Tuesday, November 21, 2017

...and the Word was fully/truly God


Critics of the New World Translation can be seen clutching their pearls in disgust when the indefinite article "a" is properly added to John 1:1, but I have never read any disparaging remarks in regards to the following translations:

(Contemporary English Version)  In the beginning was the one who is called the Word. The Word was with God and was truly God.
(NET Bible)  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was fully God.
(Living Bible) is Himself God

I wonder if we can we do the same with other examples of pre-verbal singular count nouns?
Let's take a look:

John 4:19 Sir...I can see that you are truly/fully prophet. [Doesn't really work, but it would work by dropping the "truly/fully" and completing the thought better as is done in most Bibles by inserting the indefinite "a."]

John 6:70 one of you is truly/fully devil. [Doesn't really work, but it would work by dropping the "truly/fully" and completing the thought better as is done in most Bibles by inserting the indefinite "a."]

John 8:34 everyone who sins is truly/fully slave to sin [Doesn't really work, but it would work by dropping the "truly/fully" and completing the thought better as is done in most Bibles by inserting the indefinite "a."]

John 8:44 He was truly/fully murderer [Doesn't really work, but it would work by dropping the "truly/fully" and completing the thought better as is done in most Bibles by inserting the indefinite "a", or, by keeping the truly/fully, but this still demands keeping the indefinite article.]

John 8:44 for he is truly/fully liar [Doesn't really work, but it would work by dropping the "truly/fully" and completing the thought better as is done in most Bibles by inserting the indefinite "a", or, by keeping the truly/fully, but this still demands keeping the indefinite article.]

John 8:48 you are truly/fully Samaritan [Doesn't really work, but it would work by dropping the "truly/fully" and completing the thought better as is done in most Bibles by inserting the indefinite "a."]

John 9:17 He is truly/fully prophet [Doesn't really work, but it would work by dropping the "truly/fully" and completing the thought better as is done in most Bibles by inserting the indefinite "a", or, by keeping the truly/fully, but this still demands keeping the indefinite article.]

John 9:24 this man is truly/fully sinner [Doesn't really work, but it would work by dropping the "truly/fully" and completing the thought better as is done in most Bibles by inserting the indefinite "a."]

John 9:25 he is truly/fully sinner [Doesn't really work, but it would work by dropping the "truly/fully" and completing the thought better as is done in most Bibles by inserting the indefinite "a."]

I think you get the picture. There are, I believe 3 places in John where this would work:
John 10:36 I am truly/fully Son of God
John 18:37 You are truly/fully king then?
John 18:37 I am truly/fully king.
However, I can find NO Bible that translates these in such a way. I do however find Bibles that translate John 18:37 with the indefinite article. John 10:36 is in the genitive, thereby limiting the referent already.

It appears that you can seemingly "add words" if it fits a certain theology, if it seems to go contrary to this, it is labelled a "mistranslation."

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