Bible Study Greek

We used to teach that an imperative built on the present tense stem indicated an action already underway. This is most evident in prohibitions, for example, to tell a barking dog to stop. We know this is no longer the case, but it does surface from time to time in translations and commentaries.

Sometimes prepoisitional phrases can be so succint that they are hard to understand. All translation involves interpretation.

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).

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.