calvinism & the ESV

[redbeardiam]

(06-17-2012 12:23 PM)ThatsWhatItSays Wrote:  Sorry, greg, I should have looked at the verse in full context. The NIV also uses the term deacon in verses 8 and 12. The NIV footnotes explain that a deacon is a servant to the various elders and overseers in the church, though. I stand corrected. The Geneva and Phillips use "deacon" in verses 8 and 12 also. The Darby uses "minister".

An interesting thing is that Phebe is a diaconos in Romans 16:1, universally translated "servant" or "minister" in that verse.

The point still stands about the differences between the NIV and the ESV as it relates to verse 13. Most translations can't help themselves to affirm that there is something about a deacon involved in the verse, when a plain translation reads as the NIV.

I had a long comment mostly typed out about this earlier, but got interrupted. The reason most translations insert the word 'deacon' in verse 13 seems to br to preserve the train of thought - this verse is referring to the "deacons" or minsters/servants referred to in the previous 4 verses. (And those verses are pretty obviously setting out qualifications for a specific role/office in the church. Which is why I don't mind using the transliteration 'deacon.') There's something also to the fact that the author uses the verb form of the same root - after talking about the qualifications of deacons, he essentially says that 'those who deacon well...' That nuance is hard to capture with more 'literal' translation, which makes me wonder why the NIV (usually a more dynamic translation) goes with it.