"Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils" (Isa. 2:22)—Moffatt renders: "Put no more trust in man, with his mere breath of life;" while Goodspeed prefers: "Cease trusting man in whose nostrils is breath; for of what account is he?"

"To be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace" (Rom. 8:6)—The Greek term "phronema," which occurs twice in this verse, means properly "the thoughts of the mind" rather than the mind itself (Thayer: Greek Lexicon, p. 658; Souter: Greek Lexicon, p. 277). A more literal rendering of the Greek would be: "Material thoughts are death, but spiritual thoughts are life and peace." Goodspeed has: "To be physically minded means death, but to be spiritually minded means life and peace."

"If ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live" (Rom. 8:13)—The word "mortify"—literally, "to cause to die, or to put to death" (cf. Thayer: op. cit.)—is the exact opposite of "quicken" (literally, "to make alive"), used in verse 11. Moreover, the word rendered "deeds" is more exactly "doings" (ibid., p. 534). Hence, Goodspeed translates: "If, by means of the Spirit, you put the body's doings to death, you will live;" and Weymouth (5th edition): "If, by the power of the spirit, you put your merely bodily habits to death, you will live."

"The serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field" (Gen. 3:1)—The Hebrew term " 'arum," rendered "subtil" in this verse, has a variety of senses, and can mean "sensible" or "shrewd" as well as "crafty" (Brown, Driver, Briggs: Hebrew Lexicon, p. 791). For example, in Proverbs 12:23 the "prudent man" ('arum) is contrasted with "fools." Compare Jesus' counsel: "Be ye therefore wise ['phronimos'—'intelligent, sensible, prudent'] as serpents" (Matt. 10:16; cf. Thayer: op. cit., p. 659; Souter: op. cit., p. 278). In Genesis 3:1, Moffatt has: "cunning"; Smith: "clever"; and Bagster's translation of the Septuagint: "crafty"; while the Aramaic Targum of Palestine reads: "The serpent was wiser unto evil than all the beasts of the field" (Etheridge: Targums of the Pentateuch: I, p. 164).

"Miracles" (John 3:2)—The Greek word "semeia" means literally "signs," though here, as in many other passages in the fourth Gospel, it is rendered "miracles" (cf. John 2:11; 4:54; 6:2, etc.). Hence, the Revised Version Moffatt, Weymouth, and the Twentieth Century New Testament have "signs."

"Except a man be born again" (John 3:3)—The Greek word "anothen," used here and in verse 7, may be correctly translated "again"; but an alternative and slightly more literal rendering is "from above" (see Abbott-Smith: Greek Lexicon, p. 43). So we find: "except a man be born anew" (Revised Version); "unless a man is born anew" (Weymouth); "unless a man is reborn" (Twentieth Century New Testament); while Moffatt and the margin of the Revised Version have, "from above." Goodspeed combines both renderings, translating: "I tell you no man can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again from above."

"That which is born of the flesh is flesh, ... of the Spirit is spirit" (John 3:6)—It may be noted that when "sarx" (flesh) is opposed to "pneuma" (Spirit), it generally denotes "mere human nature, the earthly part of man apart from divine influence" (Thayer: op. cit., p. 571). Goodspeed translates: "Whatever owes its birth to the physical is physical, and whatever owes its birth to the Spirit is spiritual;" and the Twentieth Century New Testament: "All that owes its birth to human nature is human, and all that owes its birth to the Spirit is spiritual."

"Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God" (Rom. 12:1)—This is a literal translation of the Greek, and is followed with little variation by most modern translators. Weymouth, however, has: "Present all your faculties to Him as a living and holy sacrifice acceptable to Him." Moffatt renders: "Dedicate your bodies as a living sacrifice, consecrated and acceptable to God;" while Goodspeed suggests: "I appeal to you ... to offer your bodies in a living sacrifice that will be holy and acceptable to God."

"We should live soberly, righteously, and godly" (Tit. 2:12)—The word "sophronos," here rendered "soberly," can also mean "with sound mind, temperately, discreetly" (Thayer: op. cit., p. 613). Moffatt suggests: "to live a life of self-mastery, of integrity, and of piety;" Goodspeed: "Live serious, upright, and godly lives;" and Weymouth: "to live sober, upright, and pious lives."

"We ... also were sometimes foolish" (Tit. 3:3)—It may be observed that in this context "sometimes" does not mean "occasionally," but represents the Greek "pote," meaning "once, i.e., at some time or other, formerly, aforetime" (Thayer: op. cit., p. 533). The Revised Version translates it: "aforetime"; Weymouth: "There was a time when we also were unintelligent;" Goodspeed: "For we ourselves were once without understanding;" and Moffatt: "We ourselves were once senseless."

"Not by works of righteousness which we have done" (Tit. 3:5)—In the original Greek the "we" is emphatic, and the Revised Version suggests this rendering: "which we did ourselves."

"Be ye therefore perfect" (Matt. 5:48)—The Greek "teleios" comes from the word "telos," meaning "final end"; and while, of course, it constantly means "perfect" it is sometimes employed to signify "completely operative," or, again, "full grown, mature, having reached its full development" (Souter: op. cit., p. 258).