This morning I began a deep dive into the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5.
Before you can interpret a text you've got to produce your own translation of the passage. Today I focused on the works of the flesh. Two hours (and three cups of coffee) later, I had my translation. Let's revisit the process. It all started with a look at the way Paul structures the passage.
My first reaction was, "What in the world is he doing?" But as the experiment unfolded and I dug a bit deeper, I became convinced there were sufficient linguistic markers in the text to come up with at least a tentative flow.
Then I had to think long and hard about the correct way to translate the 16 terms Paul uses here to describe the works of the flesh. (Note that I said 16, not 15. The evidence in favor of the variant reading "murders" [noted in red above] after "envies" is simply overwhelming. If you have a Greek New Testament, you can look at for yourself.) Finally, I wrote down my own translation of the passage.
Which reminds me: I'm doing this for a reason. The Bible wasn't given for our information. It was given for our transformation. Admittedly, I can get distracted by the grammar and the tenses, etc.. But after the preliminaries are finished, the real spiritual work begins. Which of these traits am I guilty of? As someone has said, the careful study of the word of God has a goal, which is NOT the careful study of the word of God. The goal is to discover what the Holy Spirit is telling you to change in your own life.
At any rate, here's what I produced. Hope you find it helpful.
Gal. 5:19-21:
What the sinful nature does is quite obvious. It shows itself in immoral, filthy, and indecent actions, as well as in the worship of false gods and drug use. People become hostile, belligerent, jealous, angry, and self-seeking. They separate into factions and cliques. They are envious and murderous, get drunk, have orgies, and do other things like these. I warned you before that those who practice these things will not possess the kingdom of God.