[B-Greek] Romans 11:31

Charles Tripp tearlach61 at yahoo.com
Wed May 16 00:11:09 EDT 2007


I have a question regarding Romans 11:31, it reads as follows:
   
  hOUTWS KAI hOUTOI NUN HPEIQHSAN TWi hUMETERWi EELI, hINA KAI AUTOI [NUN] ELEHQWSAN.
   
  My question concerns how the dative phrase TWi hUMETERWi relates to the passage as a whole.  In most English translations, the phrase is connected with what follows hINA in the greek, example:
   
  NASB "so these also now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you they also may now be shown mercy."
   
  It seems to be translated as if the greek read as follows:
   
  hOUTWS KAI hOUTOI NUN HPEIQHSAN, hINA KAI AUTOI [NUN] ELEHQWSAN TWi hUMETERWi EELI.
   
  I looked at perhaps 20 or 30 translations and the large majority render it more or less this way.  I saw a couple three though that capture it more or less the way I see it:
   
  Bible du Semeur: De la même façon, si leur désobéissance actuelle a pour conséquence votre pardon, c'est pour que Dieu leur pardonne[a]à eux aussi.
   
  Wycliffe New Testament: so and these now believed not into your mercy [so and these now believed not to your mercy], that also they get mercy.
   
  Vulgate for good measure: ita et isti nunc non crediderunt in vestram misericordiam ut et ipsi misericordiam consequantur
   
  What I am missing here.  What is the justification for putting the TWi hUMETERWi EELI with the phrase that follows hINA?  Also, there seems to a wide range of options of just how you'd translate the dative TWi hUMETERWi EELI.  By your mercy (instrumentality),  in your mercy (did not believe in).  The previous verse plays heavily into that I guess, but I just don't get how NASB et al get what they get.
   
  Curious for any thoughts.
   
  Note, I was on this mailing list a number of years ago, lurked mostly then dropped off.  Also, though I actively studied Greek on my own for about 10 years, I haven't really looked it much since about '03.  This is kind of an initial forey back into it.
   
  Chuck
   
   
   
   
   

       
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