The Curmudgeon's Bible - Jesus and Nicodemus
I probably shouldn't, but I often do, nonetheless...
*“Let them not drag me into court if the text does not agree with the original word for word, for, try as you may, it cannot be done.” * - Erasmus, Apologia 170:20-1
I get frustrated with bible translators! You see, over the course of my lifetime, I've learned just enough of the original bible languages (primarily Hebrew and Greek) to become dangerous, annoyed, and annoying.
Welcome to "The Curmudgeon's Bible."
This is the first in a series of occasional posts highlighting my beefs with typical translations, along with a comment or two about what particularly stuck in my craw, and why.
I didn't know that was in the bible!
Photo courtesy of Ben White and http://unsplash.com
Translation is not a task for cowards.
I'll be the first to admit that. Translators are bound to run into readers (like me) who vehemently disagree with what they've done with one passage or another. For whatever reason, the choices a translator makes are bound to irritate someone.
I should probably be more compassionate and generous with the translators...
Probably! But that ship has sailed, and so here we are.
Today's target of my curmudgeonly ire comes from John chapter three:
Jesus answered, “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I told you that you must be born again. The wind blows where it pleases, and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
- John 3:5-8, Christian Standard Bible
Now, what's wrong with that translation, you might ask? On the face of it, nothing at all. It is in fact quite a reasonable rendition of the Greek text into English. And it does a fair job of conveying this part of Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus.
But wait!
Translated in this way, the unfortunate English reader will completely miss a fascinating play on words. That's my beef with the translation of this particular passage. In this introductory episode of "The Curmudgeon's Bible", I'm going to modify the translation for you, my fellow English-speaking reader, so that you can't possibly miss that play on words.
Jesus answered, “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born of water and the wind, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the wind is wind. Do not be amazed that I told you that you must be born again. The wind is windy where it pleases, and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the wind.”
- The Curmudgeon's Bible
There, that gives you a different impression, doesn't it?
Unless you already knew that the Greek word for "spirit" is the same as the word for "breath" or "wind," you would miss that play on words completely, right? Even if you do know that it's the same word Jesus is repeating, you might not be thinking about it when you read the story of his late-night conversation with this religious leader who was seeking the truth.
Had you heard of this play on words before?
I'm genuinely interested in knowing whether or not you had heard this before. Please let me know in the comments below.
~FIN~
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You are right about the words.
Translators get it wrong a lot, but in this case I think it's ok - because the meaning is correct.
(Unless you think it gives a different meaning? You didn't really say if you thought the meaning is changed)
There are times when they get it flat out wrong, and effectively supply an incorrect interpretation, especially the ESV.
Hello, @msmith, and thanks for your visit here.
I evidently could have been clearer, because in this instance, "governing" is "flat out wrong," as you put it, and wholly misleading. Furthermore, I believe it to be an intentional corruption of the text.
About which I intend to write follow-up articles that will further explore Romans 13. When I do, I will try to "string them together" so that you and others might gain a better understanding of my perspective.
And, in retrospect, I'm finding it very difficult to grasp how you could have missed that in my article? Your further comments about my lack of clarity here would be most appreciated... ;)
😄😇😄
"governing" - are we looking at the same article? :)
Profuse apologies, friend... You are correct; for whatever reason, I apparently misconstrued your comment to have been in response to a different article... :O
Sorry about that!
I will now attempt an appropriate response:
My main point in this article is that, in this instance, the English reader is, unfortunately, completely oblivious to the fact that there is only one word being used in Greek. In English, we have at least three or more words that convey the general idea; wind, breeze, breath, spirit.
I suspect that our word "breath" may be closest to what the Greek mind heard. I also suspect that our word "spirit" is furthest from the "real, original meaning."
And so, in this particular instance, I wouldn't say "spirit" is a terrible translation, and I don't think the translators could really do a lot better without paraphrasing. This is more of a lament over how much is inevitably lost in translation.
I'd be careful here, creatr, about rightly dividing the Word - The contrast here is with natural birth as compared with spiritual rebirth - wind is just an analogy. You don't want to be so caught up with being 'windy' as to miss the essential point. Sure, there's a play on words, but in every translation something gets left out - in this case, you don't want it to be the main point
Agreed - every translation is a compromise.
My point in this example is that the play on words has been obscured by the translation. My intent is to "draw back that veil," if only momentarily, so that the English reader can see and perhaps appreciate that play on words, and then evaluate for themselves the underlying meaning.
Perhaps I can convey to you what I'm wishing for, and maybe even heading towards, with an analogy of my own. This analogy is custom tailored particularly for you, my friend John:
Have you ever been to one of Disney's Haunted Mansion's? There is a portion of that ride during which, for just a few seconds, you get to see an "overlay" reflected before you of "others" that appear to be riding with you in your carriage. I think what I'm wishing for here is a truly dynamic page of scripture (we now have the technology!) designed in such a way that, as you read it, you actually are treated to some alternate words or constructions.
In the instant case, the word "Spirit" would appear on the page most of the time, but (in the mode I have in mind) the words "wind" and "breath" would flicker in and out, presenting themselves for perhaps a fraction of time that would be somewhat indicative of the amount of weight that ought to be given to that rendering.
In that way, the play on words would at least become "visible" to the common reader while the "mainline" meaning would remain.
And so, consider this particular article and passage one of those "flickers" intended to raise awareness among those who will never study the original languages...
ha ha...only you, creatr, could see Biblical exegesis as a Coney Island of the Mind LOL!!
So Jesus spoke Greek?
sorry, biblenerd, but I'm not sure whom you're asking. I mentioned nothing about Greek - lydon sipe did though
Hello John. Sorry I meant it for all the readers here. The author wrote that the Greek word for wind and spirit are the same, so maybe Jesus was doing a play on the Greek words. So I ask the readers here: when Jesus said those words to the Jews, was He speaking Greek?
an interesting question - no doubt, Jesus spoke the 4 languages in the region, so possibly...we'll never know unless a cell phone video surfaces LOL!!
It is unusual for Jesus to speak to Nicodemus in Greek. But it appears we can only speculate.
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Thanks for pointing that out! :)
Haha. You had me at curmudgeon. Since I study a bit of Greek and Hebrew myself I did know of this play on words. Frankly, there is a plethora of beauty and wonder to discover once you see the play on words constructed in the original languages.
Hi, friend,
Thanks for your comment. Yes, I am a bit of a curmudgeon!
And, yes, the original languages are the bomb! At times it can be like having your windshield cleaned and seeing really, really well... :D
Yes! I like the windshield analogy. One of my professors used to say that reading the Bible in a language other than the original was akin to kissing your bride through the veil.
Hahahaha! I like that analogy! :) ;)
It hadn't occurred to me this was uncommon knowledge. I guess if I had thought of it, it would have made sense.
I think that 'breath' and 'wind' are recognizable as synonymous. We 'get the wind knocked out of us', and 'get winded', but 'breath' and 'spirit' may not be so obvious.
SPIRit, and inSPIRatition derive from the same. To exSPIRe is to lose the breath. We even 'shuffle off this mortal coil'. The coil is a SPIRal.
We learned Greek in church from the time I was four, but, that inspiration and inhalation are the same was even taught at kung fu, just before 'the breath informs the motion, and the motion drives the breath'.
We also learned some Aramaic, but the Hebrew was not a big focus. We were more interested in the words of Jesus.
One man's common knowledge is another's occult...
I guess a lot depends on the environment you were brought up in! :)
Thanks for your inSPIRing observations. ;)
I forget sometimes. I still remember being shocked the first time I realized that not everyone knows how 'chapter and verse' works. That was decades ago, and I can still see the look of incomprehension on my friend's face. It was probably much like the look on my own.
LOL!
I actually have a cousin who is co-founder of a company ("Biblica"? I think?) that promotes reading the bible entirely without the "versification" and "chapterizing" - both of which are great if you're doing a detailed study, but not so much if you just want to read the story.
I was delighted to discover that http://biblegateway.com provides a mode where the verse numbering disappears. When you combine that with a "printer" view, you can actually read a chapter of the bible at a time without those distractions!
I just got used to it and the numbers fade into the background. I'll check it out and see if I notice. I've been using http://biblehub.com/ i don't think it has this feature. it has many different versions. I'm most used to KJV and NIV, but have used many more. My parents raised me to be a minister. Sometimes it's like wearing scripture colored sunglasses.
So why would Jesus be speaking to Nicodemus, a Jew, in the Greek language?
Hello, @biblenerd, Thank you for stopping by and for your excellent question!
I doubt that Jesus was speaking Greek at that moment. Jesus and Nicodemus were more likely having a conversation in Aramaic. However, my observation is unchanged. The word in Aramaic is the same, both for "wind" and for "spirit." Had you been standing there, listening to Jesus speak with Nicodemus, you would have heard the same word repeated.
You can see this for yourself at http://peshitta.org . There, if you click on the "Interlinear NT" tab, then the "Yukhannan" tab, and finally on the "Ch. 3" tab, you will see that the (Anglicized) word is "rukha," and that it is the same in all instances - parallel to the (Anglicized) Greek "pneuma."
And so, my argument holds in either language. It is the English language that differentiates that particular word, and it is the benighted English-only reader who misses the play on words that was going on in their conversation that night.
Thank you creatr for pointing out that the translation is the same in Aramaic and Greek. I'll take your word for it.
I used to read the bible in 3 different translations and compare them. When I found something that didn't add up, I'd research it. Found some pretty cool stuff doing this.
upvoted
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Cheers!
Hey Curmudgeon! I wasn't aware of the word play here. I've just recently started trying to learn Hebrew so I knew Spirit/Ruach/Breath/wind.... I just read this passage the other day, too, and I totally missed it again.
As an alternative translation, what do you think about just replacing the word wind with spirit?
Nice to meet you, @garthfreeman,
I think that the word "spirit" in English probably carries too many overtones and connotations that aren't really there... "Breath" might work much better.
Thanks so much for reading and commenting! ;)
Fascinating ! Is this the word you are talking about?
(form wikipedia)
aethēr m (genitive aetheris); third declension
the upper, pure, bright air; ether; the heavens
the air or sky; light of day
the upper world, the earth (as opposed to the lower world)
the brightness or ethereal matter surrounding a deity
Greetings, friend @lakshmi,
Actually, this is the word:
Pneuma (πνεῦμα) is an ancient Greek word for "breath", and in a religious context for "spirit" or "soul". - Wikipedia. You can find somewhat more of a definition here with lots of references.
I chose "wind" as the word that I wanted my readers to "hear," because it's pretty clear from what Jesus was saying that "wind" is the strong image he is using to characterize God's nature. The wind blows wherever it wants to, and we can "hear" it and feel its effects, but cannot "see" it. This is analogous to God. He does whatever he wants, and we can sometimes perceive the effects of God's actions but can't necessarily "see" the details or the rationale.
thank you, yes, I get it!
Thanks for the invite to your post, I enjoyed it and can see the parallel to my poem. I have up voted and followed. There is also another translational aspect to this passage you left out regarding water, some believe you must be born of water refers to baptism, I don't agree but it is interpreted that way by some. for me being born of water is being born of woman, the water of the womb, of flesh.
Speaking of parallelism, I am in complete agreement with your observation about water. The parallelism in the passage strongly supports the view - "water" and "flesh" are definite parallels there. :)
Some postulate:
born of water = human birth, born of woman.
born of spirit = baptism, spiritual birth
So in essence both have to do with water.
:D