Galatians 4:17 Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may have zeal for them.

◄ Galatians 4:17 ►

Parallel Verses

New International Version
Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may have zeal for them.

English Standard Version
They make much of you, but for no good purpose. They want to shut you out, that you may make much of them.

New American Standard Bible
They eagerly seek you, not commendably, but they wish to shut you out so that you will seek them.

King James Bible
They zealously affect you, but not well; yea, they would exclude you, that ye might affect them.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
They are enthusiastic about you, but not for any good. Instead, they want to isolate you so you will be enthusiastic about them.

International Standard Version
These people who have been instructing you are devoted to you, but not in a good way. They want you to avoid me so that you will be devoted to them.

American Standard Version
They zealously seek you in no good way; nay, they desire to shut you out, that ye may seek them.

Douay-Rheims Bible
They are zealous in your regard not well: but they would exclude you, that you might be zealous for them.

Darby Bible Translation
They are not rightly zealous after you, but desire to shut you out from us, that ye may be zealous after them.

Young's Literal Translation
they are zealous for you -- yet not well, but they wish to shut us out, that for them ye may be zealous;

Commentaries

Matthew Henry's Commentary

4:12-18 The apostle desires that they would be of one mind with him respecting the law of Moses, as well as united with him in love. In reproving others, we should take care to convince them that our reproofs are from sincere regard to the honour of God and religion and their welfare. The apostle reminds the Galatians of the difficulty under which he laboured when he first came among them. But he notices, that he was a welcome messenger to them. Yet how very uncertain are the favour and respect of men! Let us labour to be accepted of God. You once thought yourselves happy in receiving the gospel; have you now reason to think otherwise? Christians must not forbear speaking the truth, for fear of offending others. The false teachers who drew the Galatians from the truth of the gospel were designing men. They pretended affection, but they were not sincere and upright. An excellent rule is given. It is good to be zealous always in a good thing; not for a time only, or now and then, but always. Happy would it be for the church of Christ, if this zeal was better maintained.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

17. They—your flatterers: in contrast to Paul himself, who tells them the truth.

zealously—zeal in proselytism was characteristic especially of the Jews, and so of Judaizers (Ga 1:14; Mt 23:15; Ro 10:2).

affect you—that is, court you (2Co 11:2).

not well—not in a good way, or for a good end. Neither the cause of their zealous courting of you, nor the manner, is what it ought to be.

they would exclude you—"They wish to shut you out" from the kingdom of God (that is, they wish to persuade you that as uncircumcised Gentiles, you are shut out from it), "that ye may zealously court them," that is, become circumcised, as zealous followers of themselves. Alford explains it, that their wish was to shut out the Galatians from the general community, and attract them as a separate clique to their own party. So the English word "exclusive," is used.