From: B. D. Colt (babc@ix.netcom.com)
Date: Fri Mar 23 2001 - 02:58:19 EST
On 21 Mar 01, at 13:36, Keith Thompson wrote:
> Hi!
> Here's a couple of things someone said...
>
> Romans 2:29 - ...KAI PERITOMH KARDIAS EN PNEUMATI, OU GRAMMATI...
> This must say 'the Spirit', the article is implied by the form PNEUMA
> appears in.
>
> Colossians 1:19 - hOTI EN AUTWi EUDOKHSE PAN TO PLHRWMA KATOIKHSAI
> This must say 'his ful(l)ness', the Greek definite article TO must be
> translated as 'his'.
>
> ...and not to translate these things this way is to lie about what
> the
> Greek text says!
> This seems to be plainly wrong to me, and the alternative
> translations
> (just 'spirit' and 'the ful(l)ness') are allowed. But sometimes I find
> I don't know as much as I thought I knew about Greek, can someone
> confirm that this is faulty or is there something else I don't know
> about the language?
>
I am not qualified to lay down the law in such matters, but when we
are translating, the rules of Greek grammar help help us to determine
what the meaning is, but the rules of English grammar must guide us in
expressing that meaning in English. "Circumcision of the heart in
spirit, not the letter" would be idiomatic English. Someone more expert
than I in Greek would have to decide whether it is an accurate
translation.
Barbara D. Colt, mailto:babc@ix.netcom.com
St John the Evangelist, San Francisco
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