Sorry I have been gone for a while. Between a wedding, holiday’s, travels, and finishing a book, life has been a little chaotic. But things are back to normal, at least for a week.

From time to time, I find myself wondering why translators wouldn’t simply translate the Greek and let the chips lie where they fall. I know we have to be careful not to miscommunicate, and there is often meaning in the nuances of the grammar, but other times I just wish we would translate what the Greek says and means.

We all know that Greek wants to start a sentence with a conjunction to indicate the specific relationship of that sentence with the preceding. We also know that punctuation and the use of paragraphs can often perform the same function, and so an initial καί is often left untranslated. But every once in a while I come across one that probably should be translated, and the Great Commandment might be one. 

As I am working on issues related to trusting the Bible, one of the topics is Bible translation. At times it seems the translations contradict each other. One translation says “brother” and the other says “brother and sister,” so which is correct? If one translation says “he” and the other translation says “they,” which is correct? Which one is right? And why are they different? These are real concerns, and they can lead you to not trust your Bible. Part of the answer is to understand the different types of translations. Today we will look at “Natural Language” translation theory.

The Pharisees wanted to know if Jesus believed divorce was legitimate for any and all reasons. The challenge is to translate the phrase, recognizing that it is a singular (each individual reason) and also general (any and all reasons).

One of the more common accusations I hear about modern translations is that they omit the Trinity. The facts behind the accusation is that the Greek manuscripts used by modern translations unanimously recognize that 1 John 5:7b–8a was added centuries after John wrote his epistle and so these words are relegated to the footnotes. This passage is called the Comma Johanneum. The words in italics below are the added words.

Translators have to be careful with the nuances of the words they use. Did Jesus “notice” the other eleven disciples, or was be “looking” at them when he rebuked Peter? It creates an odd picture to not look at the person you are speaking to, and ὁράω can mean to “notice.”

There are times when the biblical text is ambiguous and the translator must interpret, and the decision makes a real difference in understanding and applying the verse. Case in point is 1 Tim 5:5 and our understanding of the widow the church should care for.

One of the frustrations in translating into English is our inability to distinguish second person singular and plural. Usually, context will make it clear, but not always. Case in point: in Gethsemane, was Jesus frustrated with only Peter?

There are all sorts of things worth pointing out in this verse, but the main one is how Greek can drop a direct object when it can be inferred from the context.

A few weeks ago I wrote about Mark 1:41 and how the original text says, I believe, that Jesus was angry. This is one of the seven main passages that Bart Ehrman uses to argue that the early scribes wanted to change people’s perception of who Jesus was, so they changed “indignant” to “felt compassion.”

I agreed with Ehrman that “indignant” or “angry” is the original reading, but I totally disagreed that this changed our understanding of who Jesus was, and you only have to read two more chapters to see why.

Every once in a while we come across a passage that says "you" and we can't tell if is singular or plural. When this really causes interpretive issues is when it is plural but English reads like it is singular.

A common example of a contradiction in the Bible is the order of the temptations. In Matthew 4 the order is: turn stones to bread; jump off the temple; worship Satan. However, Luke reverses the order of the last two: turn stones to bread; worship Satan; jump off the temple. Can Greek help to solve this problem?

Sometimes you will find an initial conjunction and be tempted not to translate it. After all, we all learned in High School English to not start a sentence with a conjunction. I was inclined not to translate the initial γάρ in Matthew 20:1 until I looked closer at the overall context.

At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, he came across a leper who said, “If you are willing, you can make me clean!” (Mark 1:40). The next verse gives an interesting insight into Jesus’ personality.

One of the major cultural issues we have in Western culture is seeing things as individuals. So often a biblical passage addressing a group is interpreted as applying to me as an individual, and we lose the corporate sense of the teaching. But the same can happen in reverse.

Some translations say Joseph was "just," and others that he was "righteous." What are the problem with either of those translations? How would you translate it? Hint: Mary appeared to have broken the law by becoming pregnant out of wedlock.

One of the most difficult passages in the New Testament to harmonize is the story of Jairus’ daughter. Did Jairus say that his daugther was dead, or at the point of death? Did people come from his house or not, telling him that she had died? The story is told in all three of the Synoptics, and it is a sufficiently unique event that the three Gospels must be telling the same story.

Do you read your translation out loud? Even in first year Greek class, I think this is a valuable exercise and will change the way you translate.

If you have seen the new movie, “The Chosen,” you will perhaps have a fresh look look at the character of the “Samaritan woman.” Some people think she was a prostitute, but is there any evidence that this is so?

The NIV and CSB are the only two translations that treat Jesus' response to the centurion as a question, calling on him to make a commitment of faith. Are they right?

The ordering of phrases can be difficult, and sometimes force even a natural language translation like the NLT to follow awkward Greek word order. In English, phrases have to be next to the word they modify, and this can create confusion in translation.

Greek wants to start sentences with a conjunction, showing the linkage between the new sentence and the previous one. However, καί can be nothing more of a “daaa” or “ummm.” It does not necessarily imply sequence as it does in English. When we translate it as “and,” sometimes it creates problems that don’t need to exist.

I will be taking a break from my Monday with Mounce blog until September. I have a book to finish and my first grandchild to enjoy. But I will continue doing the Bible Study Greek blog, Translation Thursday. You may want to subscribe to that feed.

One of the more peculiar phrases in the Pastorals is in 1 Tim 5:3. “Honor widows who are truly widows (τὰς ὄντως χήρας).” A word-for-word translation creates something meaningless, and yet most of the translations just translate the words and leave it at that (NASB, ESV, NRSV, NET). “Truly widows?” You mean their husbands truly must be dead? What else could that phrase mean? I guess no widow could be cared for by the church if her husband were just pretending to be dead.

When the angel tells Mary that she will have a baby, the angel concludes that no single word of God will fail. But what wouldn't fail, the word or what the word refers to?

NOTE: Monday with Mounce blogs will start being available through our audio podcast. Just search for "Biblical Greek" on your iOS or Android phone. For more information, see BillMounce.com/podcasts.

As Jesus was going to the cross, some of the people were weeping. He turns to them and says that they shouldn't weep for him, but they should weep for their children because of the days that are coming. He prophecies that their children will then “say (ἄρξονται λέγειν) to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us!’”

From a grammatical point of view, it's worth noting that almost every major translation translates both ἄρξονται and λέγειν as “begin to say.” Only the NIV and NLT don't convey the inceptive idea — “to begin”: “they will say to the mountains”; “People will beg the mountains.”

We all recognize that there is not necessarily a Greek word behind every English word. Sometimes they are implied by another Greek word, or sometimes they are necessary so the translation does not miscommunicate. When Paul says that we are not to look after our own interests in Phil 2:4, does he really mean that?

One of the beauties of Greek is that it is possible to indicate the expected answer to a question. A question prefaced by οὐ means the intended expected answer is “yes,” and μή shows that the expected answer is “no.” While we can do the same thing in English, it is pretty clunky and so most translations under-translate questions, not giving the expected answer.

Sometimes a Bible translator must alter the order of the Greek phrases so the English isn't confusing or miscommunicates. A good example is in 1 Thess 2:14. The majority of even the formal equivalent translations alter the phrase order, which illustrates why formal equivalent translations are not always transparent to the Greek.