Musings... Dr. Black's BLOG
Comments on Translation Issues Affecting the ISV®
[Introductory Thoughts]
[The ISV Heritage: Where We Got our English Bible]
[The Poetry of the International Standard Version]
[Zechariah 12:10 — Look Upon Me Whom They Pierced]
[The Disciple Whom Jesus Kept on Loving?]
[John 3:16 — God Loved the World So Much!?!]
[John 18:4 — Whom Sweet Whom]
[John 21:15-17 — Sloppy Agape]
[Acts 2:38 — Baptism for Forgiveness?]
[1 Corinthians 13:4-7 — An Ode to Love]
[Ephesians 5:32 — Mustering Mystery out of Musterion]
[Philippians 1:27-30 — Good Citizens]
[1 Timothy 3:2 — "Teachable" or "Able to Teach"]
[Titus 1:12 — On Poets & Liars: When is Poetry Poetry?]
[Hebrews 1:1 — Alliteration in the Bible]
[Hebrews 6:1 — "Press on" or "Be Carried Along"?]
[Hebrews 12:1-2 — Too Much Lettuce?]
[James 1:17 — Good Giving?]
[James 2:14 — Can Faith Save?]
Too Much
Lettuce?
Let’s talk about vegetables first.
Lettuce to be exact. The NIV has three "let us"s in Hebrews 12:1-2, two more
than the original Greek has. Even the NASB has two "let us"s—one more than
the original author wrote. The national security of the United States may not depend on
this issue, but accuracy is, after all, the goal of every translator. If the passage
contains only one explicit command—only one "lettuce" if you
will—shouldn’t that be reflected in translation?
Hebrews 12:1-2 form a single sentence in the
Greek. The main clause is "let us keep on running," which is qualified by three
dependent clauses introduced by "having," "throwing off," and
"looking off." Rendering the last two clauses with "let us" is
grammatically permissible but causes certain problems, for such a rendering would suggest
that they carry the same weight as the main clause. In other words, while it is true that
we are to throw off what hinders us and look off to Christ, the main command—and the
only real "lettuce"—remains "let us keep on running," and this
should be reflected in translation:
Therefore, having so vast a cloud of
witnesses surrounding us, and throwing off everything that hinders us and especially the
sin that so easily entangles us, let us keep on running with endurance the race set before
us, looking off to Jesus, the Founder and Finisher of faith, who for the joy set before
him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the
throne of God.
Now, how can this bring clarity to Bible
study? One way is in terms of constructing an outline for teaching or preaching. The
following analysis of Hebrews 12:1-2 demonstrates how we can get in touch with the text
through an awareness of its structure:
Therefore,
let us keep on running with endurance the race set
before us
having so vast a cloud of witnesses surrounding us,
and
throwing off everything that hinders us and especially
the sin that so easily entangles us,
looking off to Jesus, the Founder and Finisher of
faith.
Here the basic thought units jump out like
the white lines on a football field. The theme is brought out to the left, while the more
subordinated ideas cluster to the right.
We can immediately see the author’s main
point— running the race with endurance—as well as his qualifications of the
"race":
-
By knowing that others have finished the
race the present generation of runners can expect to complete it;
-
No runner, however, can hope to attain the
goal without an abhorrence of personal sin; and
-
The runner must look to Jesus, "the
Pioneer and Perfecter of faith."
By reducing these elements to an outline, we
can move directly from analysis to presentation:
Text: Hebrews 12:1-2
Title: Run to Win!
Theme: The Christian is called on to follow the example of Christ into a life of
submission and obedience ("let us keep on running with endurance")
Outline:
I. Our Encouragement ("having so vast a
cloud of witnesses")
II. Our Entanglements ("throwing off everything that hinders us")
III. Our Example ("looking off to Jesus")
This simple outline clearly demonstrates how
by analyzing the text of the ISV one can move from theory to practice.
But you can’t get there without just the
right amount of lettuce.
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