4 They are Israelites, and to them belong the ^xadoption, the ^yglory, ^zthe ^acovenants, ^bthe ^cgiving of the law, the ^dworship, and the ^epromises.

The Law and the Promise

15 ^wTo give a human example, brothers:¹ even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. 16 Now ^xthe promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, ^y“And to your offspring,” ^zwho is Christ. 17 This is what I mean: ^athe law, which came ^b430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. 18 For if the ^cinheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.

19 Why then the law? ^dIt was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was ^eput in place through angels ^fby an ^gintermediary. 20 Now an ^hintermediary implies more than one, but ⁱGod is one.

21 Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then ^jrighteousness would indeed be by the law. 22 But the Scripture ^kimprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by ^lfaith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

23 Now before faith came, we were held captive ^munder the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. 24 So then, the law was our guardian ⁿuntil Christ came, in order that we might be ^ojustified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as were ^pbaptized into Christ have ^qput on Christ. 28 There is ^rneither Jew nor Greek, there is ^sneither slave² nor free, there is ^tno male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And ^uif you are ^vChrist’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.

The Certainty of God’s Promise

13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, ^fhe swore by himself, 14 saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” 15 And thus Abraham,¹ having patiently waited, ^gobtained the promise. 16 For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. 17 So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to ^hlie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to ⁱhold fast to the hope set before us. 19 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that ^jenters into the inner place behind the curtain, 20 ^kwhere Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, ^lhaving become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.