[B-Greek] 1 Cor. 1:26
A. J. Birch
AJBIRCH at terra.es
Fri Mar 18 11:14:54 EST 2005
Dear B-Greek friends,
I know I'm a bit behind on this thread, but I just wanted to make a couple of points:
(1) In Kerry Yankowy's original post, he points out that the ESV, NASB, and NIV all translate the verb in the imperative mood: ESV: "For consider your calling, brothers:..." NASB: "For consider your calling, brethren,..." NIV: "Brothers, think of what you were when you were called." It seems to me beyond dispute that, however the Greek is understood, Mr. Yankowy is absolutely right in his statement that the versions in question do translate the Greek word (BLEPETE) as an imperative, and not as an indicative. Purely in terms of English grammar, "consider your calling" and "think of what you were...", irrespective of whether or not they are followed by an exclamation-mark or whatever, are imperative phrases.
(2) It may be of interest to note a linguistically similar phrase in the same epistle: in 1 Cor. 10:18: BLEPETE TON ISRAHL KATA SARKA. (I don't mean to say that the comparison proves anything about the meaning of BLEPETE in 1 Cor. 1:26.)
Yours sincerely,
Andrew J. Birch
Palma de Mallorca, Spain
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