RE: Romans 8:13

From: Andrew Kulikovsky (anku@celsiustech.com.au)
Date: Wed Jan 14 1998 - 00:56:03 EST


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jim West [SMTP:jwest@Highland.Net]
> Sent: Wednesday, January 14, 1998 1:54 PM
> To: Andrew Kulikovsky
> Cc: b-greek@virginia.edu
> Subject: Re: Romans 8:13
>
> At 01:37 PM 1/14/98 +1030, you wrote:
> >Filoi,
> >
> >Romans 8:13 says (NIV): "If you live according to the flesh, you will
> >die."
> >
> >Now, the "you will die" is MELLETE APOQNHSKEIN, which is literally
> "you
> >are about to die". I think Paul is saying that people who live an
> >ungodly lifestyle are on their way to self destruction and will soon
> die
> >(physically and spiritually).
> >
> >Therefore, I would translate it as "You will surely die very soon".
> >
> >comments?
> >
>
> Your rendering is a tad paraphrastic. The text does not, in fact, say
> "you
> will surely die very soon" it simply says "you will die". The
> element of
> time is left ambiguous by Paul (because he doesn't know when they will
> die
> either) and this ambiguity should be retained in translation.
>
> If you wanted to translate it in another fashion, retain the
> ambiguity, and
> remain faithful to Paul, you could, I think, translate it with "you
> will
> come to die" though this is not very pleasant English.
>
        [Andrew]
        Thanks for your comments Jim.

        I feel that MELLETE has a sence of imminency to it, which is why
I used "surely" and "very soon".

        "very soon" is still a relative term - it makes no definite
statement about the exact time of death, just that it will happen
relatively soon.

        Do you agree?

        cheers,
        Andrew

-- 
Andrew S. Kulikovsky B.App.Sc(Hons) MACS
Software Engineer
CelsiusTech Australia
Module 6, Endeavour House,Technology Park,
The Levels, S.A. 5095
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Email :	anku@celsiustech.com.au

"There's no gene for the human spirit."



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