Rom 14.9 Accepted dominion of Christ ToK J:)
Romans 14:9 KJV
For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might
be Lord both of the dead and living.
Romans 14:9 jvb And `1 to this end Christ dies,
is resurrected, `2 `3 and lives,`4 `5 that he might have perfectly just and
acceptable dominion over `6 both `7 dead `8 and living. `9 `10
I got focused on this verse when I noticed that
the recent Pierpont Robinson standard Greek text for this verse is much more
consistent with the rest of scripture.
I then realized that there is a width and depth
of teaching in this verse that gives substantial support to central teachings
about redemption and about the purpose of all men being drawn to Christ on the
Cross (John 12.32).
So I attempted to translate the verse making
all the improvements I could think of. The notes below attempt to justify the
differences from traditional translations.
More could be said about each point, but I await interest.
J:) and ToK are abbreviations of screen names
that I place in the titles of forum threads so that folks will have an
indication of authorship and general subject before they click. JimSmiling is
my usual name. TotoOfKansas is my name for polemics, that is, sectarian
religious conflicts, where I am attempting to reveal phony wizards.
`1 "For" is awkward and redundant in
translating the first three words, which are literally: "for into
this".
`2 "Rose" or "is
resurrected" is omitted in the Nestle Aland Greek text, which was
predominantly used in translations of the last century and a half. Another reason to use care with these. The resurrection of our Lord is part of the
essential argument here.
`3 "Rose" is ambiguous. The Greek here is "stand again",
not the word for "rise" in the sense of wake up from the sleep of
death. Our Lord first rose and then later stood again before God. Arising from
the dead and standing again before God are clearly distinguished in scripture.
Resurrection should also be distinguished from the transformation of the
fleshly body to a spiritual body.
`4 The traditional Textus Receptus and the
recent Majority Text have "lives again" here. The more recent
Pierpont Robinson text has "lives" (as does Nestle Aland). Live again
is not quite consistent with the rest of scripture. Death is regarded as a
separation in scripture, rather than a total cessation of existence. And more
than just the death of the body is clearly in view. In the case of our Lord. He
suffered severely, but lived through the "second death" while He was
separated completely from God for six hours on the cross. He then handed over
His spirit to the Father (literal translation of John 19.30). The second Adam,
a living soul, became a life giving spirit (1st Cor. 15.45) Rejoined to His
soul in Hades (and with the those who would become members of His body) He
moved the souls of imprisoned saints to paradise. There was then a Sabbath
day's rest before rejoining His body and rising from the dead.
"Revived" misses this.
`5 "Dies, is resurrected, and lives":
the verbs are all in the aorist which can be translated as present or imperfect
in English. "Lives" must be present. I have made the others present
for consistency and because of the eternal effect of His death and
resurrection.
`6 The sense of the Greek verb is more narrow
than "be Lord". "Ruler" is better. But the subjunctive mood
indicates that a specific aspect of the authority to rule, perfectly just and
accepted dominion is in view. Those willing to accept the benefits of the Cross
and Resurrection are translated into the kingdom of the Son (Col. 1.13). The
rest have no way of objecting to His authority when all the books are opened at
the last judgment (Rev. 20.11-12).
`7 The preposition should either come before
"both" or be duplicated. I have avoided both awkwardness and lack of
literalness.
`8 The Greek article is missing.
"Dead" has more the force of an adjective.
`9 As elsewhere the contrast is heightened by
using a noun for the state of death and a present participle for the activity
of living (see Rom. 6.11).
`10 Both temporal and eternal life are in view
in the contrast, but the emphasis is on the eternal.
I2C 140614aa Rom 14v9 Rule dead living
J:) ToK | Dies is_resurrected lives | I2C | 140618 1714 | Worship Big
