Scripture Reading: Romans 12:9-16
In a change-up from my previous posting styles, I am going to pose some food for thought related to the scriptural interpretation work that I typically do behind the scenes. Usually when I prepare to write here, I start with a scripture passage that sparks some questions in my mind, and I follow the thread of those questions with more reading and prayer until I settle on the beginnings of an answer, or at least the answer that is speaking to me in that moment in my life. What I then post is a description or glimpse into that journey I have taken (and often am continuing to take) as I seek to learn more about who God is and who we are called to be as followers of Christ. After reading the above passage from Romans, though, I find myself with lingering questions that I may benefit from continuing to ponder. I invite you to join me in reflecting on these words and questions and how they are speaking to you, in your life, at this moment. What are you learning from them about who God is and who He is calling you to be? "Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are." (Romans 12:9-16, NRSV) When I first read this text, I was struck by its sparseness. It is essentially a list of directions for living, which is exactly what I need right now. The pace of my life has picked up recently with my baby learning to crawl and my husband taking on new job responsibilities. I've also been getting involved in community organizations and pursuing education opportunities. With more scheduled activities, I find myself with less time to delve uninterrupted into the depths of scripture and research myriads of context. Another byproduct of this change of pace is that there are many lists scattered on my kitchen counter and beside my bed - to do lists, grocery lists, lists of people to contact, random lists of things that don't have a category but must be remembered, lists of books to find, lists of scripture verses to reference when I need encouragement, lists of memories to record in the baby book... When time is short and my focus is split in many directions, life begins to be tethered to lists such as these. Because I am so list-oriented and action-driven right now, finding this passage with specific, brief, verb-loaded directions was a real gift. There are many great lessons packed into these eight verses that call us to live as people who are transformed by Christ and reflect the nature of our Creator God. I am continuing to think about the directions given in these verses to evaluate how I am doing with each and where more growth is needed, and I encourage you to do the same. Part of that process for me is internalizing what each item means and what it might look like when the principle is lived out in reality. At first I felt like interpreting these verses and applying their messages was a task that spoke for itself. However, generating ideas and images as part of interpretation is a task that is highly influenced by the wording of the text, and questioning the wording took me down an unexpected path of discovery and reflection! I first saw this passage from Romans in a New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) translation on the Vanderbilt Divinity Library's Revised Common Lectionary site as one of the suggested readings for this past week. I thought the NRSV translation was beautiful, but there were some words in it that seemed different than how it might be said today, so I decided to compare it with another translation. I like to use BibleGateway for this side-by-side comparison work, so I input the verse reference and selected New International Version (NIV), my usual go-to, and the original NRSV. I was surprised by the many differences in word choice that I saw, so I decided to try adding another translation - this time the Common English Bible (CEB), which has become an increasingly popular choice for those seeking a contemporary version of scripture. I am often surprised at how versions like CEB and "The Message" choose to phrase ideas in a "modern" way of speaking. It sounds less familiar to me than the NIV and NRSV that I'm more accustomed to, so I usually like to compare it to an older translation to see the differences and capture more nuances of the text. For the final comparison, I selected the New American Standard Bible (NASB). This is the version my husband prefers, and while I don't always immediately connect with the wording, it provides another valuable perspective on how scripture can be interpreted. With all four versions of this passage in Romans appearing side by side on my computer screen, the differences between them were striking! I'll give you a synthesized version of some of the major ones below: Romans 12:9-16 (NIV, NRSV, CEB, NASB) verse 9: Love must be sincere. Let love be genuine. Love should be shown without pretending. Let love be without hypocrisy. All four of these have the same message at heart, but "sincere," "genuine," "shown without pretending," and "without hypocrisy" each resonate with me in slightly different ways. They each spark different examples and responses in my mind. Each are valuable, and it would be difficult to say which I think is preferable. And perhaps if we were to dig further and research the Koine Greek that each of these seeks to capture in English, we would find that one wording seems more faithful to the text than another, or that all are necessary to convey the full spectrum of meaning in the original Greek that does not easily translate into English vocabulary. verse 10: Be devoted to one another in love. Love one another with mutual affection. Love each other like the members of your family. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Again, looking at the common ground among these translations, the spirit of their meaning becomes clear, but if I were to only view one version without the others, I may come away with a much different sense for their intended meaning unless I did further research. This especially strikes me with the version from CEB that says, "like the members of your family." Unfortunately many people today live with broken family relationships, so what connotations might this version have for them? For me, the idea of a love that is "devoted" and "mutual" rings clearer when read in isolation. verse 10 (continued): Honor one another above yourselves. Outdo one another in showing honor. Be the best at showing honor to each other. Give preference to one another in honor. The main theme among these translations of the second half of verse 10 centers around humbling yourself by honoring others. NIV and NASB leave it at that. On the other hand, NRSV and CEB seem to place great emphasis on striving for this goal by including "outdo" and "be the best at," which ironically has the effect, in my mind at least, of encouraging a sense of pride rather than humility. Since I can see all the translations, I can see what the overall point is that appears in all four; without these additional references, I think it would be easy to get into a contest of honoring others! Cartoons from my childhood come to mind where two characters stand in front of a doorway saying, "No, after you!" ad infinitum while life passes them by... verse 16: Live in harmony with one another. Live in harmony with one another. Consider everyone as your equal. Be of the same mind toward one another. Interestingly, the NIV and NRSV translations are the same here with the general idea of "living in harmony," but CEB seems to go down a much more specific path. To me, the directive in the CEB version to consider everyone as an equal is not equivalent to "living in harmony" and seems potentially problematic again given the broken nature of our world and human relationships. NASB seems to suggest that harmony involves being "of the same mind," but even that phrase leaves some room for interpretation. This is one instance where I would love to see some analysis of the original Greek and perhaps commentary from Biblical scholars to see where there is some consensus for meaning. Bible Hub is a great tool for this as it breaks down these types of research resources and allows for side-by-side comparison. Check it out on the Resources page and see what you find! verse 16 (continued): Do not be conceited. Do not claim to be wiser than you are. Don't think that you're so smart. Do not be wise in your own estimation. Here again the diversity in the translations offers us multiple perspectives but also leaves us with questions. In my experiences, the word "conceited" that is offered by NIV has been used to mean having a sense of personal vanity, perhaps about one's looks or abilities. This seems different than the focus on wisdom present in NRSV and NASB. Similarly, I think that CEB is touching on a different issue with the use of the word "smart," which to me relates to intelligence and is not the same thing as wisdom. Overall there is a common theme of the need for humility in our opinions of ourselves, and I think that is the important takeaway here. If left with only one of these translations, though, how might our interpretation differ? Studying scripture can take us down many unexpected paths which are not always smooth or easy to travel. One thing that can create a stumbling block is the differences we find among various translations of the Bible. In some study groups the same translation is used by all members to avoid this confusion, but I think there is a richness and depth to our study that we lose by this homogeneous approach. I believe the Holy Spirit speaks to us when we openly listen and allow ourselves the possibility of learning something new. And there is still room for us to humbly add our perspective to someone else's in order to build up the body of Christ. Though we may not be able to settle on a quick answer of what a particular passage means, what might we discover by exploring different translations other than the one we use most often? How might our interpretations be shifted, broken down, or strengthened by this practice? How might our conversation and understanding of our faith be more informed and built up? How might we encounter God differently as we grapple with his living Word and its meaning for our lives? I'd love to hear your thoughts on Biblical interpretation, translations of scripture, and how you use these and other tools in your personal and group study! Feel free to share your ideas here or on the Contact page.
0 Comments
|
AuthorRachel is a wife, mom, and follower of Christ. She is active in lay leadership in the United Methodist Church. Archives
October 2017
Categories© Rachel Yochum and Bible Bridge Ministry, 2017. All rights reserved.
|