1. I mean that as long as the heir is not of age, he is no different from a slave, although he is the owner of everything,
2. but he is under the supervision of guardians and administrators until the date set by his father.
3. In the same way we also, when we were not of age, were enslaved to the elemental powers of the world.
4. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
5. to ransom those under the law, so that we might receive adoption.
6. As proof that you are children, God sent the spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”
7. So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.
8. At a time when you did not know God, you became slaves to things that by nature are not gods;
9. but now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and destitute elemental powers? Do you want to be slaves to them all over again?
10. You are observing days, months, seasons, and years.