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NASB | 1 Timothy 3:8 ¶ Deacons likewise must be men of dignity, not double-tongued, or addicted to much wine or fond of sordid gain, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 Timothy 3:8 ¶ Deacons likewise must be men worthy of respect [honorable, financially ethical, of good character], not double-tongued [speakers of half-truths], not addicted to wine, not greedy for dishonest gain, |
Bible Question: In Phillipians 1:1 and then in a passage of 1 Timothy 3:8-, the Greek work diakonos is translated as deacon. Every other occurance of the term is translated servant or minister in the NT. I noted in some older translations that the translation was not deacon in these selected places. So, why did NASB translate this term as deacon in Phil. and 1 Tim? There seems to be no real indicative reason other than perhaps traditional influence. How about some Greek help. Thanks. |
Bible Answer: Greetings DougB! Not only does the NASB translate 'diakonos' in 1 Timothy 3:8 as 'deacon', but so does The NET Bible (5), the KJV, ASV, 1965 Bible in Basic English, Rheims NT [1582], GOD'S WORD, ISV, LITV, MKJV, NIV, NAB, NRSV, Amplified, RSV, The World English Bible, 1833 Webster Bible, 1912 Weymouth NT, NKJV, ESV, Montgomery NT, James Murdock NT, RNKJV, AKJV, The Living Oracles NT, The Common Edition: NT, and the HCSB. However, the YLT, Good News Bible [TEV], 1889 Darby Bible, CEV, ACV, Twentieth Century NT, and Rotherham NT all vary in rendering 'diakonos' in this verse from "Ministers" (Rotherham, Darby) to "Ministrants" (YLT) to "Church officers" (CEV), or "Church helpers" (TEV), or even "Assistant-Officers" (Twentieth Century NT), or just "Helpers" (ACV). According to Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, 'diakonos' [1249] means "probably from an obsolete diako (to run on errands, cf 1377); TDNT - 2:88,152; n m/f AV - minister 20, servant 8, deacon 3; 31, 1) one who executes the commands of another, esp. of a master, a servant, attendant, minister 1a) the servant of a king 1b) a deacon, one who, by virtue of the office assigned to him by the church, cares for the poor and has charge of and distributes the money collected for their use 1c) a waiter, one who serves food and drink For Synonyms see entry 5834" (1) But as you have stated, the Greek word 'diakonos' occurs 31 times in the NT: * 20 times it is rendered as "minister" [KJV]: Matt. 20:26; Mark 10:43; Romans 13:4 (twice); Romans 15:8; 1 Cor. 3:5; 2 Cor. 3:6; 2 Cor. 6:4; 2 Cor. 11:15 (twice); 2 Cor. 11:23; Gal. 2:17; Eph. 3:7; Eph. 6:21; Col. 1:7; Col. 1:23; Col. 1:25; Col. 4:7; 1 Thess. 3:2; 1 Tim. 4:6 (1) * 8 times it is rendered as "servant" [KJV]: Matt. 22:13; Matt. 23:11; Mark 9:35; John 2:5; John 2:9; John 12:26; Romans 16:1; Romans 16:27 (1) * and 3 times it is rendered as "deacon" [KJV]: Phil. 1:1; 1 Tim. 3:8; 1 Tim. 3:12 (1) So why the great "discrepancy" in the use of the Greek word 'diakonos'? Here is some explanation: "3:8 Deacons. In its nontechnical usage, the Greek for this word means simply "one who serves." The men chosen in Acts 6:1-6 were probably not only the first deacons mentioned in the NT but also the first to be appointed in the church ... Generally, their service was meant to free the elders to give full attention to prayer and the ministry of the word (Acts 6:2,4). The only two local church offices mentioned in the NT are those of overseer (also called elder) and deacon (see Phil. 1:1)." (2) "3:8 deacons. From a word group meaning "to serve." Originally referring to menial tasks such as waiting on tables (see notes on Acts 6:1-4), "deacon" came to denote any service in the church. ... Scripture defines no official or specific responsibilities for deacons; they are to do whatever the elders assign them or whatever spiritual ministry is necessary." (3) "11: Women also shared in the work of the deacons (Romans 16:1)." (4) My conclusion is that the use of the English word "deacon" for the Greek word 'diakonos' can be justified since the context of the verses that contain the word "deacon" seem to be referring to a single person or office of the church, and the use of the word "deacon" would best encompass this overall meaning, since it is clear that this verse is recognizing a person or office other than that of an 'overseer' or 'elder'. Blessings to you, Makarios (1) Obtained through the use of the Blue Letter Bible Resource website (http://www.blueletterbible.org) (2) The Zondervan NASB Study Bible, 1999, the Zondervan Corporation, Kenneth Barker, General Editor (3) MacArthur Study Bible, 1997, Word Publishing, John MacArthur, Author and General Editor (4) The Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha, RSV, 1965, Oxford University Press, Herbert G. May, Bruce M. Metzger, Editors (5) The NET Bible, The Biblical Studies Foundation, http://www.bible.org |