son, then you will receive what God has promised through Christ.

8 O dinioară, cînd nu cunoşteaţi pe Dumnezeu, eraţi robiţi celor ce din firea lor, nu sînt dumnezei.

During the time when you did not know God, you worshiped false gods.

9 D ar acum, dupăce aţi cunoscut pe Dumnezeu, sau mai bine zis, dupăce aţi fost cunoscuţi de Dumnezeu, cum vă mai întoarceţi iarăş la acele învăţături începătoare, slabe şi sărăcăcioase, cărora vreţi să vă supuneţi din nou?

But now that you know God, or should I say that you are known by God, why do you turn back again to the weak old Law? Why do you want to do those religious acts of worship that will keep you from being free? Why do you want to be held under the power of the Law again?

10 V oi păziţi zile, luni, vremi şi ani.

You do special things on certain days and months and years and times of the year.

11 M ă tem să nu mă fi ostenit degeaba pentru voi.

I am afraid my work with you was wasted. Living by the Law or Being Free

12 F raţilor, vă rog să fiţi ca mine, căci şi eu sînt ca voi. Nu mi-aţi făcut nicio nedreptate.

I ask you, Christian brothers, stay free from the Law as I am. Even if I am a Jew, I became free from the Law, just as you who are not Jews. You did no wrong to me.

13 D impotrivă, ştiţi că, în neputinţa trupului v'am propovăduit Evanghelia pentru întîia dată.

You know I preached the Good News to you the first time because of my sickness.

14 Ş i, n'aţi arătat nici dispreţ, nici desgust faţă de ceeace era o ispită pentru voi în trupul meu; dimpotrivă, m'aţi primit ca pe un înger al lui Dumnezeu, ca pe însuş Hristos Isus.

Even though I was hard to look at because of my sickness, you did not turn away from me. You took me in as an angel from God. You took me in as you would have taken in Christ Jesus Himself.

15 U nde este dar fericirea voastră? Căci vă mărturisesc că, dacă ar fi fost cu putinţă, v'aţi fi scos pînă şi ochii şi mi i-aţi fi dat.

What has become of the happiness you once had? You would have taken out your own eyes if you could have and given them to me.

16 M 'am făcut oare vrăjmaşul vostru, pentrucă v'am spus adevărul?

Do you hate me because I have told you the truth?

17 N u cu gînd bun sînt plini de rîvnă ei pentru voi, ci vor să vă deslipească de noi, ca să fiţi plini de rîvnă faţă de ei.

Those false teachers are trying to turn your eyes toward them. They do not want you to follow my teaching. What they are doing is not good.

18 E ste bine să fii plin de rîvnă totdeauna pentru bine, nu numai cînd sînt de faţă la voi.

It is good when people help you if they do not hope to get something from it. They should help you all the time, not only when I am with you.

19 C opilaşii mei, pentru cari iarăş simt durerile naşterii, pînăce va lua Hristos chip în voi!

My children, I am suffering birth pain for you again. I will suffer until Christ’s life is in your life.

20 O , cum aş vrea să fiu acum de faţă la voi, şi să-mi schimb glasul; căci nu ştiu ce să mai cred!

I wish I could be with you now. I wish I could speak to you in a more gentle voice, but I am troubled about you.

21 S puneţi-mi voi, cari voiţi să fiţi supt Lege, n'ascultaţi voi Legea?

Listen! If you want to be under the Law, why do you not listen to what it says?

22 C ăci este scris că Avraam a avut doi fii: unul din roabă, şi unul din femeia slobodă.

The Holy Writings say that Abraham had two sons. One was born from a woman servant (Hagar) who was owned by someone. She had to do what she was told. The other son was born from a woman (Sarah) who was free to work and live as she desired.

23 D ar cel din roabă s'anăscut în chip firesc, iar cel din femeia slobodă s'a născut prin făgăduinţă.

The son born from the woman servant who was owned by someone was like any other birth. The son born from the free woman was different. That son had been promised by God.

24 L ucrurile acestea trebuiesc luate într'alt înţeles: acestea sînt două legăminte: unul depe muntele Sinai naşte pentru robie şi este Agar, -

Think of it like this: These two women show God’s two ways of working with His people. The children born from Hagar are under the Law given on Mount Sinai. They will be servants who are owned by someone and will always be told what to do!

25 c ăci Agar este muntele Sinai din Arabia; -şi răspunde Ierusalimului de acum, care este în robie împreună cu copiii săi.

Hagar is known as Mount Sinai in the country of Arabia. She is as Jerusalem is today, because she and her children are not free to do what they want to do.

26 D ar Ierusalimul cel de sus este slobod, şi el este mama noastră.

But the Jerusalem of heaven is the free woman, and she is our mother.

27 F iindcă este scris:,, Bucură-te, stearpo, care nu naşti de loc! Izbucneşte de bucurie şi strigă, tu, care nu eşti în durerile naşterii! Căci copiii celei părăsite vor fi în număr mai mare decît copiii celei cu bărbat.``

The Holy Writings say, “Woman, be happy, you who have had no children. Cry for joy, you who have never had the pains of having a child, for you will have many children. Yes, you will have more children than the one who has a husband.”

28 Ş i voi, fraţilor, ca şi Isaac, voi sînteţi copii ai făgăduinţei.

Christian brothers, we are like Isaac. We are the children God promised.

29 Ş i cum s'a întîmplat atunci, că cel ce se născuse în chip firesc prigonea pe cel ce se născuse prin Duhul tot aşa se întîmplă şi acum.

At that time the son born as other children are born made it hard for the son born by the Holy Spirit. It is the same way now.

30 D ar ce zice Scriptura?,, Izgoneşte pe roabă şi pe fiul ei; căci fiul roabei nu va moşteni împreună cu fiul femeii slobode.``

But what do the Holy Writings say? They say, “Put the woman servant who is owned by someone and her son out of your home. The son of that woman servant will never get any of the riches of the family. It will all be given to the son of the free woman.”

31 D e aceea, fraţilor, noi nu sîntem copiii celei roabe, ci ai femeii slobode. Hristos ne -a izbăvit ca să fim slobozi.

Christian brothers, we are not children of the woman servant who was owned by someone (Hagar). We are children of the free woman (Sarah).