Monday with Mounce

Paul likes to use word plays, and this literary device rarely makes its way into our translations. Most languages cannot express a play on words, and the translator needs to decide between meaning and style. What would you do?

If there ever was a question about salvation being by God’s grace and not as a result of something we do, just read Ephesians 1:1–10. Paul is falling over himself to emphasize that salvation is due to what God has done, not what we have done. And yet we are to do good works. What I want to talk about today is the dual use of γάρ.

Well-known verses are hard to translate. Even if the historical translation is a little off, committees are slow to change. 1 John 1:9 is one of those verses. The KJV reads, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” One would assume that behind “to forgive” is an infinitive of purpose (se also the ESV, CSB, NLT). But its not; “to forgive” translates ἵνα ἀφῇ.

There are quite a few exegetical difficulties in 1 John 1:1, starting with why the initial relative clauses are introduced with a neuter relative pronoun.

1 Timothy 2:12 is one of the most debated verses today. My point in discussing it is not to enter into the general debate but to deal with an erroneous misunderstanding of the present tense. Most of what follows comes from my commentary on the Pastorals.