Under the Law?

'Under the law' in Romans 6:14-15?

I have written on this phrase in a few places (see www.circumcisedheart.info for example), and explained some possible and plausible ways of understanding it, but the Jewish translator Uriel ben Mordechai, goes further and shows much more clearly the insidious and corrupting influence of the Hellenistic translators, especially from the 5th century on.

In last weeks online class (Jan 3rd 2014 - 11 pm Jerusalem time), Uriel explained (in great detail) how the Codex Sinaiticus (350 CE) version of Romans 6:14-15 can be translated to be more consistent with Sha’ul’s Torah compliance in the rest of the epistle.

Any word choices he makes are only ones that are already used as appropriate in the LXX translation of the Hebrew Bible.

So here is the ESV version:

“14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

15 What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!”

And here is how he translates (using dynamic equivalence):

Romans 6:14-15 (without amplification)

“14 For all intents and purposes, sin should not sway you. Honestly, are you NOT under the control of Torah-Law, and certainly under the control of charity?

15 What’s the conclusion? Should we be sinning — and thus NOT under the control of Torah-Law and wholeheartedly under the control of decent behavior?

(with amplification)

“14 For all intents and purposes, sin should not sway [or steer] you. Honestly, are you NOT [or ‘should you NOT be’] under the control of Torah-Law, and certainly [or wholeheartedly] under the control of charity [i.e. kindness or decency]?

15 What’s the conclusion? Should we be sinning — and thus [or ‘so that we are’] [clearly] NOT under the control of Torah-Law and [thus neither] wholeheartedly under the control of decent behavior?

(Lo Hi’yah, ve’lo Niv’rah) [i.e. “Such a idea never was, nor could it exist... It’s unheard of”]!

I strongly recommend you consider joining Uriel’s weekly class – go to http://www.ntcf.org/register.html