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Quiz about Lost in Translation Language Matters
Quiz about Lost in Translation Language Matters

Lost in Translation: Language Matters Quiz


Modern English New Testaments are translations from the Greek. How much do you know about the differences in meaning between English words and the Greek words from which they are translated? (NASB translation used except where otherwise noted.)

A multiple-choice quiz by uglybird. Estimated time: 7 mins.
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Author
uglybird
Time
7 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
173,926
Updated
Jul 23 22
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Tough
Avg Score
5 / 10
Plays
1818
Awards
Top 20% Quiz
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Question 1 of 10
1. Context alters the meaning of words in any language. The Greek word "chairo" is generally translated "rejoice". Yet, it is with "chairo" that the Angel Gabriel greets Mary when Gabriel comes to announce that Mary will bear the Son of the Most High. When the Roman soldiers dressed Jesus as a king and beat him, they mocked him with the same word. With what English word was the Greek word "chairo" translated in the context of Gabriel's greeting of Mary and the soldiers' mocking of Jesus? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. The Greek noun "charis", which is derived from the same root as the verb "chairo" (to rejoice), designates some particular thing about which we should rejoice. In most contexts, "charis" is rendered with the English word "grace". Paul includes this greeting in most of his letters: "Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ." Which of the following definitions is not given in Thayer's Greek dictionary for this word? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. In Eugene Peterson's translation of the Bible, "The Message", he translates Luke 6:32-4 in the following manner: "If you love only the lovable, do you expect a pat on the back? Run of the mill sinners do that. If you only help those who help you, do you expect a medal? Garden variety sinners do that. If you only give for what you hope to get out of it, do you think that's charity? The stingiest of pawnbrokers does that." The Greek word "charis", which is usually translated "grace", is translated differently in the preceding passage. Which phrase or phrases in the preceding passage translate "charis"? (Hint: the NIV and NASB translations render the word as "credit".) Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Ephesians 2:8 reads, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God." In the English translation, there is an ambiguity regarding to which word(s) the phrase "and that not of yourselves" refers. Is it grace, faith or both that is "not of yourselves"? Taking into account the grammar of the passage in the original language, what can be concluded? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. The missing words in the following verse translate a single Greek word, "charisma". In certain contexts, "charisma" can be translated as favor. In Romans 6:23 Paul says, "For the wages of sin is death, but the ______ of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." What are the missing words? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Sometimes the English word used to translate a Greek word has a different shade of meaning or emphasis than the Greek word. Hebrews 11:1 says, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." "Hoped" is a translation of the Greek word "elpizo". What other word is sometimes used to translate the Greek word "elpizo" in the NASB? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. The missing word in the following verse translates a Greek noun that shares a root with a commonly used Greek verb. An entirely different English word is used to translate the verb than is used to translate the noun. Romans 3:28 reads, "For we maintain that a man is ______ by faith apart from works of the Law." What is the missing word? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. The verb "believe" appears 85 times in the Gospel of John. It shares a common Greek root with a noun generally translated as "faith". How many times does the word "faith" appear in the Gospel of John? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Some Greek words have connotations so disparate that no single English word will adequately encompass both connotations. Almost every occurrence of the Greek word "makarios" is translated "blessed" in the NASB. However, in other translations, "makarios" is often rendered as "happy". The Greek "makarios" is translated with yet another word in Acts 26:2, which reads, "In regard to all the things of which I am accused by the Jews, I consider myself _______, King Agrippa, that I am about to make my defense before you today." What is the missing word? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. The NASB translates the Greek word "eirene" as "peace" in 90 of its 91 occurrences. The one different translation is as "undisturbed". Although a single English word is nearest to the meaning of the Greek word "eirene", the original word has a sense that the English translation does not capture. What additional connotation does the Greek word "eirene" carry that is missing from the English word "peace"? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Context alters the meaning of words in any language. The Greek word "chairo" is generally translated "rejoice". Yet, it is with "chairo" that the Angel Gabriel greets Mary when Gabriel comes to announce that Mary will bear the Son of the Most High. When the Roman soldiers dressed Jesus as a king and beat him, they mocked him with the same word. With what English word was the Greek word "chairo" translated in the context of Gabriel's greeting of Mary and the soldiers' mocking of Jesus?

Answer: Hail

Two verses are referred to above. Luke 1:28 states, "And coming in, he said to her, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you." John 19:3 reads, "And they began to come up to Him and say, 'Hail, King of the Jews!' and to give Him slaps in the face."
"Favored one", in Luke 1:28, is a translation of the Greek word "charitoo".

In Greek, the greeting to Mary reads, "Chairo, charitoo." The similarity of the two words is not coincidental. The word "chairo" (rejoice) is the root for "charis" (grace), which is, in turn, the root for "charitoo" (favored one).
2. The Greek noun "charis", which is derived from the same root as the verb "chairo" (to rejoice), designates some particular thing about which we should rejoice. In most contexts, "charis" is rendered with the English word "grace". Paul includes this greeting in most of his letters: "Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ." Which of the following definitions is not given in Thayer's Greek dictionary for this word?

Answer: God's riches at Christ's expense

"God's riches at Christ's expense" is a well-known acrostic for grace that stresses the particular gift of eternal salvation made available through Christ's sacrifice. However, it seems that Paul's greeting includes not only this sense of the word, but also those contained in the other definitions that Thayer supplies.

In "The Message", Eugene Peterson translates Paul's standard greeting, given in I Corinthians 1:3, as follows: "May all the gifts and benefits that come from God our Father, and the Master, Jesus Christ, be yours."
3. In Eugene Peterson's translation of the Bible, "The Message", he translates Luke 6:32-4 in the following manner: "If you love only the lovable, do you expect a pat on the back? Run of the mill sinners do that. If you only help those who help you, do you expect a medal? Garden variety sinners do that. If you only give for what you hope to get out of it, do you think that's charity? The stingiest of pawnbrokers does that." The Greek word "charis", which is usually translated "grace", is translated differently in the preceding passage. Which phrase or phrases in the preceding passage translate "charis"? (Hint: the NIV and NASB translations render the word as "credit".)

Answer: All of these

In English, when we use a word with two definitions, we sometimes mean both of them. When we describe our hostess as gracious, we are not asked whether we mean courteous or kind, both of which are dictionary definitions for gracious. We are not asked which we mean because we mean both of them, and our listener understands this. Where other translators of Luke 6:32-4 picked one word which they felt had the best "fit", Peterson chose to use three different words, each conveying a slightly different sense of the one word used in the original manuscript.
4. Ephesians 2:8 reads, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God." In the English translation, there is an ambiguity regarding to which word(s) the phrase "and that not of yourselves" refers. Is it grace, faith or both that is "not of yourselves"? Taking into account the grammar of the passage in the original language, what can be concluded?

Answer: It is also ambiguous in the original language.

Greek grammar allows for two options when using "that" with an antecedent. One option is for the author to have the case and gender of "that" agree with the antecedent. Since "grace" and "faith" are in different cases, had "that" been in the case of one or the other, it would have made the reference unambiguous.

However, there is a second option, which was the one chosen in this verse. The author placed "that" in the neutral nominative-accusative case, and this allows it to refer back to either one or both of the antecedents. John Calvin's decision to interpret "that" as referring to both, strongly influenced his theology.
5. The missing words in the following verse translate a single Greek word, "charisma". In certain contexts, "charisma" can be translated as favor. In Romans 6:23 Paul says, "For the wages of sin is death, but the ______ of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." What are the missing words?

Answer: free gift

Free gift is a translation of the Greek "charisma". The Greek word "charisma" is from the Greek verb "charizomai" - which means to grant, forgive or freely give. The emphasis in some contexts is on the absence of cost. In other contexts "charizomai" seems to have the same force as the English "forgive". Finally, "charizomai" can be used in the sense of delivering one person into the hands of another.
6. Sometimes the English word used to translate a Greek word has a different shade of meaning or emphasis than the Greek word. Hebrews 11:1 says, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." "Hoped" is a translation of the Greek word "elpizo". What other word is sometimes used to translate the Greek word "elpizo" in the NASB?

Answer: expect

The Greek verb "elpizo", translated "hoped" in the verse above, has a different shade of meaning than the English word "hope". "Elpizo" is at times translated as "expect" or even "trust". Generally, our use of the word "hope" implies more uncertainty than did the first century Greek use of the word "elpizo".
7. The missing word in the following verse translates a Greek noun that shares a root with a commonly used Greek verb. An entirely different English word is used to translate the verb than is used to translate the noun. Romans 3:28 reads, "For we maintain that a man is ______ by faith apart from works of the Law." What is the missing word?

Answer: justified

First century Greek had many noun-verb pairs with identical roots. The Greek verb "dikaioo" is generally translated "justified", while the Greek noun "dikaios" is generally translated "righteous". In translation, we lose the exact correspondence that exists between the verb we translate "justify" and the noun we translate "righteousness".
8. The verb "believe" appears 85 times in the Gospel of John. It shares a common Greek root with a noun generally translated as "faith". How many times does the word "faith" appear in the Gospel of John?

Answer: 0

The Greek noun "pistis", which is the word almost invariably translated "faith", shares a root with the verb "pisteuo". "Pisteuo" is generally translated as "believe". As is the case with the verb "justify" and the noun "righteous", the intimate linguistic connection between the verb "believe" and the noun "faith" is lost in translation.
9. Some Greek words have connotations so disparate that no single English word will adequately encompass both connotations. Almost every occurrence of the Greek word "makarios" is translated "blessed" in the NASB. However, in other translations, "makarios" is often rendered as "happy". The Greek "makarios" is translated with yet another word in Acts 26:2, which reads, "In regard to all the things of which I am accused by the Jews, I consider myself _______, King Agrippa, that I am about to make my defense before you today." What is the missing word?

Answer: fortunate

Using "blessed" to translate "makarios" emphasizes that there is a source for the emotion the happy person feels, but this emphasis of the source of the emotion comes at the expense of de-emphasizing the emotion itself. "Happy", on the other hand, captures the emotion but lacks the emphasis on there being an outside cause for the emotional state.
10. The NASB translates the Greek word "eirene" as "peace" in 90 of its 91 occurrences. The one different translation is as "undisturbed". Although a single English word is nearest to the meaning of the Greek word "eirene", the original word has a sense that the English translation does not capture. What additional connotation does the Greek word "eirene" carry that is missing from the English word "peace"?

Answer: prosperity

The greeting Paul uses is his letters, "Grace and peace to you from God our Father, and the Lord, Jesus Christ," is fraught with meaning the translation does not carry. "Grace" subsumes every blessing from God that brings joy, pleasure, sweetness and delight. "Peace" implies peace with God and man; prosperity is thrown in for good measure.
Source: Author uglybird

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