Galatians 4:11
in Galatians 4I fear for you, that my efforts for you may have been in vain.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
I am afraid of you, lest by any means I have bestowed labor upon you in vain.
KJV
I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.
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This verse in Galatians 4
Commentary
13 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
lest--Greek, "lest haply." My fear is not for my own sake, but for yours.
Hand restore 2026-08-25 under the only-carrier rule: the verse was left silent and this row gives the Greek (lest haply) and the real point that the fear is for the Galatians, not for Paul himself.
This site's exposition
those who by nature are not gods
on Galatians 4:8-11
Paul turns the argument on the Galatians: having known God, they are turning back to those weak and worthless principles. Their observing of special days and months and seasons and years works like a relapse into the old religious calendar they were rescued from.
This site's exposition
I fear for you
Paul fears for the Galatians and for his own efforts among them. The word means labor to the point of weariness. If they return to slavery, that labor will have been in vain.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
(Verses 10, 11.) Observing days, and months, and seasons, and years, I fear for you, lest perhaps I have labored in vain among you. Whoever does not worship the Father in spirit and truth, does not know the Sabbath rest that is reserved for the holy ones, about which God speaks: 'If they shall enter into my rest' (Psalm 94:11); and does not remember those times, of which it is written: 'Remember the days of old' (Isaiah 46:9). And elsewhere: 'I remembered the days of old, and I had in mind the eternal years' (Psalm 76:6).
A commentator
Augustine of HippoEPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 35 [1B.4.10-11] · Written before 430.
proposed
So, let the reader choose whichever interpretation he wishes, so long as he understands that such superstitious observances of times bring great peril to the soul, so much so that the apostle adds, "I am afraid, lest perhaps I should have labored in you in vain." … And yet if someone, even a catechumen, is caught observing the sabbath by the Jewish rite, the church is confused. As it is, innumerable members of the church say with great complacency in open view of us, "I do not travel on the day after the first." … Alas for human sinfulness, that we only denounce what is unfamiliar, but with familiar things we tolerate them, although they may be great and cause the kingdom of heaven to be shut against them absolutely. It is for them that the Son of God shed his blood. We come to tolerate them through frequent acquaintance with them, and through increased toleration we share in them.
Observe the tender compassion of the Apostle; they were shaken and he trembles and fears. And hence he has put it so as thoroughly to shame them, "I have bestowed labor upon you," saying, as it were, make not vain the labors which have cost me sweat and pain. By saying "I fear," and subjoining the word "lest," he both inspires alarm, and encourages good hope. He says not "I have labored in vain," but "lest," which is as much as to say, the wreck has not happened, but I see the storm big with it; so I am in fear, yet not in despair; ye have the power to set all right, and to return into your former calm...
"I am afraid." See, their insides are in turmoil, and Paul is afraid. The phrase "for fear that" still indicates those standing and not yet fully shipwrecked. And it gives them hope that if they are willing to recover, their labor will not be in …
The Medieval Church1 voice
By this practice they are put in grave danger. Hence he says: "I am afraid lest perhaps it was in vain," i.e., fruitlessly, "that I labored" among you. Therefore the faithful must avoid observing such things. Indeed, no suggestion of these things should be found …
5 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church1 voice
See what a sensitive heart: they waver and Paul is afraid. The expression "lest somehow" (μή πως) shows that they were still intact and had not yet suffered complete shipwreck. And he gives them hope that if they wish to come to their senses, then …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
I am afraid of you,.... Which shows the danger he apprehended they were in, by taking such large steps from Christianity to Judaism, and expresses the godly jealousy of the apostle over them; intimates he had some hope of them, and in the whole declares his great love and affection for them; for love is a thing full of care and fear: lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain; in preaching the Gospel among them with so much diligence and constancy, though so many afflictions and pressures lay upon him.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
They might still have known Him, in a measure, from His works, but as a matter of fact they knew Him not, so far as His eternity, His power as the Creator, and His holiness, are concerned. are no gods--that is, have no existence, such as their worshippers attribute to them, in the nature of things, but only in the corrupt imaginations of their worshippers (see on 1Co 8:4;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
I am afraid of you - I begin now to be seriously alarmed for you, and think you are so thoroughly perverted from the Gospel of Christ, that all my pains and labor in your conversion have been thrown away.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
I am afraid of you ... - I have fears respecting you. His fears were that they had no genuine Christian principle. They had been so easily perverted and turned back to the servitude of ceremonies and rites, that he was apprehensive that there could be no real Christian principle in the case.
The words behind it
8 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| φοβοῦμαι | phoboumai | I fear | G5399 → | |
| ὑμᾶς | humas | for you | G4771 → | 2973 times |
| μή | me | lest | G3361 → | 1066 times |
| πως | pos | perhaps | G4458 → | |
| εἰκῇ | eikea | in vain | G1500 → | 6 times |
| κεκοπίακα | kekopiaka | I have toiled | G2872 → | |
| εἰς | eis | for | G1519 → | 1755 times |
| ὑμᾶς. | humas | you. | G4771 → | 2973 times |
φοβοῦμαιI fear
phoboumaiG5399 →
ὑμᾶςfor you
humasG4771 →2973 times
μήlest
meG3361 →1066 times
πωςperhaps
posG4458 →
εἰκῇin vain
eikeaG1500 →6 times
κεκοπίακαI have toiled
kekopiakaG2872 →
εἰςfor
eisG1519 →1755 times
ὑμᾶς.you.
humasG4771 →2973 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
2 John 1:8Watch yourselves, so that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be fully rewarded.
it leads to
- Hebrews 10:35
So do not throw away your confidence; it holds a great reward.
- Revelation 3:11
I am coming soon. Hold fast to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.
- 1 Corinthians 3:14
If what he has built survives, he will receive a reward.
- 1 Corinthians 3:8
He who plants and he who waters are one in purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor.
- Hebrews 12:15
See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God, and that no root of bitterness springs up to cause trouble and defile many.
- Hebrews 10:35
Through
Galatians 2:2I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I spoke privately to those recognized as leaders, for fear that I was running…
it leads to
- Galatians 2:6
But as for the highly esteemed—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism—those leaders added nothing to me.
- Philippians 2:16
as you hold forth the word of life, in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.
- Galatians 2:6
Through
Philippians 2:16as you hold forth the word of life, in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 9:26
Therefore I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight like I am beating the air.
- 1 Corinthians 9:26
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies21
About Galatians
This page draws on 13 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 35 [1B.4.10-11]; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Galatians; John Calvin, Commentary on Galatians; John Chrysostom, Homily on Galatians 4; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Oecumenius, Commentary on Galatians; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Galatians and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Galatians.