From: Robert W Meyers (bwmeyers@juno.com)
Date: Sat Apr 22 2000 - 09:53:34 EDT
"But covet earnestly the best gifts: ... "KJV; and
a sampling of other versions, Douay, NIV,
RSV, YLT all seem to agree that this to be
rendered as an imperative.
So does the commentator AT Robertson.
Yet John Gill wrote:
> Which may be rendered either indicatively as
> an assertion, "ye do covet earnestly the best gifts":
> . . .
> or, by way of interrogation, "do ye covet earnestly
> the best gifts?"
> . . .
> or imperatively, as an exhortation, as it is rendered by
> our translators: . . .
So, is there no way, from the Grk alone, to distinguish between
the imperative, indicative, or interrogative moods?
And likewise, in the next clause, Robertson and Gill both
seem to indicate that the AGAPH of the following chapter
may not be just another of the forementioned gifts, but rather
the proper means of seeking those aforementioned gifts:
Is there no way grammatically to tell whether agaph is being
given as "the best gift," or whether agaph is something of
another class than a gift, entirely?
Also, on Heb. 13:4, the KJV gives "Marriage is honorable
in all," that is, as a declarative.
However, it makes much more sense to read, as my "best"
commentators do, "Let marriage be honorable in all, for
whoremongers and adulterers God will judge." But the
impression they give is that it is impossible to tell whether
the mood is declarative or imperative as far as Grk grammar
alone is concerned.
Is this true?
Bob
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