Galatians 4:12

Our versions abruptly sever the connection of this verse with the previous context, and do great violence to the Greek text in both clauses. They transpose the words ἀδελφοὶ δέομαι ὑμῶν from their true place at the end of the verse to the beginning, and render γίνεσθε ὡς ἐγώ, Be ye as I am. But this makes it = γίνεσθε ὁποῖος ἐγώ εἰμι (cf. Acts 26:29), though it is impossible to understand εἰμι in the Greek text after γίνεσθε. The context points distinctly to ἐγενόμην as the proper supplement after ὡς ἐγώ. The last verse has carried back the author's thoughts to his original ministry, and he proceeds to revive the remembrance of that period. “Act as I did (he exclaims); deal with me as I dealt with you.” Instead of a mere vague admonition to imitate his character he is holding up his actual conduct for an example to them, and proceeds to specify the particular occasion to which he refers. ὅτι κἀγὼ …: For I too beseech you as you, brethren, besought me. It is an obvious error to detach κἀγώ from the following verb δέομαι and supply εἰμι, as is done in our versions. The Greek requires a verb to be supplied after ὑμεῖς corresponding to κἀγὼ δέομαι ὑμῶν, and I understand accordingly ἐδεήθητέ μου.

The Galatians could not fail to recollect the occasion to which these words refer; for it was the true birthday of their Church, the memorable crisis when at the close of Paul's address the Jews departed from the synagogue, but the Gentiles besought him to repeat to them the words of life on the following Sabbath; after which many Jews and proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas persuading them to abide by the doctrine of the grace of God. (See Acts 13:42-43. In the Greek text it is clear that the persuasion proceeded from them, and not from Paul and Barnabas.) The Galatians had then been suitors to Paul to maintain the freedom of the Gospel, he was now a suitor to them in his turn for its maintenance. οὐδέν με ἠδικήσατε : Ye had done me no wrong. The force of this clause appears from what follows: Paul is dwelling on the mutual relations between him and the Galatians at the time of that memorable petition. They on their side had done him no wrong, they had not driven him away by persecution or illtreatment, yet up to that time (τὸ πρότερον) he had only been induced by illness to preach to them. The Galatians had, in short, given him no excuse for passing them by, as he intended to do, until he was attacked by an illness which left him no option.