Article August 12, 1939 Issue

Bible Notes

"For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things" (Rom. 11:36)—In the Greek of the New Testament, as in the rendering familiar to most English readers from the Authorized Version, this statement is put down in a somewhat condensed form, and modern translators make a practice of expanding it, in an attempt to clarify the sense. Thus Weymouth (Fifth Edition) suggests: "For all proceeds from Him, and exists by Him and for Him." Moffatt has: "All comes from him, all lives by him, all ends in him;" and Goodspeed: "For from him everything comes; through him everything exists; and in him everything ends!" The Twentieth Century New Testament has: "For all things are from him, through him, and for him."

"O men ... sons of man" (Prov. 8:4)—It may be observed that in the original the word translated "men" is "ishim" (i.e., men, as distinguished from women); while "man" represents "adam" (meaning "mankind, the human race"). In Hebrew idiom the phrase the "sons of man" is equivalent to "mankind in general." Moffatt suggests "all men"; though Smith has: "sons of men."

"As for God, his way is perfect. ... He maketh my way perfect" (II Sam. 22:31, 33)—In these verses use is made of the Hebrew term "tamim" (perfect), which possesses a wide range of meanings, and could also be translated "complete, healthful, sound, wholesome, blameless or innocent" (see Brown, Driver, and Briggs: Hebrew Lexicon, p. 1071); while Kent holds that it means "without physical or moral blemish." In the passage which is now under consideration, the Septuagint renders: "As for the Mighty One, his way is blameless. ... He has prepared my way without fault;" while Moffatt has: "God is unerring in his ways. ... God is a perfect guide to me." Smith's suggestion is: "The way of God is blameless. ... He makes my way blameless."

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