Proverbs 15:9

When I read Proverbs 15:9 in the ESV a few months ago, I found yet an-other chiastic structure, although the elements are a bit more loosely equated:

The way of the wicked

Is an abomination to the LORD,

but he loves

him who pursues righteousness.

Like other chiasms I've found, this one highlights contrasts:  "the way of the wicked" with "him who pursues righteousness" and "an abomination to the LORD" with "he loves."

This structure is in the Hebrew, too, but in the opposite order:

תּוֹעֲבַת יְהוָה דֶּרֶךְ רָשָׁע וּמְרַדֵּף צְדָקָה יֶאֱהָֽב׃

It's more like "An abomination to the LORD is the way of the wicked, but him who pursues righteousness he loves."  The Latin Vulgate follows roughly the same word order:

abominatio est Domino

via impii

qui sequitur iustitiam

diligetur ab eo

2 Kings 2:12

A few months ago, I read 2 Kings 2 in the NIV, where Elijah is taken up to Heaven in a whirlwind after a chariot and horses of fire separate him from Elisha.  Elisha sees Elijah taken up and says (in verse 12), "My father!  My father!  The chariots and horsemen of Israel!"  I think it may be significant that Elisha says, "My father!" twice.  Before Elijah is taken, Elisha makes a request of him:  "Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit" (verse 9), and Elijah replies, "If you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours" (verse 10).  Because Elisha's repeated "My father!" coincides with his seeing this event, it seems to indicate his inheriting this double portion as it occurs.  (Verse 15 makes it clear that Elisha does receive it:  "The company of the prophets from Jericho, who were watching, said, 'The spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha.'")

Proverbs 14:35

A few months ago, I read Proverbs 14 in the ESV and noticed a loose chiastic structure in verse 35:

A servant who deals wisely

Has the king's favor,

But his wrath falls on

One who acts shamefully.

Such a structure highlights the opposite nature of how the two servants behave (wisely or shamefully) and of the king's disposition toward them (favor or wrath).

The NIV has a similar structure but in a different order:

A king delights in

A wise servant,

But a shameful servant

Incurs his wrath.

This structure isn't in the Hebrew, though, or in any of the other translations I referenced.

Hebrews 2:16

A couple months ago, I watched the Worship Anew program for 2 February (The Purification of Mary and Presentation of Our Lord).  The epistle reading was Hebrews 2:14-18, and I noticed verse 16 in particular:  "For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham."

There's a chiastic structure highlighting this difference:

It is not angels

that he helps,

but he helps

the offspring of Abraham.

Of the translations I referenced, this is unique to the ESV and my German New Testament, in which this verse is:

Denn er nimmt sich

nicht der Engel an,

sondern der Kinder Abrahams

nimmt er sich an.

Proverbs 12:20

A few months ago, I read Proverbs 12 and noticed a chiasm in verse 20, although it isn't as precise as others I've found.  In the ESV, it's:

Deceit is in the heart of

those who devise evil,

but those who plan peace

have joy.

In an inverted way, "deceit is in the heart of" almost parallels "have joy," and likewise, "those who devise evil" sort of parallels "those who plan peace."  The opposite order in the structure (deceit | devise evil || plan peace | joy) matches these differences.

This structure is also in the Hebrew:

מִרְמָה בְּלֶב־חֹרְשֵׁי רָע וּֽלְיֹעֲצֵי שָׁלוֹם שִׂמְחָֽה׃

and in the Latin Vulgate:

dolus in corde

cogitantium mala

qui autem ineunt pacis consilia

sequitur eos gaudium

Hebrews 13:8

A few months ago, I read Hebrews 13:8 in my German/English catechism (cited under "Who is Jesus Christ?" in the explanation to the second article of the creed) and noticed that there's no explicit verb in the German translation:

Jesus Christus, gestern und heute und derselbe auch in Ewigkeit.

It's something like:  "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday and today and also in eternity."

The Greek text also has no verb:

Ἰησοῦς χριστὸς ἐχθὲς καὶ σήμερον ὁ αὐτὸς καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας.

Likewise the Latin Vulgate:

Iesus Christus heri et hodie ipse et in saecula

I think it may be significant that a form of "to be" is merely implied here.  All tenses equally apply (Jesus was, is, and will be the same, as the different time elements in the verse indicate), so it's almost as if any one form would be too temporally specific.

Proverbs 9:11

A few months ago, I read Proverbs 9 in the ESV, and I noticed that a slight difference in the parallelism of verse 11 illustrates the meaning of the verse.

For by me your days will be multiplied, and years will be added to your life.

"Days will be multiplied" and "years will be added" are parallel expressions, but because the scale of the measurements increases ("days" to "years"), there's a picture of this expansion.

Leviticus 19:35-36

Every four years or so, I re-read Luther's Small Catechism.  This time, I'm reading (for the first time) a German/English edition from 1912.  A couple months ago, I read Leviticus 19:35-36 (cited under "What particular sins are here forbidden?" in the explanation to the seventh commandment), and I noticed that the structure matches the meaning in a way.

I don't know what specific translation this Catechism uses, but these verses from Leviticus 19 appear as:

Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in meteyard, in weight, or in measure.  Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have.  I am the Lord, your God.

In the first clause, "unrighteousness" is modified by a string of prepositional phrases ("in judgment, in meteyard, in weight, or in measure"), but in the second clause, the adjective "just" is applied individually to various measurements ("just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin").  Even in the structure of the language here, then, there's a representation of this equality.

This feature is present in the Hebrew, too:

לֹא־תַעֲשׂוּ עָוֶל בַּמִּשְׁפָּט בַּמִּדָּה בַּמִּשְׁקָל וּבַמְּשׂוּרָֽה׃

מֹאזְנֵי צֶדֶק אַבְנֵי־צֶדֶק אֵיפַת צֶדֶק וְהִין צֶדֶק יִהְיֶה לָכֶם אֲנִי יְהוָה אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶם אֲשֶׁר־הוֹצֵאתִי אֶתְכֶם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם׃

It also occurred to me that there's a chiastic structure that highlights these opposites:

Ye shall do

no unrighteousness in judgment, in meteyard, in weight, or in measure.

Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin,

shall ye have.

Matthew 12:30

When the Daily Dose of Greek went over Matthew 12:30 a couple months ago, I noticed a small feature in the Latin Vulgate.

Ὁ μὴ ὢν μετ᾽ ἐμοῦ κατ᾽ ἐμοῦ ἐστιν, καὶ ὁ μὴ συνάγων μετ᾽ ἐμοῦ σκορπίζει.

'Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.' [ESV]

qui non est mecum contra me est et qui non congregat mecum spargit

Because Latin inverts the prepositional phrase "cum me" ("with me") and combines the two words into one, there's a chiastic structure in the sequential prepositional phrases "with me" and "against me" ("mecum contra me").  This structure emphasizes these opposites.

In looking at the text more closely in order to write this post, I realized that there's also a chiasm in the Greek, just with different elements and on a broader scale:

Ὁ μὴ ὢν (the one not being)

μετ᾽ ἐμοῦ (with me)

κατ᾽ ἐμοῦ (against me)

ἐστιν (is)

With a slightly different form (a relative clause instead of a participle), this is also in the Latin:

qui non est (who is not)

mecum (with me)

contra me (against me)

est (is)

Luke 1:28

Months ago, I watched the Concordia University Wisconsin chapel service from 11 December:

The service had a sort of lessons-and-carols format, and one of the readings was Luke 1:26-38.  I was following along in the Latin Vulgate, and in verse 28, I found an-other instance of a feature I've noticed elsewhere:

et ingressus angelus ad eam dixit have gratia plena Dominus tecum benedicta tu in mulieribus

In the ESV, this is:

And he [the angel Gabriel] came to her [Mary] and said, 'Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!'  [some manuscripts add "'Blessed are you among women!'"]

Latin takes the prepositional phrase "cum te" ("with you"), inverts it, and combines the two words into one (tecum).  Consequently, the words for Lord (Dominus) and you (te) are directly next to each other here, lending a slightly greater sense of this accompaniment.

Proverbs 1:22

A few months ago, I started reading Proverbs in the ESV again and noticed some significance in the diction of Proverbs 1:22, where Wisdom says, "How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?  How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge?"  As if to reflect the nature of the "simple ones," the vocabulary of the first clause is somewhat limited, with "simple" being repeated.

This repetition is also in the Hebrew:

עַד־מָתַי ׀ פְּתָיִם תְּֽאֵהֲבוּ פֶתִי

And in my German translation of Proverbs:

Wie lange wollt ihr Unverständigen unverständig sein

Matthew 11:30

I had a realization about Matthew 11:30 when the Daily Dose of Greek went over it a few months ago.

ὁ γὰρ ζυγός μου χρηστὸς καὶ τὸ φορτίον μου ἐλαφρόν ἐστιν.

'For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.' [ESV]

The verse contains two clauses with the same basic structure:  article, noun, possessive pronoun, adjective, copulative verb (implied in the first clause).  Partially because of the nature of copulative sentences, the grammatical elements in this verse are fairly simple (the only case here is the nominative, and the verb is in the present tense), and this simplicity matches the characteristics mentioned in the verse ("easy" and "light").