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On
ἄνθρωπος
and Man's Fallen Nature
I have questions on the rendering of
ἄνθρωπος
"anthropos" or "man" (e.g. KJV, Darby and NASB) as "natures" or "nature" in
ISV in the following verses: Romans 6:6, Ephesians 4:22, Colossians 3:9-10.
1) Why does ISV not translate the term as "man"? Would "nature" not incline
the text towards the "two-nature" theological interpretation? If so, should
we make the text theologically neutral by rendering it literally as "man"
instead?
The Greek word
ἄνθρωπος
can be translated as "man, mankind, self, person or nature." The use of the
word "nature" as the translated word in the four passages you list is a
correct translation and does not "incline the text towards the 'two nature'
theological interpretation" as you suggest. However, thank you for pointing
out our inconsistency in Eph. 4:24, where we will correct it from "new man"
to "new nature".
2) Yet, interestingly, Ephesians 4:24 rightly translates it as "man" rather
than "nature", which really makes it inconsistent with 4:22 since they
belong together, much like the twin occurrences in Colossians 3:9 - 10. Do
you agree?
In Col. 2:11 "corrupt nature" is correct. While the literal is
body of the flesh, to translate it literally in this context would
mislead the English reader in regards to what the Apostle Paul is
conveying. Please keep in mind that a literal word-for-word
translation does not always convey the correct meaning. Context is
equally important in the translation of Scripture.
3) Further, Colossians 2:11 translates the Greek as "corrupt nature" rather
than "body of the flesh" as found in other more literal translations. Would
you say this confounds the reader and makes him unaware that there is a
difference between the original Greek terms in this verse and the
afore-mentioned verses?
4) Romans 6:6 correctly translates as "sin-laden bodies" and not "sin-laden
natures", but this makes it inconsistent with Colossians 2:11. To avoid
confusion, should we not leave the term more literally as "body" in
Colossians 2:11?
In Romans 6:6 our judgment was and continues to be that the context leans
more toward "sin-laden bodies."
George Giacumakis, Ph.D.
General Editor
International Standard Version
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