4 THE CASE STUDY: sa/rc sa/rc
4.3 sa/rc in translations
4.3.1 Flesh, meat, and body
The first semantic domain is ‘flesh’ in a concrete sense. The examples are Mic 3:2‒3 and John 1:14. The first one is the OT example Micah 3, and after that the NT example.
172 Marshall 2002, 391‒392.
Example 1: Micah 3:2‒3
The previous section presented the context and background of the passage. In this section, I analyse translations of the passage. In Table 4.8 below, there are three formal versions of the two verses from the book of Micah.
Table 4.8: Formal translations love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones;
Aber ihr hasset das Gute und liebet das Arge; ihr schindet ihnen die Haut ab und das Fleisch von ihren Gebeinen my people, and flay their skin from off them; and they break their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh within the caldron. und zerlegt’s wie in einen Topf und wie Fleisch in einen Kessel.
All three formal versions use the word ‘flesh’ as a translational equivalent in these verses. In Finnish that is liha, and in German, Fleisch. In Table 4.9 below, there are two dynamic translations of Micah 3:2‒3.
Table 4.9: Dynamic translations Verses /
Translations 1992 Bible NIV
Mic 3:2 Mutta te vihaatte hyvää ja rakastatte pahaa. Te nyljette ihmisiltä nahan, revitte lihan heidän luistaan.
you who hate good and love evil; who tear the skin from my people and the flesh from their bones;
Mic 3:3
Te syötte minun kansani lihaa! Te kiskotte nahan ihmisten päältä, rikotte heidän luunsa, paloittelette heidät kuin lihat katti-laan, kuin paistin pataan.
who eat my people’s flesh, strip off their skin and break their bones in pieces; who chop them up like meat for the pan, like flesh for the pot?”
Both of these translations use the same words as above as a translational equivalent:
liha in Finnish and ‘flesh’ in English. In Table 4.10, there are two thoroughly dynamic versions of Micah 3:2‒3.
Table 4.10: Thoroughly dynamic translations Verses /
Translations GNT GNB
Mic 3:2‒3
yet you hate what is good and you love what is evil. You skin my people alive and tear the flesh off their bones.
You eat my people up. You strip off their skin, break their bones, and chop them up like meat for the pot.
Aber ihr hasst das Gute und liebt das Böse. Ihr behandelt die Menschen meines Volkes wie das Schlachtvieh, dem man die Haut abzieht, das Fleisch von den Knochen reißt, die Knochen zerschlägt und sie samt dem Fleisch in den Kessel wirft. So beutet ihr das Volk aus!
GNB has combined these two verses. The translational equivalent is the same as in the other German translations, Fleisch. GNT uses two words, ‘flesh’ and ‘meat’. All the translations, then, use the same words when ‘flesh’ is used in a concrete sense. GNT has also employed the word ‘meat’, which is also a concrete word. I will now turn to the NT example, John 1:14.
Example 2: John 1:14
There are three formal translations of John 1:14 in Table 4.11 below.
Table 4.11: Formal translations Verse /
Translations 1933/38 Bible KJV LB
John 1:14
Ja Sana tuli lihaksi ja asui meidän keskellämme, ja me katselimme hänen kirkkauttansa, senkaltaista kirkkautta, kuin ainokai-sella Pojalla on Isältä; ja hän oli täynnä armoa ja totuutta.
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
Und das Wort ward Fleisch und wohnte unter uns, und wir sahen seine Herrlich-keit, eine Herrlichkeit als des eingeborenen Sohnes vom Vater, voller Gnade und Wahrheit.
The formal versions use the same translational equivalents as in the previous example:
the 1933/38 Bible has the word liha ‘flesh’, KJV has the word ‘flesh’, and LB uses the word Fleisch. There are three dynamic translations of John 1:14 in Table 4.12 below.
Table 4.12: Dynamic translations Verse /
Translations 1992 Bible NIV BB
John 1:14
Sana tuli lihaksi ja asui meidän keskellämme. Me
the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Er, das Wort, wurde ein Mensch. Er lebte bei uns, und wir sahen seine Herrlichkeit. Es war die Herrlichkeit, die ihm der Vater gegeben hat – ihm, seinem einzigen Sohn. Er war ganz erfüllt von Gottes Gnade und Wahrheit.
There is a slight difference in the translational equivalents of sa/rc in the dynamic versions: the 1992 Bible and NIV use the same words as formal translations, liha and
‘flesh’, but BB has the word Mensch, ‘man’. When considering thoroughly dynamic translations, all of them use the expression ‘human being’ as a translational equivalent.
GNB defines the word Mensch as ‘a real human being of flesh and blood’. These are seen in the following table.
Table 4.13: Thoroughly dynamic translations Verse /
Translations UTN GNT GNB
John 1:14
Sana tuli ihmiseksi ja asui meidän luonamme. Me näimme hänen kirkkaut-ensa, jonka Isä oli antanut ainoalle Pojalleen. Hän oli täynnä armoa ja totuutta.
The Word became a human being and, full of grace and truth, lived among us. We saw his glory, the glory which he received as the Father’s only Son.
Er, das Wort, wurde ein Mensch, ein wirklicher Mensch von Fleisch und Blut. Er lebte unter uns, und wir sahen seine Macht und Hoheit, die göttliche Hoheit, die ihm der Vater gegeben hat, ihm, seinem einzigen Sohn. Gottes gan-ze Güte und Treue ist uns in ihm begegnet.
Conclusions
In conclusion, one can say that the OT passage is simple: all the translations use the concrete word ‘flesh’ or ‘meat’173. When considering the NT passage, all the versions use a concrete word, either ‘flesh’ or ‘man’, both referring to a real human being.
The usage of ‘flesh’ in these examples varies slightly. Micah uses the word clearly in a concrete sense, but in the NT example, it is used in a theological sense. It is also seen in the context that the word refers to the whole body, not just a part of it. This can be seen in the translations as well: in the OT example, the most common word is
‘flesh’ or ‘meat’, but in the NT example, the word ‘human being’ or ‘man’ is used as well, especially in the dynamic or thoroughly dynamic versions.
173 There is only one word to cover both semantic domains of ‘flesh’ and ‘meat’ in Finnish.
Another question is whether the thoroughly dynamic versions are clear and easy to understand for the implied target audience. Mic 3 contains ‘flesh’ used in a concrete sense. That is perhaps why making a clear translation of these two verses is not complicated. Even though the thoroughly dynamic versions have traditional translational equivalents, ‘flesh’ and Fleisch, the meaning of the passage is clear to an average reader. John 1:14 has sa/rc translated as ‘human being’. These interpretations are clear and easy to understand, since the translations use a word that is familiar to an average reader. GNB has added extra information and defines Mensch with the phrase ‘a real human being of flesh and blood’. It is also the longest translation and gives the information more explicitly than the other two thoroughly dynamic versions.
All the formal translations of Mic 3 contain the traditional translational equivalent
‘flesh’. This does not have an impact on the clarity of the text, since the word is used in a concrete sense in that context. The same is true of the NT example, as well, even though there could be other possibilities in translating sa/rc in the context of John 1.
This has been shown in the dynamic and thoroughly dynamic versions. The traditional rendering does not, however, hinder the reader in understanding the text.
4.3.2 sa/rcsa/rc as sinful man
The second semantic domain of ‘flesh’ is an abstract sense. The examples are Gen 6:3 and Rom 7.
Example 3: Gen 6:3
Table 4.14 below contains the formal translations of Gen 6:3.
Table 4.14: Formal translations Verse /
Translations 1933/38 Bible KJV LB
Gen 6:3
Silloin Herra sanoi: “Minun henkeni ei ole vallitseva ihmisessä iankaikkisesti, koska hän on liha. Niin olkoon hänen aikansa sata kaksikymmentä vuotta.”
And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
Da sprach der HERR: Die Menschen wollen sich von meinem Geist nicht mehr strafen lassen; denn sie sind Fleisch. Ich will ihnen noch Frist geben hunder-tundzwanzig Jahre.
All the formal versions use the same translational equivalents as in the previous examples: the 1933/38 Bible has the word liha, KJV has ‘flesh’, and LB uses the word Fleisch.
Table 4.15: Dynamic translations Verse /
Translations 1992 Bible NIV
Gen 6:3
Herra sanoi: “Minä en anna elämän hen-gen asua ihmisessä miten kauan tahansa.
Ihminen on lihaa, heikko ja katoavainen.
Olkoon siis hänen elinikänsä enintään satakaksikymmentä vuotta.”
Then the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal;
his days will be a hundred and twenty years.”
The 1992 Bible uses the same word as in the previous examples but adds a definition that the flesh is weak and mortal. NIV has the word ‘mortal’. Table 4.16 contains the two thoroughly dynamic versions of Gen 6:3.
Table 4.16: Thoroughly dynamic translations Verse /
Translations GNT GNB
Gen 6:3
Then the Lord said, “I will not allow people to live forever; they are mortal. From now on they will live no longer than 120 years.”
Der HERR aber sagte: »Ich lasse meinen Lebensgeist nicht für unbegrenzte Zeit im Menschen wohnen, denn der Mensch ist schwach und anfällig für das Böse. Ich be-grenze seine Lebenszeit auf 120 Jahre.«
GNT uses the same word as NIV, ‘mortal’. GNB employs the phrase Scwach und anfällig für das Böse ‘weak and susceptible to the devil or evil’.
The formal translations use the word ‘flesh’, the same as in the other examples; the dynamic versions, on the other hand, have added definitions of what kind of ‘flesh’ it is about. The same is true of the thoroughly dynamic translations. This ‘flesh’ equates to weakness and mortality.
Example 4: Rom 7
The first table contains the three formal translations of Rom 7:18, 25.
Table 4.17: Formal translations is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Denn ich weiß, daß in mir, das ist in meinem Fleische, wohnt nichts Gutes.
Wollen habe ich wohl, aber vollbringen das Gute finde
I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but
The 1933/38 Bible uses the same word as in the previous examples in both verses, liha
‘flesh’. KJV also has the same word ‘flesh’ in both of them. The same applies to LB, which uses the word Fleische. The next table (4.18) contains the same verses in the dynamic translations and the table after that (4.19) contains the thoroughly dynamic translations of the same verses.
In the following table, the 1992 Bible uses the phrase turmeltunut luonto ‘corrupted nature’ in both verses. NIV has the phrase ‘sinful nature’ in both of them. BB uses the phrase irdischen Leib ‘mortal body’ in both verses.
Table 4.18: Dynamic translations kyllä tehdä oikein, mutta en pysty siihen.
I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.
Ich weiß: In mir – das heißt: in meinem irdischen Leib – wohnt nichts Gutes.
Der Wille zum Guten ist bei mir zwar durchaus God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law diene ich dem Gesetz der Sünde. though the desire to do good is in me, I am not able to do it.
Wir wissen genau: In uns selbst, so wie wir der Sünde ausgeliefert sind, lebt nicht die Kraft zum Guten. Wir bringen es zwar fertig, uns das Gute vorzu-nehmen; aber wir sind zu schwach, es auszuführen.
This, then, is my condition:
on my own I can serve God’s law only with my mind, while my human na-ture serves the law of sin.
Gott sei gedankt durch Jesus Christus, unseren Herrn: Er hat es getan!
Nun diene also ich, ein und derselbe Mensch, mit mei-nem bewussten Streben dem Gesetz Gottes, aber mit meinen Gliedern dem Gesetz der Sünde.
When considering the thoroughly dynamic translations, UTN uses the phrase itsekäs inhimillinen luonto ‘selfish human nature’. GNT has the phrase ‘human nature’. GNB has a longer expression in vs. 18, In uns selbst, so wie wir der Sünde ausgeliefert sind ‘in ourselves, as we are at sin’s mercy’. Vs. 25, on the other hand, has the concrete word das Glied ‘member’.
Conclusions
There is more variety in the translations than in the examples of the concrete sense of
‘flesh’. Perhaps surprisingly, GNB uses a more concrete translational equivalent than the other versions in Rom 7. The contexts of these two passages vary slightly. The OT example employs the word ‘flesh’ in reference mainly to the bodily weakness of human beings, but the aspect of moral weakness is present as well. The NT passage, however, concentrates on the moral weakness of human beings. This difference can be seen in the translations, and especially in the dynamic ones. Translational equivalents of the OT example vary from the neutral word ‘mortal’ to emphasising the moral weakness of man, as well. Translational equivalents in the NT passage, on the other hand, focus solely on the moral weakness of man.
Rom 7 contains the much-debated word e)gw/ in the passage. Interestingly, GNB changes the singular form to ‘we’, and in this way the passage may include the reader as well. The other interpretation would be that it includes Paul as the author, and his co-workers.
When translating Gen 6:3, GNT uses the word ‘mortal’, the same as NIV. GNB, on the other hand, emphasises the moral weakness of man. Both of these are clear, but they present slightly different interpretations of ‘flesh’. The formal versions use the traditional rendering of rv*b)*. The translations do not offer any clues to what is meant by ‘flesh’ in this context. The reader may assume that it is used in a concrete sense or in an abstract one, partly because it could refer to either of them, in this context.
When translating Rom 7, both UTN and GNT have expressions such as ‘selfish human nature’, which seem to be clear to the reader. Interestingly, GNB uses a concrete word, das Glied, which is also clear in that context. The formal versions of Rom 7 use mainly traditional words when translating sa/rc. The text itself offers some clues to what is meant by ‘flesh’. For example, in 7:18, Paul writes e)n emoi/, tout e)/stin e)n th?=
sarki/ mou ‘in me, that is in my flesh’, which is a clue to the reader. On the other hand, 7:25 does not contain such hints, so it is more difficult to understand what is meant by ‘flesh’ in this verse. Naturally, one may assume that Paul is using the word in the same sense as a few verses before, namely referring to the moral weakness of man.
How do the dynamic translations manage the mediate the message of the original text? The first two examples, Micah 3 and John 1:14 contain the word ‘flesh’, used in concentrate sense, and there are not so many differences between the translation types. All translations treated in this research were clear and managed to mediate the message to the implied audience of the translation. There is also an addition in GNB, which clarifies gives an extra clarification of what is meant by the word ‘flesh’
in John 1:14.
The examples of the second category, ‘flesh’ in an abstract sense are a bit more complicated. The clarity of the dynamic and thoroughly dynamic translations in these examples help the reader to understand, what is meant by the author. Using the traditional and concrete translational equivalent may be more difficult to a reader
who is not accustomed to the religious language. The words chosen by the dynamic versions seem to be in line with my semantic and exegetical analysis, so in that way they manage to convey the original message clearly to their implied audience.
4.3.3 pa=sa sa/rcpa=sa sa/rc and other expressions
The last semantic domain is sa/rc in expressions, and the examples are Joel 2:28 and Rom 8.
Example 5: Joel 2:28 (3:1)
In Table 4.20, there are three formal translations of Joel 2:28 (3:1).
Table 4.20: Formal translations Verse /
Translations 1933/38 Bible KJV LB
Joel 2:28 afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh;
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
Und nach diesem will ich meinen Geist ausgießen
All three formal versions use the same word as in the examples above: liha ‘flesh’ in Finnish, Fleisch in German, and ‘flesh’ in English. In Table 4.21, there are two dynamic translations.
Tämän jälkeen on tapahtuva, että minä vuodatan henkeni kaikkiin ihmisiin. Ja niin teidän poikanne ja tyttärenne profetoivat, nuorukaisenne näkevät näkyjä, vanhuk-senne ennusunia.
“And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.
The dynamic translations use the word ‘people’. There is a small difference between these two: NIV has the phrase ‘on all people’. The 1992 Bible, on the other hand, uses the phrase kaikkiin ihmisiin ‘into all people’.174 In Table 4.22, there are two thoroughly dynamic versions of Joel 2:28 (3:1)
174 This is probably due to the differences between these two languages.
Table 4.22: Thoroughly dynamic translations Verse /
Translations GNT GNB
Joel 2:28 (3:1)
Afterward I will pour out my Spirit on everyone: your sons and daughters will proclaim my message; your old people will have dreams, and your young people will see visions.
Weiter sagt der HERR: »Es kommt die Zeit, da werde ich meinen Geist aus-gießen über alle Menschen. Eure Männer und Frauen werden dann zu Prophet-en; Alte und Junge haben Träume und Visionen.
The thoroughly dynamic translations use different expressions: GNT has the word
‘everyone’ and GNB the word Menschen ‘human being’. In conclusion for this example, one can say that there are slight differences in wording in the translations, but basically all of them express the same fact.
The Example 6: Rom 8
The passage in Rom 8 Paul uses three expressions containing sa/rc: 1) sa/rc kai/ pneu=ma:
The passage in Rom 8 Paul uses three expressions containing sa/rc: 1) sa/rc kai/ pneu=ma: