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NASB | Romans 15:5 Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Romans 15:5 Now may the God who gives endurance and who supplies encouragement grant that you be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, |
Subject: Perseverance and the word given here? |
Bible Note: Translation Discussion.... Translation is not an easy process. How would anyone like to read the following literal translation of Rom. 15:5? "But the God of perseverance and of encouragement may He give to you the same to think among one another according to Christ Jesus" Any translator would want to smooth this out for English readers. The first clause is fairly easy, both 'encouragement' and 'perseverance' describe God, so one could say, "May the persevering and enduring God...". The disadvantage is that one must translate two nouns as though they are verbs, but we really don't have any other way of using those two words as adjectives in English, unless we keep the 'of...' format. Now, the NIV adds a bunch to it's translation. It says, "May the God who gives endurance and encouragement...". But, this turns two adjectives into direct objects and adds a verb to the clause that is not there. How would you translate the 'may He give to you the same to think'? There is no way to word that in English without straying for a very literal translation. "Unity of though"? "like mindedness"? The NIV goes very far afield by translating it as 'a spirit of unity'. The word 'spirit' is not in the text. The last phrase is also difficult. Is it 'according to Christ Jesus', 'in Christ Jesus', or as the NIV puts, 'as you follow Christ Jesus'? This discussion illustrates two very important points. 1) We need to pray for those involved in translation. It is not an easy task. 2) We need to consult a variety of translations, because any particular one at any given point may have strayed from the meaning of the text. I generally like the NIV, but they sure took some liberties with this particular verse. Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |