#Greek interlinear bible matthew 5 how to#
Chapter 4, verses 4 and 5 in the GNT reads like this: “Each of you should know how to live with your wife in a holy and honorable way, 5not with a lustful desire, like the heathen who do not know God.”Īs I read that, it seemed just a little “off” to me. The translation we read from today is the Good News Translation. Today’s reading is an excellent example of why this is a good idea.
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Most of us who are serious about Bible study know that reading from more that one translation is a good thing, especially if we’re going to be teaching or preaching.
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Today in my comments, I’m going to explain a bit of how I do my Bible studies, and how you can enrich your reading of the Bible, and I’ll do it in the context of today’s reading. When the heart does not hate, the hands will not kill.Design: Steve Webb | Photo: Mantas Hesthaven on Unsplash Comments on 1 Thessalonians 4-5 Some Tools For Bible Study It is hard to imagine someone pursuing external righteousness with more aggressiveness than the scribes and Pharisees, but what God requires, what constitutes true righteousness, is a deep righteousness welling up from the heart so that we don’t just obey externally, but we obey from the heart. It is true, forever, that if our righteousness does not exceed that of the Jewish leaders in Jesus’ day, then we will not enter God’s kingdom. When that is the case, then “never” does properly convey the force of the construction. The NIV has “you will certainly not enter.”īut what I want to focus on is the use of “never.” The οὐ μή + aorist subjunctive construction does not mean “never,” and yet, contextually, we may understand that what is prohibited is a “forever” kind of thing. However, the same construction occurs two verses later, and here most translations fully translate the οὐ μή + aorist subjunctive construction using “never.” “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (ESV). The KJV also conveys the force: “shall in no wise pass from the law.” “For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.”
#Greek interlinear bible matthew 5 full#
This is under-translating, missing the full force of the Greek. “For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished” (ESV). For example, most translations pass over the οὐ μή + aorist subjunctive construction in Matt 5:18. Usually, translators just under-translate and treat it as a standard prohibition. So how do you convey the significance of this construction in your translation? However, if you use οὐ μή and an aorist subjunctive, the prohibition is much stronger in force, almost as if the speaker is yelling. “You will not commit adultery.” Is that a prediction or a command? Or you can use “will,” which then is ambiguous.
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You could use the antiquated term “shall,” which clearly indicates a command, but you sound like an old person (and perhaps you are, like me, so that is okay). You can also use a negated future indicative, which has its own issues.A prohibition can be stated with an aorist tense imperative, which prohibits an undefined action.A prohibition can be stated with a present tense imperative, which prohibits a continuous action.