What Does Galatians 6:4 Mean?
Two renderings of the same sentence, the verses it belongs to, and what the passage is doing — so you can decide what it means rather than take someone's word for it.
"But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another." Galatians 6:4, King James Version
The same verse in modern English
"Each one should test his own work. Then he will have reason to boast in himself alone, and not in someone else." Galatians 6:4, Berean Standard Bible
What it sits inside
A verse quoted on its own is the commonest way one gets misread. Here it is with what comes immediately before and after, in the King James Version.
Galatians 6:2 Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
Galatians 6:3 For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.
Galatians 6:4 But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.
Galatians 6:5 For every man shall bear his own burden.
Galatians 6:6 Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.
A conversation built on it
Saul had everything — a crown, an army, a nation. But the moment someone else got a song, he lost himself. Jealousy doesn't mean you want what they have. It means you've forgotten what you already carry.
Questions people ask
What does Galatians 6:4 mean?
In modern English (Berean Standard Bible) it reads: “Each one should test his own work. Then he will have reason to boast in himself alone, and not in someone else.” The King James rendering most people know is: “But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.”
What is the context of Galatians 6:4?
The verses immediately around it read: (Galatians 6:2) Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:3) For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. (Galatians 6:4) But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. (Galatians 6:5) For every man shall bear his own burden. (Galatians 6:6) Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.
How is Galatians 6:4 used in a conversation about this?
Saul had everything — a crown, an army, a nation. But the moment someone else got a song, he lost himself. Jealousy doesn't mean you want what they have. It means you've forgotten what you already carry.
Reading it is one thing. Saying what it stirs up is another.
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