What Does Galatians 5:1 Mean in the King James?
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The verse repeats one Greek root for both freedom and being freed, so liberation is both what Christ does and the place you now stand.
THE MEANING
You stand in freedom because Christ has freed you; the word for liberty and the verb for freeing share one root. The yoke of bondage is a harness back into servitude, and “again” makes that return visible.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The verse dissolves the belief that the old yoke is compatible with freedom: it names taking it up again as re-entanglement.
THE ROOT
ἐλευθερίᾳ
eleutheria
GROWS FROM
ἐλευθερ-
eleuther-
Freedom: the state of being free and the act of setting free.
“liberty / made us free” in this verse is eleutheria. English gives you two ideas, “liberty” and “made us free,” while Greek repeats the same word-family: one names freedom, the other the act that brings it about. The sentence holds the freeing and the free state together.
ALSO GROWS
eleutheros: free; a free person
ἐλεύθερος
The free person belongs to the same word-family as the liberty you stand in.
eleutheroō: to set free
ἐλευθερόω
This is the verb behind “hath made us free,” linking Christ’s act directly to your state of liberty.
ζυγῷ
zygō
GROWS FROM
ζυγ-/ζευγ- (zyg-/zeug-)
To join or yoke together; a yoke that harnesses.
“yoke” in this verse is zygō. The word carries the image of being joined into a harness. Beside “bondage,” it pictures servitude as a binding structure that directs your movement.
ALSO GROWS
zeugnymi: to join or yoke
ζεύγνυμι
It makes the yoke’s binding action visible in the same word-family.
syzygos: yokefellow; partner
σύζυγος
This branch preserves the idea of people joined together under a yoke.
δουλείας
douleias
GROWS FROM
δουλ-
doul-
Slave-service; the condition of servitude.
The Greek word is built from the family that names a servant and the act of serving as a slave. Paired with “yoke,” it shows bondage as being harnessed into a life of servitude.
ALSO GROWS
doulos: servant; a person bound to serve
δοῦλος
The noun names the person whose condition is described by bondage.
douleuō: to serve as a slave
δουλεύω
This verb shows the ongoing service contained in the idea of bondage.
THE PATTERN
Scripture describes freedom as the breaking of a bond and the resulting life outside its rule.
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.THE THREAD
If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.John uses the same Greek word-family for “make you free” and “free” that Galatians repeats in “liberty” and “made us free.” Galatians names the danger of returning to the yoke; John shows the freeing and the free state joined in one root.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us