Galatians 6:9
And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
Study Note
Study Note
The exhortation 'let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not' employs the agricultural metaphor of sowing and harvesting (introduced in v. 7–8) to ground ethical perseverance in eschatological confidence about outcome. The 'due season' (kairō idiō) is the eschatological harvest, which Paul elsewhere identifies as the day of Christ (Philippians 1:6; 2:16), making the present 'sowing' of good works meaningful within a future-oriented framework. The specific danger named — 'if we faint not' (mē eklyomenoi) — echoes Hebrews 12:3 and 12:5's warning about losing heart under trial, suggesting a common pastoral challenge in early Christian communities under pressure. The verse has been widely used in Christian ethics to resist cynicism about the apparent ineffectiveness of sustained moral action.
Other Translations
And let us not be weary in well-doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
and in the doing good we may not be faint-hearted, for at the proper time we shall reap--not desponding;
And let us not get tired of well-doing; for at the right time we will get in the grain, if we do not give way to weariness.
Cross References
Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of …
That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter …
These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season.
The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season.
Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they …
In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not: and to Zion, Let not thine hands be …
Ye said also, Behold, what a weariness is it! and ye have snuffed at it, saith the Lord of hosts; …
And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall …
But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.