OUAI = "DAMN"?

Jim West jwest at Highland.Net
Mon Sep 14 08:12:34 EDT 1998


At 10:53 AM 9/14/98 +0000, you wrote:
>
>The Scholars Version (the version produced and used by the Jesus Seminar) 
>translates OUAI hUMIN, normally translated "Woe to you . . .", as "damn you
. . 
>."  How do b-greekers feel about this?  

Its a silly way to translate a word that has nothing to do with condemnation
or damnation.  "Woe" bespeaks the sorrow of those who reject the message.
Damn, on the other hand, says nothing about sorrow- merely judgment.  When
the Gospels use "woe" they intend to say something about the regret of
rejection.

>Their aim is to re-create the 
>impression that original readers and hearers would have had.

Thats why its usch a silly translation- for it is hard to imagine any Greek
reader or speaker thinking that the word meant "you are gonna go to hell...."

>  MAKARIOI . . . in 
>the Beatitudes is translated "Congratulations . . ."
>

Silly again.  Silly, silly, silly.  Congrats does not equal happiness. You
can say "congratulations" to a person who just bought a new car- but now
they are saddled with the payments- so are they really "happy"?

>Mark

In short, the efforts of certain members of the JS in using these
particularly infelicitous words is to make the text say anything other than
what it means.

Best,

Jim

++++++++++++++++++++++
Jim West, ThD
Quartz Hill School of Theology
jwest at highland.net




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