Galatians 4:9-15 Yet now, coming to know God by intimate experience and personal insight – or, rather, being known intimately by God – how are you folks progressively turning around again, upon the weak (feeble; infirm; diseased; impotent) and poor (beggarly) elementary and rudimentary principles to which (for which; in which) you people are presently wanting (and progressively intending) to again become, and perform as, slaves anew (or: back again)?

JMNT⁽ⁱ⁾ ⁹ Yet now, coming to know God by intimate experience and personal insight – or, rather, being known intimately by God – how are you folks progressively turning around again, upon the weak (feeble; infirm; diseased; impotent) and poor (beggarly) elementary and rudimentary principles to which (for which; in which) you people are presently wanting (and progressively intending) to again become, and perform as, slaves anew (or: back again)? ¹⁰ You are for yourselves and in yourselves continuously watching closely and observing days [e.g., sabbaths; days for fasting] and months (or: new moons) and seasons (or: appointed situations [e.g., feasts]) and [sacred] years! ¹¹ I continue fearing for you, lest somehow I have, to the point of exhaustion, labored in vain (for no purpose) into you folks. ¹² Brothers (= Fellow believers), I beg of you, progressively become as I, for I also [was; am] as you folks. You did me no wrong (or: You folks treat me unfairly in nothing). ¹³ Now you have seen and known that through weakness (impotence; sickness; infirmity; feebleness) of the flesh (or: = pertaining to [my] imperfect human nature; = whose source is the self which was affected by the System; = which is the deficient inner person) I formerly brought and announced the message of goodness, ease and well-being to you folks, ¹⁴ and yet you folks did not despise or treat as nothing your [other MSS: my] ordeal (or: trial; testing) – located within my flesh (= in my human weaknesses) – nor did you spit it out (= reject it as loathing; [note: perhaps referring to the practice of spitting to break the spell of “an evil eye” – a common pagan belief]), but to the contrary, you took me in your arms and welcomed me as God's agent (or: messenger) – as Jesus Christ! ¹⁵ Where, then, [is] your happiness? For, I continually bear witness to you folks (or: give testimony for you) that, if possible (if [you were] able), upon gouging (digging) out your eyes you would give [them] to me!