Galatia 4:3

4:3 So also we, when we were minors, ¹  were enslaved under the basic forces ²  of the world.

Galatia 4:8

Heirs of Promise Are Not to Return to Law

4:8 Formerly when you did not know God, you were enslaved to beings that by nature are not gods at all. ³ 

[4:3]  ¹ tn See the note on the word “minor” in 4:1.

[4:3]  ² tn Or “basic principles,” “elemental things,” or “elemental spirits.” Some interpreters take this as a reference to supernatural powers who controlled nature and/or human fate.

[4:8]  ³ tn Grk “those that by nature…” with the word “beings” implied. BDAG 1070 s.v. φύσις 2 sees this as referring to pagan worship: “Polytheists worship…beings that are by nature no gods at all Gal 4:8.”