“I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.”
I am afraid for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you. — Paul's fear ('phobeomai') expresses apostolic anguish: his labor ('kopos' — hard work) among the Galatians might prove to have been 'in vain' ('mataiōs'), nullified by their reversion to slavery, a pastoral anxiety that shows his deep investment in their freedom.
Church Fathers on Galatians 4:11
“I am afraid of you, lest by any means I have bestowed labor upon you in vain.” 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,”…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS
Publish a reflection on this verse
No reflections on this verse yet. Be the first to write one!