• Galatians 3:16
    The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures

    • 16 τῷ To the δὲ but ᾿Αβραὰμ Abraham ἐρρέθησαν were said αἱ the ἐπαγγελίαι promises καὶ and τῷ to the σπέρματι seed αὐτοῦ· of him; οὐ not λέγει it is saying Καὶ And τοῖς to the σπέρμασιν, seeds, ὡς as ἐπὶ upon πολλῶν, many, ἀλλ’ but ὡς as ἐφ’ upon ἑνός one Καὶ And τῷ to the σπέρματί seed σου, of you, ὅς who ἐστιν is Χριστός. Christ.

  • Galatians 3:16
    The Emphasized Bible

    • 16 Now unto Abraham were spoken the promises—and unto his seed;—He saith not—And unto thy seeds, as of many, But as of one—And unto thy seed, which is Christ:

  • Galatians Study Notes—Chapter 3
    New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (Study Edition)

    • 3:16

      the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his offspring: Under inspiration, Paul identifies Jesus Christ as the primary part of the offspring of Abraham. (The Greek word sperʹma, literally “seed,” is often rendered “offspring” in connection with Jehovah’s promises about the Messiah. See App. A2.) After the rebellion in Eden, Jehovah promised that a “woman” would produce an “offspring” who would crush the head of the serpent, Satan. (Ge 3:15) Jehovah’s covenant with Abraham stated that his offspring would bring blessings to mankind. (Ge 12:1-3, 7; 13:14, 15; 17:7; 22:15-18; 24:7; Ga 3:8) God also revealed that the offspring would be a descendant of King David of the tribe of Judah, which was true of Jesus. (Ge 49:10; Ps 89:3, 4; Lu 1:30-33; see study note on your descendants . . . your offspring in this verse.) At Ga 3:26-29, Paul indicates that in the spiritual fulfillment of the promise to Abraham, there would be a secondary part of Abraham’s offspring.​—See study note on Ga 3:29.

      It does not say: Or possibly, “He does not say.” In Greek, the reference could be either to the scripture that Paul is quoting or to God. The implied subject is “it,” referring to the scripture that Paul is quoting. However, it is possible to understand that “He,” referring to God, is the subject of the sentence.

      your descendants . . . your offspring: Lit., “your seeds . . . your seed.” Paul refers to God’s promises to Abraham and his “offspring.” (Ge 12:7; 13:14, 15; 17:7; 22:17, 18; 24:7) In those promises regarding Abraham’s “offspring” (lit., “seed”), the Hebrew and Greek terms used are in the singular form. However, they often refer to such offspring in a collective sense. Here, Paul contrasts the Greek word sperʹma in plural (rendered “descendants”) with the singular form (rendered “offspring”). He makes this distinction to show that when speaking of the blessings to come through Abraham’s offspring, God made primary reference to one person, namely, Christ. The promise that all the families of the earth would be blessed by means of Abraham’s “offspring” could not have included all of his descendants, since the offspring of his son Ishmael and those of his sons by Keturah were not used to bless humankind. The promised offspring was to come through Isaac (Ge 21:12; Heb 11:18); then the line of descent was narrowed down to Isaac’s son Jacob (Ge 28:13, 14), then to the tribe of Judah (Ge 49:10), and then to the line of David (2Sa 7:12-16). Jesus was a descendant of Abraham, from that one line, or family. (Mt 1:1-16; Lu 3:23-34) Therefore, the Jews in the first century C.E. were actually looking for one person to come as the Messiah, or Christ, as the deliverer. (Lu 3:15; Joh 1:25; 7:41, 42) They also thought that they, Abraham’s literal offspring, would be the favored people and as such God’s children.​—Joh 8:39-41.