Luke 14:8, 11

A couple months ago, I read Luke 14 and noticed two features.

I think it may be significant that the passive voice is used in verse 8:  "When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast..." [ESV].  It's also a passive in the Greek (ὅταν κληθῇς ὑπό τινος εἰς γάμους), the Latin Vulgate ("cum invitatus fueris ad nuptias..."), and my German and French New Testaments ("Wenn du von jemandem zur Hochzeit geladen bist..." "Lorsque tu seras invité par quelqu'un à des noces...").  To some degree, this matches the mindset that Jesus advocates:  the man in the parable shouldn't take a seat of honor for himself, but he may accept a higher seat if one is given to him.  There's a connection between the passive voice, where the subject is acted upon, and this humble acceptance.

The other thing I noticed is that, like Matthew 23:12, verse 11 contains a chiasm illustrating an inversion:  "'For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.'"  This is also in the Greek (ὅτι πᾶς ὁ ὑψῶν ἑαυτὸν ταπεινωθήσεται, καὶ ὁ ταπεινῶν ἑαυτὸν ὑψωθήσεται), the Latin Vulgate ("Quia omnis qui se exaltat humiliabitur et qui se humiliat exaltabitur"), and my German and French New Testaments ("Denn wer sich selbst erhöht, der soll erniedrigt werden; und wer sich selbst erniedrigt, der soll erhöht werden" "Car quiconque s'élève sera abaissé, et quiconque s'abaisse sera élevé").

Ephesians 6:18

A couple months ago, I watched the Concordia University Wisconsin chapel service from 7 September 2018:

The reading was Ephesians 6:10-20, and as I was following along in the Latin Vulgate, I noticed assonance in verse 18:

per omnem orationem et obsecrationem orantes omni tempore in Spiritu et in ipso vigilantes in omni instantia et obsecratione pro omnibus sanctis

Here's the ESV translation, with the initial letters of the corresponding words underlined:

praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.  To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints

When I lookt up the Greek text, I found that it similarly exhibits alliteration:

διὰ πάσης προσευχῆς καὶ δεήσεως προσευχόμενοι ἐν παντὶ καιρῷ ἐν πνεύματι καὶ εἰς αὐτὸ ἀγρυπνοῦντες ἐν πάσῃ προσκαρτερήσει καὶ δεήσει περὶ πάντων τῶν ἁγίων

The Greek emphasizes different words, however:

praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.  To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints

In both texts, though, the repetition of a particular sound (whether through assonance or alliteration) provides a sense of entirety or constancy that the text itself mentions:  "at all times... with all prayer and supplication... for all the saints."

Isaiah 29:13, Matthew 15:8, Mark 7:6

A few months ago, I watched the Concordia University Wisconsin chapel service from 28 August 2018:

The text was Isaiah 29:11-19.  I was following along in the Latin Vulgate and noticed part of verse 13:  "cor autem eius longe est a me."  In the ESV, this is "while their hearts are far from me."  In both of these, as it is in the Hebrew (although with far fewer words:  וְלִבּ֖וֹ רִחַ֣ק מִמֶּ֑נִּי), "heart" ("cor") is about as distant as possible from "me" ("me"), so the meaning of the clause is illustrated in its structure.  The conjunction in Latin ("autem") is post-positive, so "cor" and "me" are at completely opposite ends of the clause.

The next day, I watched the CUW chapel service from 29 August.  The reading then was Mark 7:1-8, in which Jesus quotes this passage from Isaiah.  Part of verse 6 exhibits the same feature:  "cor autem eorum longe est a me."  It's also present in the ESV ("but their heart is far from me") and in the Greek (ἡ δὲ καρδία αὐτῶν πόρρω ἀπέχει ἀπ᾽ ἐμοῦ).  This clause is identical in Matthew 15:8.

I also referenced my German and French New Testaments.  This feature is present in both Matthew 15:8 and Mark 7:18, where the clauses are identical:  "aber ihr Herz ist fern von mir" and "mais son cœur est éloigné de moi." 

Psalm 62:4

A few months ago, I read Psalm 62 and noticed yet an-other chiastic structure that illustrates opposites.  In the ESV, the second half of verse 4 is "They bless with their mouths, but inwardly they curse."  This feature isn't in any of the other translations I referenced, however, nor is it in the original Hebrew.

Isaiah 40:24

Months ago, I watched the Concordia University Wisconsin chapel service from 9 February 2018:

The reading was Isaiah 40:21-31, and as I was following along in the Latin Vulgate, I noticed a particular word in verse 24:

et quidem neque plantatos neque satos neque radicato in terra trunco eorum repente flavit in eos et aruerunt et turbo quasi stipulam auferet eos

In the ESV, this is:

Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows on them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble.

The word "stipulam" ("stubble") stood out to me because I wrote about it in Malachi 4:1 last year.  Similar comments apply here:  the Latin word is a diminutive (with the "-ula(m)" suffix), and there may be a slightly disparaging sense in its use in this context, although this isn't present in the Hebrew, where the word is קַשׁ, just as in Malachi 4:1.