Thursday, August 25, 2011
Eats, Shoots and Leaves
On Romans 3:21-26:
Here is the KJV translation, whose translators took their cue from William Tyndale who in turn took his cue from Martin Luther:
Romans 3:21But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
22Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
23For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
24Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
25Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
26To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. KJV.
Notice how the punctuation sets off the latter part of verse 22 and all of verse 23 from verses 22 and 24. Verse 22b and 23 is a parenthetical thought and has no relationship to verse 24 other than the fact "all have sinned." A parenthetical thought does not change the meaning of a text but only helps to clarify. So if you deleted 22b and 23, you have the intended meaning. This puts Romans 5:18 & 19 in a whole new light of which those who hold to a universal absolution of all men use as proof, which is incorrect. 'The many' of all have sinned is not the same as 'the many' that are justified.
Here is what further exacerbates the problem...from the NIV 1984; punctuation is entirely lacking:
21 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement,[i] through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. NIV
And the NNIV (NIV 2011) is even worse adding an extra word 'all':
21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in[h] Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,[i] through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. NNIV.
As the WELS South Central DP opined at the recent convention, 'we just may be pitching our tents towards Sodom' by accepting such translations. I agree. It hints at Universalism and enables pastors to say you are forgiven before you are born.
