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On "fulfilling the lusts thereof"
I've recently begun looking
at the ISV translation using e-Sword. In general, I am quite pleased with
what I have seen. However, I noticed one verse where a significant part of
the Greek meaning is lost in the English translation, and I wanted to draw
your attention to it.
This is the KJV rendering:
But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts
thereof.
I think what you're really saying is
that a significant part of the KJV rendering is lost in the
ISV's translation: the KJV words "fulfill" and "thereof" aren't in the
original Greek, having been supplied by the KJV translators. All modern
English renderings of Romans 13:14 run into the same problem that the KJV
displays: how do we treat the structure of the Greek text that implies no
English verb in the second half of the phrase? Note that the KJV's
rendering inserts two words (the italics in the citation above) that
aren't in the Greek text. An exact literal translation of the Greek text
is as follows:
But clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus
Christ and make no provision with respect to* the flesh into lust.
*probable Gk. objective genitive
In your comments to us, you stated that
In Romans 13:14, the KJV
uses the word "provision", which comes rather directly from the Greek.
Strong's also lists "forethought" as an applicable word. In either case,
the idea is not directly "do not obey your flesh and its desires", as the
ISV translates. Rather, this verse also provides advice on how to accomplish
this: by avoiding thoughts and actions that provide the raw material from
which sin is crafted.
Your focus appears to be on the noun
pronoia rather than on the imperative verb poieisthe. The ISV,
in contrast to this, focuses on the verbs in translation, not the
nouns. The ISV's COT may have judged that the nuance that you are
noting would be better served in a commentary on the ISV rather than in
the translation itself. The COT focused its rendering on the intended
result of the advice rather than add words to the English text, as the KJV
did. After all is said and done, the ultimate aim of the verse is to
communicate that we are not to fulfill the inordinate desires of the
flesh. Hence the ISV's "Do not obey" rather than a more wooden "Make no
provision." At any rate, I will pass your email on to the COT for
consideration in the next build of the ISV NT. We will revisit the issue.
I appreciate your
consideration of my concern in a future revision of the ISV. Feel free to
contact me if I may be of any assistance
You're welcome. But I do think you've
over-reacted in your subject line by calling this event a "loss in
translation". Rather, the ISV rendering for Romans 13:14 might more
accurately be termed a difference of opinion on focus.
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