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NASB | Matthew 1:18 ¶ Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 1:18 ¶ Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by [the power of] the Holy Spirit. |
Subject: How far would you go in a translation? |
Bible Note: Hello Tim! That's Ok! :-) To say, "It was discovered.." is better, and I agree, it is an acceptable literal translation of "eurisko", even though the English word 'discovered' is a little 'broader' in meaning than the word "found", which is a little more 'specific' in my opinion. You did say that Matt. 1:18 literally says, "..she was found in belly having of the Holy Spirit." However, I do not find the rendering "..she was pregnant through the Holy Spirit" to be an acceptable rendering of the text, because, at this point, she was already pregnant or "with child". First of all, I feel that we open the door to too much meaning here: Are we saying that she was 'impregnated' or something else? I believe that the use of the English word 'pregnant' is an imperfect word to use in this situation, since it could mean anything from "abounding" to "heavy with young" (1) to "full of meaning". Secondly, I do not believe that the usage of the single English word 'pregnant' does proper justice to the three Greek words "en", "gaster", and "ek" (or 'ex'), of which the single word 'pregnant' is replacing in this passage. I see the word 'pregnant' as an imperfect English equivalent to use in this verse, basically because it has a broader meaning within our culture than I believe was originally intended by the author (and for the verse to carry). So, I believe, that by rendering the last part of this verse as "with child" would be more 'specific' and do better justice to "en", "gaster" and "ek" than would the single English word 'pregnant', since the English word pregant is a much broader word that invites more meaning into this verse than was originally intended by the author. Just my opinion! Blessings to you, Makarios Source: (1) Webster's Fourth Edition New World College Dictionary, 2000, IDG Books Worldwide, Inc., Michael Agnes, Editor in Chief; David B. Guralnik, Editor in Chief Emeritus |