“hOI GAR ARCONTES OUK EISIN FOBOS TWi AGAQWi ERGWi ALLA TWi KAKWi. QELEIS DE MH FOBEISQAI THN EXOUSIAN· TO AGAQON POIEI, KAI hEXEIS EPAINON EX AUTHS” (Romans 13:3).
The second part of this verse is punctuated as a statement. Is it more likely to be a statement or a question?
Thankyou,
Andrew J. Birch Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Andrew,
The Greek text reads,
… θέλεις δὲ μὴ φοβεῖσθαι τὴν ἐξουσίαν;
There is a question mark at the end of this clause. But even without the question mark, this part of the verse would only sound right as a question. To read it otherwise, i.e., as a declarative statement, would sound like a bad advice.
Blessings,
Philemon Zachariou
________________________________ Sent: Monday, May 30, 2011 11:13 PM
“hOI GAR ARCONTES OUK EISIN FOBOS TWi AGAQWi ERGWi ALLA TWi KAKWi. QELEIS DE MH FOBEISQAI THN EXOUSIAN· TO AGAQON POIEI, KAI hEXEIS EPAINON EX AUTHS” (Romans 13:3).
The second part of this verse is punctuated as a statement. Is it more likely to be a statement or a question?
Thankyou,
Andrew J. Birch Palma de Mallorca, Spain
NA25 had a question mark and a note that Westcott preferred a comma. NA26 or (N27) changed to follow Westcott, but why they did so is not clear to me. It reads as a question. The function of the rhetorical question is equivalent to a conditional clause (If you want not to fear the authority, then do the good thing.)
Iver Larsen
Andrew,
The Greek text reads,
… θέλεις δὲ μὴ φοβεῖσθαι τὴν ἐξουσίαν;
There is a question mark at the end of this clause. But even without the question mark, this part of the verse would only sound right as a question. To read it otherwise, i.e., as a declarative statement, would sound like a bad advice.
Blessings,
Philemon Zachariou
________________________________ Sent: Monday, May 30, 2011 11:13 PM
“hOI GAR ARCONTES OUK EISIN FOBOS TWi AGAQWi ERGWi ALLA TWi KAKWi. QELEIS DE MH FOBEISQAI THN EXOUSIAN· TO AGAQON POIEI, KAI hEXEIS EPAINON EX AUTHS” (Romans 13:3).
The second part of this verse is punctuated as a statement. Is it more likely to be a statement or a question?
Thankyou,
Andrew J. Birch Palma de Mallorca, Spain
NA25 had a question mark and a note that Westcott preferred a comma. NA26 or (N27) changed to follow Westcott, but why they did so is not clear to me. It reads as a question. The function of the rhetorical question is equivalent to a conditional clause (If you want not to fear the authority, then do the good thing.)
Iver Larsen