Article September 29, 1934 Issue

Bible Notes

"The pride of life" (I John 2:16)—The Greek word "alazonia," here translated "pride," is generally used in the sense of " 'empty braggart talk' sometimes also 'empty display in act, swagger' " while it has also been described as denoting "an impious and empty presumption which trusts in the stability of earthly things" (Thayer: Greek Lexicon, p. 25). Thayer renders the phrase in I John 2:16 as, "Display in one's style of living" (ibid.); and Weymouth (5th Edition) has, "The show and pride of life." Moffatt translates, "The proud glory of life;" while Goodspeed renders this and the following verse as follows: "For all that there is in the world, the things that our physical nature and our eyes crave, and the proud display of life—these do not come from the Father, but from the world; and the world with its cravings is passing away, but whoever does God's will will endure forever."

"A fool's wrath is heavier than them both" (Prov. 27:3)—The word "ka as," here translated "wrath," is more exactly "vexation" (Brown, Driver, Briggs: Hebrew Lexicon, p. 495), a rendering which is preferred by the Revised Version. Moffatt offers the idiomatic rendering: "A vexatious fool is worse to bear than both;" while Smith translates: "The annoyance caused by a fool is heavier than both."

"Open rebuke is better than secret love" (Prov. 27:5)—This is a literal rendering of the original, but Moffatt appears to bring out more clearly the meaning of the writer by translating: "Better a frank word of reproof than the love that will not speak."

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