Sermon on the Mount - a little different than you remember it

[Wycliffes_Shillelagh]

People on this board occasionally remind me that I am not a Greek scholar.  Nonetheless, as a study tool, I sometimes like to take a passage in Greek and work through and translate it for myself.  Below is one of my translations of Matthew 5:3-48 (Sermon on the Mount).

Matthew Chapter 5

3   When you have no motivation to do anything or to go on... You have a reason to be happy.  Because you are in an ideal spot – really, the only spot - where God can rule your life.

4   When you are crying your eyes out...  You have a reason to be happy.  Because that sort of behavior is going to get people to come try to cheer you up.

5   Have you been tamed?  Take heart...  When all the wild people finish killing each other, you will inherit their things.

6   Do you ache when bad things happen, and long for the day when things will be right?  Cheer up!  Things will eventually be right for you!

7   Are you tired of giving?  Take heart... People like to give to someone who gives.

8   Are you going through difficulties that are changing who you are?  You have a reason to be happy.  You are being purified so that you can know God and understand Him better than the rest of humanity.

9   Are you weary of keeping the peace in your family or among your friends?  Rejoice!  The Lord counts the peacemakers worthy to be adopted as sons and daughters of the Most High God.

10   Have you lost your job, your family, your friends, your reputation, your standing in your church, because you took a stand for what was right?  You have a reason to be happy...  Because you have submitted yourself to God's rulership, God will proclaim His words and judgment through you.  11   Whenever any of you are chased away, or slandered, or lied about maliciously, because of who you represent and belong to – then you have a reason to be happy.  12  Rejoice!  Lift your head, because you have earned great things, though they are not of this world.  This is the same way that every prophet of God has been treated!

13   You are like soapy water... you clean this world, which renders it acceptable to God.  But if the bathwater becomes dirty, what do you wash it with?  It's no longer good for anything: we just flush it down the drain.

14       You are like a light in the dark.  You cannot be hidden...nor should you try to hide.  15  Nobody takes a light and hides it.  They put it on top of something, so that it can light up more space.  16  In this same way, you must shine.  By doing good works, you shine your light, and people notice.  In this way, you draw attention to God, causing people to think highly of Him.

17   I haven't come to this world to get rid of the Old Testament laws or prophecies.  I came to fill in what was lacking in them.  18  Isn't it true?  None of it can end until all of it comes to pass...not even the dot of an 'i' can be removed!  19    If God is king, and rules us, the man who rejects even the smallest of God's rules (and teaches other men to do the same) is a small man in that kingdom.  But the man who obeys the law, and teaches the law, is an important man in that kingdom.  20  So if this is true, then unless you do better than most of the pastors and theologians, there is no way that you will exercise God's authority in this, His kingdom.

21   You've all heard it said, "Thou shalt not murder!

[Eagle]

Thanks     nice read.   

[admin]

Would you call that a paraphrase or a literal translastion? 

[Imabear]

Good stuff.
When I read of how you worked on it it reminds me of how Eugene Peterson worked on The Message.
There's nothing wrong with a good paraphrase.  If you've read the same thing 100 times in the KJV or the NIV... it can get stale, you hear the words, but it loses some of it's impact.  Reading different versions forces you to think about what you are reading a little more.

One of my favorite websites is: http://www.biblegateway.com/

[Wycliffes_Shillelagh]

Would you call that a paraphrase or a literal translastion? 

Honestly it's a translation.  I worked from the Greek of the Textus Receptus.  I'm not so sure about literal, though.  It's more of a thought-for-thought, like the Nearly Inspired Version.

[Gracious]

Thank you Jarrod,

I have always believed & have shared here as well, that divine inspiration when given, does NOT exclude the personality, environment  and or culture of the vessel being used.  You are certainly a witness this.

What an uplifting / inspiring vision!!!  Please share more of them with us. 


Gracious

[James Rondon]

the Nearly Inspired Version

The NIV?... 

[GloryB]

Another post KEEPER!  My 16 year old son and I have devotions together once a week and I think we'll use your version of the Sermon on the Mount this week.
Thanks!

[Wycliffes_Shillelagh]

Another post KEEPER!  My 16 year old son and I have devotions together once a week and I think we'll use your version of the Sermon on the Mount this week.
Thanks!

  I'd be honored.