In addition to the Psalms, Christians have sung other parts of Scripture as well down through the centuries. Here is one such song familiar to generations of protestants raised in revivalist circles. I associate this song with the Baptist church in my mother's hometown in Michigan where she and my father were married and which we attended during lengthy visits with relatives when I was a boy. We sang this song yesterday in church.
Although the stanzas are not from the Bible, the chorus is straight out of 2 Timothy 1:12 in the King James Version:
. . . for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I've committed unto him against that day.
This is not an especially literal translation of the Greek, which runs as follows:
. . . οἶδα γὰρ ᾧ πεπίστευκα, καὶ πέπεισμαι ὅτι δυνατός ἐστιν τὴν παραθήκην μου φυλάξαι εἰς ἐκείνην τὴν ἡμέραν.
Here it is in the Greek-English interlinear Bible:
The Revised Standard Version turns things around:
. . . and I am sure that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me.
This seems like the better translation, considering what comes in verse 14: "guard the truth that has been entrusted to you by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us," where a derivative of the word παραθήκη (placed-beside, deposit) is used again. The assumption is that God has given us something that he has promised to guard until the last day. However, the New Revised Standard Version inexplicably follows the KJV:
. . . for I know the one in whom I have put my trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard until that day what I have entrusted to him.
But the English Standard Version follows the RSV:
. . . for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me.
My Portuguese Bible, which was given me during my visit to Brazil in 2016, renders the text in this fashion:
. . . porque eu sei em quem tenho crido e estou certo de que ele é poderoso para guardar o meu tesouro até aquele dia (Almeida Seculo 21).
Google translate renders the Portuguese into English:
. . . because I know who[m] I have believed in and I am sure that he is powerful to keep my treasure until that day.
In light of the ambiguity of the Greek word παραθήκη, but given its usage two verses later, I would like to suggest a new version of the chorus:
For I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to safeguard the treasure he has given me until that day.
Wait. There are no italics. Right? The prior translations you mentioned use a few exegetical approaches and their emphasis is based on the relative weight of the words within a broad range of interpretation. The words in exact order: "I have seen for which I have believed and I have been persuaded that able he is, the deposit of me to guard into/unto that the day." If we take it literally thenn believers are the deposit. But elsewhere the deposit is the Holy Spirit, elsewhere it references the work we saved up...That is the difference in denomination, theological stance in making sense of this verse. Remember how few unique words there are in biblical Greek. Grammar,tone and emphasis is divided into the 900 filters we call Protestant denominations. Either take the richness and diversity of translations as a good, or state that the other translations are wrong, theologically inferior and this one is the only corect one. To me, yours is a nice and inspiring thought, but the measure of accurate meaning can be open to interpretation. Besides it makes for a complicated song to sing.
ReplyDelete2 Timothy 1:14 runs this way in the New Living Translation: "Through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, carefully guard the precious truth that has been entrusted to you." Other versions are less explicit, but this verse does seem to provide something of the context for verse 12. In this case the "deposit" or "treasure" or "good thing" is the truth of the gospel, with all of its implications for our lives.
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