8/9/2019 Report on 2 Peter, Feb 2015
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Report to New Matthew Bible Project subscribers concerning
thecompletion of 2 Peter.
February 6, 2015.
To all my subscribers,
This update follows swiftly upon my last one. My work on 2 Peter
is now complete, and Iwanted to share two interesting differences
in bible translation that I discovered.
2 Peter 1:4 . Here Tyndale had, as carried into the Matthew
Bible, with prior context:
According as his godly power hath given unto us all things that
pertain unto life andgodliness, through the knowledge of him that
hath called us by virtue and glory, by themeans whereof, are given
unto us excellent and most great promises, that by the helpof them
ye should be partakers of the godly nature, in that ye fly the
corruption ofworldly lust.
The message is that with Gods power and help we may fly, or
flee, the corruption ofworldly lust. This is generally understood
as an exhortation to avoid worldly desires andlusts. But in the
KJV, the verse becomes an observation that we have already
escapedworldly lusts. The KJV seems quite alone in this:
Wycliffe 1380:ye should be made fellows of Gods kind, and flee
the corruption of that covetousness that isin the worldCoverdale
1535 : that ye by the same should be partakers of the godly nature,
if ye fly the corrupt lust of theworldCranmer 1539: thatye might be
partakers of the godly nature, if ye fly the corruption of worldly
lustGeneva 1557: thatye should be partakers of the godly nature, in
that ye fly the corruption which is in the
world through lustKJV 1611: thatyou might be partakers of the
divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in theworld
through lust RSV 1946 : thatyou may escape from the corruption that
is in the world because of passion, and becomepartakers of the
divine nature NIV 1973: so that through them you may participate in
the divine nature and escape the corruption in theworld caused by
evil desires. New Matthew Bible 2015 : so that. .. you may be
partakers of the divine nature, in that you flee the corruptionof
worldly desires.
As always, lust is problematic, in that it previously had a much
broader meaning, and isvariously rendered in later versions. It
might be helpful to borrow in part from Wycliffe and
say desires and covetousness.
I appreciate the KJV rendering divine nature, and like other
moderns have used it. Theonline Oxford English Dictionary confirms
divine to be an obsolete meaning of godly.Therefore it is not a
question of changing Tyndale, but of appropriately updating the
earlymodern English.
8/9/2019 Report on 2 Peter, Feb 2015
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2 Peter 2:19 Here Tyndale had (again, with prior context, and in
all older versions Ichange the obsolete of to by after a passive
verb):
For when they have spoken the swelling words of vanity, they
beguile withwantonness through the lusts of the flesh, them that
were clean escaped: but now arewrapped in errors. They promise them
liberty, and are themselves the bond-servantsof corruption. For by
whomsoever a man is overcome, unto the same is he inbondage .
However, is it a question of by what or by whom a person is
overcome and put intobondage? Until the RSV, all versions agreed
that it was a question of being brought inbondage to men. But
modern versions, except the New King James, understand that it isa
question of being in bondage to worldly lusts or corruption, which
does seem likely fromthe immediate context:
Wycliffe 1380:by whom any man is overcome, of him also he is
servant Coverdale 1535 : same as Tyndale.Cranmer 1539: by whom a
man is overcome, unto the same is he brought in bondage.Geneva
1557: same as Tyndale.KJV 1611: by whom a man is overcome, by the
same is he brought in bondage. RSV 1946 : whatever overcomes a man,
to that he is enslaved. Jerusalem Bible 1968 : if anyone lets
himself be dominated by anything, then he is a slave to it. Living
Bible 1971: a man is a slave to whatever controls him. NIV 1973: a
man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.New King James 1988: by
whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage.
New Matthew Bible 2015 : By whomever a person is overcome, to him
he is in bondage.
We have stayed with the rendering of Tyndale and the other older
bibles, who appear tounderstand this verse as a reference back to
verse 18, men who beguile others.
Blessings to all,
R Magnusson DavisNew Matthew Bible
Project:www.newmatthewbible.org True to His
Ways:www.truetohisways.com
