Monday, December 14, 2020

Pun Gained in Translation

 One of the reasons that I wanted to learn biblical languages is that I had always been told, "...in the original Greek, that means..." and figured that, to really understand the important stuff, I needed to know Greek and Hebrew. After several years of training, and two decades of translating, it has dawned on me that I gained something else, and still haven't really understood the important stuff.

One of the things that I gained was an appreciation for the creativity and humor of many of the biblical authors (and, of course, my Savior) demonstrated in their writing. That wasn't always as clear in a translation. But it's not an amazing revelation either. Usually, some phrase or word is a "pun" or a joke, or something you would pickup if it were spoken out loud in Hebrew or Greek.

But today, I found something that seems to only work in English rather than Greek or Hebrew:

As He was going along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. Going on a little farther, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who were also in the boat mending the nets. Immediately He called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went away to follow Him. (Mark 1:16-20 NASB)

Jesus, walking along the Sea of Galilee, finds...fishermen. Who would have thought? Some occupations are made up of "participles" of the action done in the occupation. And I figured "fisherman" was one of those. It isn't. In Greek, you can't "borrow" the verb, "to fish", in another form to make a pun like you can in English (I don't know if it's technically a "pun", but some sort of word-play).

It would technically read, "...and I will make you fishermen of people." But that reads really odd in English. Instead, translators have used the obvious word-play. And it's important to draw attention to what Jesus says here. He connects what Peter and Andrew do for a living to what He is calling them to do. 

In a basic sense, Peter and Andrew gather fish (net fishing). Jesus uses the metaphor of harvesters in the fields to describe something similar. Fishermen were at the mercy of fish, in many ways. In Luke 5, this account includes Jesus directing Peter to catch fish with Him. After a fruitless night of fishing, Peter and his people net a huge amount of fish, simply at Jesus' word.

In one sense, Simon, Andrew, James, and John all leave one occupation to follow Jesus. This becomes their new occupation, or activity with which they provide for their families. In another sense, this occupation is also dependent upon what is sought, or rather, for God to bring what is sought to the seeker. 

We can all fall into the trap of believing we "make money" by what we do. We do our "jobs" and "make a living". But the reality is that our Creator brings us what we seek; He provides what we need for our families. The same is true for our calling in His Kingdom. We only see the results He brings. We work, we prepare the fields, we mend the nets, we make ready to share the good news of Jesus.

And it is our Savior who prepares the hearts as our Creator prepares the rains. It is our Savior who brings the people as our Creator gathers fish to the nets. What we have been called to be doing for the Kingdom of Heaven, may not be our "occupation". Even so, it is dependent up on our Savior for results. And there may be nights we work all night and catch nothing. And, like Peter, at the word of Jesus, we may need to put the nets out one more time.

If your occupation and your kingdom calling are different (mine are), take a minute to think about how our Savior is providing within both. How is Jesus making you successful at "work"? How is the Holy Spirit giving you success in a ministry? And how are you protecting your heart and mind from the trap of believing it's about what you do? How can you avoid the common cultural message that you are responsible for your own success?




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