In case anyone is interested, when I study the Bible I work over the words like a dog gnawing on a bone. I go over the entire verse word by word, I read the verse aloud, I read it in other versions and other languages, I observe the words the author uses and put synonyms in their place, I examine any textual variants that might exist in the verse -- this is the exact process I use. In addition to that, I also keep you in mind, knowing that later on I might share the results of my study on my blog. Furthermore, I almost always produce my own translation of the verse I'm studying. This forces me to make exegetical decisions about things like word meanings, grammar, and the like.
An example is a verse my Greek students translated in class last week -- Rom. 16:22.
The CSB reads as follows:
"I, Tertius, who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord."
Here's the Greek text.
And this highlights where the prepositional phrase "in the Lord" appears in the verse:
You'll notice that the nearest verb to "in the Lord" is NOT "greet" but "wrote." Hence my rendering:
"I greet you -- I, Tertius, who wrote down this letter in the Lord."
We could paraphrase the verse as follows:
"Let me add my greetings -- I, Tertius, who wrote down this letter under the direction of the Lord, with his strength, and for his glory alone."
Tertius was probably a resident of Corinth whose pen Paul used to write down his epistle. He seems to have been an Italian with whom Paul's readers in Rome would be well acquainted. His work was both modest and humble. It was certainly subordinate to the work of the great apostle. Still, it was as much a work "in the Lord" as was Paul's dictation. In fact, it is to Tertius that we owe our possession of the letter.
I'm reminded of watching the performance of Holst's The Planets by the North Carolina Symphony last Sunday. Every instrument, right down to the triangle, was necessary. No doubt Tertius knew his work to be less important than Paul's. But he also knew it was needful. He undoubtedly put his best effort into it. He did it in the Lord's name, borne along by his Spirit, and conscious of his partnership with Paul. He was far more than a mere scribe. He was Paul's co-worker. Note that Paul could have referred to him in the third person:
"Tertius, who wrote down this letter ... sends you his greetings."
But to Paul, Tertius was not a mere dictation machine. He was a fellow Christian and a fellow servant -- a fact that Paul was eager to acknowledge.
True partners in the gospel.
I love that!