Christian Living

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"Trans-," one of the most common prefixes in the English language, is used in words that signify change or movement from one thing or place or condition to another, and it has a lot of significant applications to the Christian walk. This is a look a very practical "trans-word" - one that is essential for a correct and fulfilling understanding of and experience in the Word of God: TRANSLATE.

“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is TRANSLATED, “God with us.” Matthew 1:23 NKJV (emphasis added)

And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is TRANSLATED, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
Mark 13:34 NKJV (emphasis added)

The scriptures quoted above, like all of the New Testament were originally written in Greek. Both of the above-quoted verses contain phrases that were spoken, respectively, by the arch-angel Gabriel in Hebrew and by Jesus in Aramaic; therefore, Matthew and Mark, when they wrote their gospels in Greek, knew that they needed to inform their readers what those non-Greek phrases meant. The same is true in several other verses in Mark, John, Acts and Hebrews. If Matthew, Mark, John, Luke, and the writer of Hebrews had not translated those Hebrew and Aramaic phrases into the original Greek, it is possible that those phrases would not have been translated later into English or any other modern language for us today, and that would have been unfortunate.

As important as it was to translate the various Hebrew and Aramaic phrases into the Greek, and as obviously crucial as it was to have the entire original Greek translated into English and virtually every other language spoken on earth today, it is important to understand that sometimes words translated from Greek into English loose something in the translation. For example, in Greek, there are several different words for “love,” and in order to fully understand a scripture on “love,” we need to understand which kind of “love” the writer meant. For instance, 1 Corinthians 13 is a beautiful explanation of how love should take precedence over anything else we do, over any other talent or gift we possess. However, we miss the most vital point of the chapter if we do not know which kind of love – which Greek word for “love” – Paul used in his writing. Paul used the Greek word "agape," or God-like, unconditional love, which is independent of our feelings, how we are treated, whether or not that love is “deserved,” etc. It is not "eros," romantic love, and it is not "phileo," brotherly love; both eros and phileo are types of love between humans, based upon human emotions; thus they fall victim to human tendencies to withhold love if it is not given in return. Agape, God’s love, isn’t subject to or limited by human emotions or external circumstances – it is the only kind of love like that. So, when Paul says that “love never fails,” (see 1 Cor. 13:8 NKJV) we can know that he is correct because he is referring to God’s failure-proof love for us, and not the fallible love of an ex-spouse or offended friend or relative.

There are many Greek words which have several meanings, where in English, they have only one. There are still other Greek words for which there is no English word that fits as well as we might like. For instance, when Paul writes in 1 Timothy 6:10 that “the love of money is the root of all evil…” (NKJV), he originally wrote one Greek word, “philaguria,” for which an entire English phrase, “the love of money,” is needed. That is the reason why 1 Timothy 6:10 is so often incorrectly quoted, “Money is the root of all evil.” Money itself is neither good nor evil; money is simply a tool. It is the love of money over God, one’s family, one’s integrity, which is the root of all evil (pride, lying, cheating, stealing, covetousness, jealousy, murder, etc.).

With all of these differences, for those of us who are not Greek speakers, much less Greek scholars, translation tools (such as Strong’s Concordance, Young’s Concordance) are essential in order to be certain we understand what we’re reading. Fortunately, the best such tools are available online at no cost and can be found quickly by simply plugging the titles or descriptions into a popular search engine, such as Google or Yahoo!. Making regular use of such tools helps reinforce the scriptures into one’s memory, which is an added benefit.

If you will make it a habit during your Bible study time to check the Greek (New Testament) and Hebrew (Old Testament) translations in the various tools available, you will be pleasantly surprised at how much clearer God’s Word becomes to your mind and how much deeper it will grow in your heart.

**Adapted from the author's website at http://www.seedwords.com/pages.asp?pageid=82512

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