Monday with Mounce

There’s a world of difference between the words “should” and “must.” When my wife tells me I should exercise more, I know she’s right. It’s good advice. But there’s still a sense that I have a choice. On the other hand, after I experienced an atrial fibrillation episode while preaching recently—something dehydration may have contributed to—my doctor told me I must drink more water. That wasn’t a suggestion. It was a necessity.

First of all, let me apologize for being so erratic in producing these Monday with Mounce blogs. BiblicalTraining.org now has a new president and so my time has opened up to get back to Greek. I also want to tell you about an important update on my Interlinear Bible. 

The translation of σάρξ has caused lots of grief over the years. BDAG gives it the semantic range of “flesh, physical body, a living being with flesh, human/mortal nature, earthly descent, the outward side of life.” Paul often uses it to describe the weak, sinful, human condition. So how should it be translated?

After three months of expensive and intensive work, I am pleased to announce that tomorrow the new BillMounce.com website will go live. You will be able to tell it's different although its functionality is basically the same. What's mostly changed is I have updated the infrastructure to a modern environment that will enable me to do things I couldn't do before. I want to especially thank those of you who have been donating to help cover the costs of these kinds of upgrades. 

A little textual criticism. Paul writes, “If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned (καυχήσωμαι), but have not love, I gain nothing” (ESV, KJV). Other translations follow a different variant. “If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast (καυχήσωμαι), but do not have love, I gain nothing” (NIV, also CBT, NRSV, NLT, NET).