PAS hO GEGENNHMENOS EK TOU QEOU hAMARTIAN OU POIEI, OTI SPERMA AUTOU EN AUTWi
MENEI; KAI OU DUNATAI hAMARTANEIN, OTI EK TOU QEOU GEGENNHTAI.
GEGENNHMENOS and GEGENNHTAI are, in my humble opinion, perfect passive, ie.
they have to mean "has been born". As far as the rest is concerned, I agree
with Robertson, who in his Word Pictures, explains it as follows:
"Doeth no sin ([amartian ou poiei]). Linear present active indicative as in
verse 4 like [amartanei] in verse 8. The child of God does not have the habit
of sin.
And he cannot sin ([kai ou dunatai amartanein]). This is a wrong translation,
for this English naturally means "and he cannot commit sin" as if it were [kai
ou dunatai amartein] or [amartˆsai] (second aorist or first aorist active
infinitive). The present active infinitive [amartanein] can only mean "and he
cannot go on sinning," as is true of [amartanei] in verse 8 and [amartan“n] in
verse 6. For the aorist subjunctive to commit a sin see [amartˆte] and
[amartˆi] in 2:1. A great deal of false theology has grown out of a
misunderstanding of the tense of [amartanein] here. Paul has precisely John's
idea in Ro 6:1 [epimen“men tˆi amartiƒi] (shall we continue in sin, present
active linear subjunctive) in contrast with [amartˆs“men] in Ro 6:15 (shall we
commit a sin, first aorist active subjunctive)."
All in all, therefore, I would translate the verse as: "Whoever has been born
of God doesn't have the habit of sin, because God's seed remains in him. He
can't go on sinning, because he has been born of God". I see no justification
at all for turning it around as in the translation Ted's quoted.
CARIS hUMIN KAI EIRHNH
Mike Beazley,
Bushey, Hertfordshire, UK
CILIARCOS
In a message dated 08/05/98 16:13:13 GMT, Ted wrote:
> I have a book in which the author translates 1 John 3:9 as, "Whoever
> continues begotten of God does not practice sin." Is there any
> justification at all for this translation? If so, what is it?