In English, if we have Phrase A, Phrase B, and Phrase C, normal rules of grammar mean that Phrase C is related to Phrase B, and Phrase B is related to Phrase A. But that's not the way it is with Greek; Phrase C can go back to Phrase A. Romans 8:20 is a good example.

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.

One of the real values of knowing Greek is to be able to clearly see the sequencing of ideas. Greek is more than capable of lining up a series of prepositional, participial, infinitive (and other) phrases, since it is a paratactic language. This means it can place series of phrases side-by-side (παράταξις), without conjunctions to indicate the relationship between them.

Because Greek sentence structure, especially Paul’s, can line up a series of clauses that are not necessarily sequential, it can be difficult for us to know how to make sense of it in English. If we simply translate in Greek order, we run the risk of miscommunicating.

In English, modifiers need to be next to the words they modify. In Greek, they don't care because they have a different system of linking modifiers to their head noun. So what's a translator to do?