What Story Is This?
Just for fun, this is an example of why good translation is needed. Here is a well known passage/parable of Jesus with only the "English lexical values". If you took a Greek-English dictionary and simply looked up the corresponding words, this is what you would get. Can you guess what it is?
And again to begin to instruct, to teach beside, by the sea, lake. And to gather, to assemble, to come together to he crowd great, large, so that he in, into boat to embark, to get into to sit on the sea, lake, and all the crowd at the sea, lake on, upon the land to be. And to instruct, to teach he in parable many, and to say he in the doctrine, teaching he to hear, to listen. behold to go out the to sow (seed) to sow (seed). And to happen, to take place in the to sow (seed) which on the one hand to fall, to fall down beside, by, on the side of the way, road, path, and to come, to arrive the bird and to eat up, to consume, to devour he. And other to fall, to fall down on, upon the rocky [ground] where not to have soil, earth much, and immediately, at once to spring up because the not to have depth soil, earth and when to rise the sun to burn up and because the not to have root to dry up, to wither. And other to fall, to fall down among the thorn plant, thorn, and to go up, to come up the thorn plant, thorn and to choke he, and fruit, produce, crop not to give, to produce. And other to fall, to fall down on the soil, earth the good, and to give, to produce fruit, produce, crop to go up, to come up and to grow, to increase, and to bear, to produce one, alone thirty and one, alone sixty and one, alone hundred. (English Lexical Value from the The Lexham Greek-English Interlinear New Testament: SBL Edition by Harris, W. Hall, III)
To be a little more fair, here are the "English literal values". If you knew a little Greek, you would be able to narrow down some of the definitions that you would get from a Greek-English dictionary. I love the part where Jesus “into a boat got and sat on the sea”. Haha.
And again he began to teach beside the sea. And was gathered to him crowd a very large, so that he into a boat got [and] sat on the sea, and whole the crowd at the sea on the land was. And he began to teach them in parables many [things], and was saying to them in — teaching his listen. Behold went out the sower to sow. And it happened that while — [he] was sowing some of which — fell on the side of the path, and came the birds and devoured it. And other [seed] fell on the rocky ground where [it did] not have soil much, and at once it sprang up because — [it did] not have [any] depth of soil. And when rose the sun it was scorched and because — [it did] not have [enough] root it withered. And other [seed] fell among the thorn plants, and came up the thorn plants and choked it, and grain [it did] not produce. And other [seed] fell on the soil — good, and produced grain coming up and increasing, and it bore [a crop] one thirty and one sixty and one a hundred [times as much].
Did you understand the parable? Do you recognize it? It's the parable of the farmer scattering seed. Here is the NIV translation of Mark 4:1-8.
Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”
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