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NASB | John 5:43 "I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, you will receive him. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | John 5:43 "I have come in My Father's name and with His power, and you do not receive Me [because your minds are closed]; but if another comes in his own name and with no authority or power except his own, you will receive him and give your approval to an imposter. |
Subject: Is there another helper? |
Bible Note: Ray, the interpretation I gave in my original answer is that agreed upon by two of my most respected Bible commentators, Charles Ryrie and John MacArthur. I have read the context surrounding these verses and fail to see any other reasonable interpretation that squares with the text.....And I will add an additional thought to the matter of capitalization upon which you appear to place a great deal of weight and about which I am not attempting to be critical. Nonetheless, I don't share your views about its importance for reasons that I will now outline. In the first place, capitalization as we use it was foreign to the Greek manuscripts from which we get our best New Testament texts. They were written in what is called "uncials" which were somewhat like our capital letters. In a real sense, everything was capitalized. They were also written without spaces between words, called "scriptio continua". The manuscript books were not divided into chapters and verses such as we have in our Bibles today. The nearest I can come to illustrating what one of these manuscripts might look like in English is this: "FORGODSOLOVEDTHEWORLDTHATHEGAVEHISOWNLYBEGOTTENSONTHATWHOEVERBELIEVESINHIMSHOULDNOTPERISHBUTHAVEETERNALLIFE". That is, of course, John 3:16. The point is this, Ray, that capitalization itself is a fairly new invention in language. And certainly the practice of capitalization of personal pronouns that refer to the Deity is newer still. While the NASB and NKJV follow this element of style, the KJV did not and most other modern versions do not, including the NIV and RSV. It may in some cases add clarity. Some feel that it shows respect for the Deity. Both are a matter of opinion and taste; neither is vital to the comprehension of a text that is otherwise rendered in clear, standard English. In summary, capitalization is far down on the list of my priorities. Correct interpretation based on context is the premier issue in Bible study. --Hank |