αὐτοῦ versus ἑαυτοῦ in Luke’s Gospel

I am now fully annoyed by the recurring variant in the gospel of Luke between αὐτοῦ and ἑαυτοῦ.  The UBS and RP texts alternate sides back and forth.

The latest is Luke 15:5, ἐπὶ τοὺς ὤμους ἑαυτοῦ (BYZ) or ἐπὶ τοὺς ὤμους αὐτοῦ (UBS).  He places it upon his shoulders.  The KJV does not render this “his OWN shoulders” as do some recent translations of the BYZ text.  There is no real reason to.

15:26 πατέρα ἑαυτοῦ v. πατέρα αὐτοῦ (BYZ)
Again, there is no reason to render this “his OWN father.”

14:27 σταυρὸν ἑαυτοῦ (UBS) v. σταυρὸν αὐτοῦ (BYZ)
His OWN cross v his cross, this one may be meaningful.

15:20 πατέρα ἑαυτοῦ (UBS) vs πατέρα αὐτοῦ (BYZ)

Complicating this, and perhaps explaining the rise of this, is the contraction of ἑαυτοῦ which is αὑτοῦ. Note the rough breathing mark, which is the only thing that distinguishes it from αὐτοῦ.  The early papyri and uncials may not show this, so they could read either way.

Who Is the Fountain of Living Waters?

John 7:37-38 And in the great and final day of the festival, there stood Jesus.  And he cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, he should come to me; and drink, he who believes on me.  As the scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from His belly.”

Now go to John 8:6, where Jesus writes in the dirt on the ground. Jesus has just the day before, declared himself to be the fountain of living waters, during the last and great day of the Feast of Sukkot, of Tabernacles.  But the Pharisees and Sanhedrin and religious leaders did not receive him as such.  The next thing they did was bring the woman caught in adultery, to test him. What did Jesus do?  Jesus wrote in the earth, John 8:6, he was writing in the dirt, κατέγραφεν εἰς τὴν γῆν.  Messianic Rabbi Zev Porat points out that this writing in the earth by Jesus was a fulfillment of Jeremiah 17:13-
“O Yahweh, the hope of Israel, all that forsake you shall be put to shame.  They that turn away from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken Yahweh, THE FOUNTAIN OF LIVING WATERS.”

Jesus writing in the dirt in John 8:6 was a fulfillment of Jeremiah 17:13 in two ways: They were put to shame, and their names were written in the earth, because they had turned away from the fountain of living waters.

But, you may miss this jewel if you are reading some of the modern “gender inclusive” Bible translations in John 7:38:

NIV        Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”

NRSV     and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.’”

You see, these obscure the fact that Jesus was declaring Himself to be the fountain of living waters!

Here is my tranlsation of John 7:38:
ὁ πιστεύων εἰς ἐμέ.   καθὼς εἶπεν ἡ γραφή, ποταμοὶ ἐκ τῆς κοιλίας αὐτοῦ ῥεύσουσιν ὕδατος ζῶντος

DRP    he who believes on me.  As the scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from His belly.”

And the KJV:      He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

John 7:38 says, “As the scripture has said.”  Therefore, you have to ask, what scripture is there that says what the NRSV says, “out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water”?  None exists, but there are scriptures that indicate that Christ is the source of living water.  Moses struck the rock in the desert, and streams of water came out of that.  The apostle Paul said that rock is Christ. Once again I am giving you another good reason to set aside the translations that use plurals for gender inclusiveness.  It makes the scriptures inaccurate and muddied up.

The Greek says “out of his belly.” Does not say “the believer,” and it is not plural.
καθὼς εἶπεν ἡ γραφή, ποταμοὶ ἐκ τῆς κοιλίας αὐτοῦ ῥεύσουσιν ὕδατος ζῶντος

The Hebrew of Jeremiah 17:13:
מִקְוֵה יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה, כָּל-עֹזְבֶיךָ יֵבֹשׁוּ; יסורי (וְסוּרַי) בָּאָרֶץ יִכָּתֵבוּ, כִּי עָזְבוּ מְקוֹר מַיִם-חַיִּים אֶת-יְהוָה.
http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1117.htm

This is another indication that the passage about the woman caught in adultery does belong in the Bible, and was indeed inspired by God and written by the apostle John.

I have updated my translation of the gospel of John to incorporate this information.
Download here.

Good Samaritan Variant

In the Parable of the Good Samaritan in the gospel of Luke, chapter 10 verse 30, the Majority Text contains an additional word, τυγχάνειν , which the KJV and other Majority Text translations do not translate.

10:30 txt ἡμιθανῆ ?⁴⁵ ?⁷⁵ ℵ B D L Θ Ξ ƒ¹ 22 33 579 700 1241 TH NA28 {/} ‖ ἡμιθανῆ τυγχάνοντα A C E G H K M N S U X W Y Γ Δ Λ Π Ψ 070 ƒ¹³ 2 28 157 565 892 1071 1342 1424 2542 ? TR RP ‖lac F P Q T.

The BDAG lexicon says this ? reading means “leaving him for half dead, as indeed he was.”  The BDF grammar §414(1) glosses the word τυγχάνειν as “happen to be.”  Thus: the bandits supposed that he was half dead without knowing for sure, but it so happens that he was indeed half dead.

This footnote has been added to my translation of the Gospel of Luke:
http://bibletranslation.ws/trans/lukewgrk.pdf

No Eating or No Sleeping?

Which of these two wishes would you rather have granted for you?

  1. Never have to sleep again.
  2. Never have to eat and drink again.

I think about this, because I do not have enough time to do the things I want to do. I would like to finish translating the New Testament from Greek to English, but I also would like to write some other books, and also compose a concerto or symphony.

At first glance, you might think you would gain more time with the first one, not having to sleep. But, if you did not have to eat and drink, you would also not have to do these things:

  1. go grocery shopping
  2. cooking
  3. take the time to eat
  4. gardening / farming
  5. wash and dry dishes, pots, pans
  6. go to the bathroom
  7. clean the bathroom
  8. clean the stove and oven, or, in some cases, deal with the cooking fire and firewood
  9. change and wash your underwear as often
    etc.

I am very annoyed that I have to stop and eat. I get into a good groove writing or editing, but when I have to stop and eat, and then return, it takes a while to get back into it, and sometimes I make mistakes, like picking up at the wrong place, etc. Also, eating often makes me sleepy, and I can’t work because of that.

You would save a lot of money not having to eat and drink, unlike sleeping, which is more generally free or much less expensive. I am sure that if you never ate or drank, you would then need less sleep, since eating makes you sleepy, but also, the digestive tract would not need the rest and rebuild time of sleep.

So, I would choose to never have to eat and drink again, over never having to sleep.

Romans 1:29 Malice

Romans 1:29 (ESV) They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips,…” THIS is an example why I am doing my own translation. The ESV is one of the main English translations, but this verse is unacceptable to me, because in the above list, it has both “malice” and “maliciousness.”. I am still working on this verse, but one thing I know, is that I will not have two forms of the same word.     This applies also to the versions that have “malice” and “ill-will” as their renderings, since those two are essentially the same.

κακία                                       κακοήθεια

GNV                maliciousness                       taking all things in the euill part

Rheims            wickedness  malignity

KJV                  maliciousness                       malignity

ASV                 maliciousness                       malignity

YLT                   malice                                      evil dispositions

JBP                  malice                                      spite

NASB              evil                                            malice

RSV                 malice                                      malignity

Recov             malice                                      malignity

ESV                  malice                                      maliciousness

NIV                  depravity      malice

Amp                malice                                      ill will and cruel ways

NLT                  hate                                         malicious behavior

NCV                hatred                                     thinking the worst about each other

EMTV             malice                                      maliciousness

GNB                vice                                           malice

ISV                   depravity      viciousness

LEB                  malice                                      malevolence

NAB                malice                                      spite

NET                 malice                                      hostility

CSB                  wickedness  malice

CEV                 mean                                       hard to get along with

ERV                 hatred                                     thinking the worst things about each other

GW                  mean                                       viciousness

TLB                  hate                                         bitterness

Mnc                malice                                     meanness

NRSV              malice                                      craftiness

CBW                malice                                      ill-will

JNT                  vice                                           ill-will

Aristotle defined κακοήθεια as seeing the worst in everything.  Or as the LSJ lexicon puts it, “thinking evil, prone to put the worst construction on everythhing.” Paul says: “in everything give thanks, rejoice evermore, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”  Paul says of the lost, “their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.” 

It is hard to decide how to render this Greek word. In the BDAG lexicon it is defined thus: “a basic defect in character that leads one to be hurtful to others, meanspiritedness, malice, malignity, craftiness…”

Third John Verse 15

Did you know that the Westcott & Hort, Antoniades, SBL, UBS5, NA28, ECM, and Tyndale House Greek New Testament editions have a verse number 15 in the Third Epistle of John? The TR, Pickering and Robinson-Pierpont editions do not have a v. 15, but have a longer v. 14. I like having a verse 15, because, for example, in my footnotes to the Byz edition, I have to have 6 footnotes on v. 14, numbered 14a to 14g, whereas with a verse 15 it is not so crazy. I am finalizing my soon to be published book, the General Epistles with the Robinson-Pierpont as the base text, and found quite a few errors in my existing documents, but am also adding the readings of the Antoniades, the Pickering, and the Tyndale House editions, for a total of 7 editions cited in every footnote: TR (and sometimes split editions), Antoniades, BG (Pickering), RP, SBL, TH (Tyndale House) and NA28. News about my printed editions can be found here: http://bit.ly/PrintPostWS

The Wrath of God

Romans 1:18-32
1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of humankind, who possess the truth with unrighteousness;
1:19 Because that which may be known about God is manifest in them; for God has shown it to them.
1:20 For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, that is, his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
1:21 Because when they did know God, they glorified him not as God, neither were they thankful; but became foolish in their imaginations, and their unintelligent heart was darkened.
1:22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
1:23 And substituted the glory of the incorruptible God with an image made like corruptible man, and like birds, and four footed beasts, and creeping things.
1:24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness in the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies with one another other:
1:25 Who substituted the truth of God with a lie, and worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
1:26 For this cause God gave them up to dishonorable affections: both the females among them have quit the natural intimacy for that which is against nature:
1:27 and likewise also the males, leaving the natural intimacy with the female, burned in their lust one toward another; males committing with males that which is unfitting, and receiving in themselves that recompense for their error which was due.
1:28 And according as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not fitting;
1:29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, grouchiness; being whisperers,
1:30 backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
1:31 Without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
1:32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but give approval to those that commit them.

Your Debt

I have heard atheists say that God is an ego-maniac, because he wants praise. But these same people freely praise a music artist for some song they wrote, for example. Yet God gave that artist that ability.

Those same atheists would have hurt feelings if they accomplished some great thing and did not receive credit or recognition for it, or, someone else got the credit. But the God who created the amazing universe is not entitled to have those same feelings?

“but you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines have been drinking wine from them; and you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which do not see, hear or understand. But the God in whose hand are your life-breath and your ways, you have not glorified.” God’s message to King Belteshazzar of Babylon, Daniel 5:23

“The God who created the world and everything in it, being Master of both heaven and earth, he does not settle in shrines made with hands. Nor is he served by human hands as though he needed anything- he is the one who gives to all, life and breath, and everything else. And he has made of one blood all nations of people, to dwell over the face of the whole earth, having marked off the predetermined time periods and boundaries for their habitation, to seek after God, if perhaps they will grope for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. For in Him we live, and move, and have our being. As even one of your own prophets has said, ‘We are his offspring.’ We ourselves being offspring of God, we ought not therefore to think that the divine nature is anything like gold or silver or stone, like an engraved work of art and of human conception. Though God indeed forbore the times of such ignorance, he now commands all people of all places to repent.” Acts 17:24-30

“And I saw another angel flying at zenith, having an eternal gospel to herald above those dwelling on the earth, even over every nation and tribe and language and people, saying in a loud voice, ‘Fear God and give him glory; for the hour of his judgment has come; and worship him who created the heaven and the earth and the sea and the sources of waters.’ ” Revelation 14:6,7

While it is true that many humans like praise too much, or praise that is not deserved, or they are conceited, this is not true of God. His heart is pure.

"Great and marvelous are your deeds,
    O Lord God Almighty.
Just and true are your ways,
    O king of the nations. 
Who shall not fear, O Lord,
    and glorify your name?
Because you alone are pure.

Revelation 15:3,4

O human being, you have a debt to God, to praise him. He is owed praise. Do not build up a praise deficit. This is the “Eternal Gospel” that an angel will have to announce as he flies over the whole planet.