A Correction by Editor

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Jan 30, 1912

A Correction

By Editor

A Correction.—Mr. G. W. White, who had an article in the Signs of the Times of September 5, entitled “The Dying Thief,” wishes to note a correction which should be made in a quotation in that article. This quotation is alleged to be from Murdock's Syriac translation, and is thus given: “Verily, I say unto thee to-day, Thou shalt be with Me in Paradise.” Mr. White is at a loss to know how the quotation crept in in that way, and thinks that he must have taken it from some other authority, and wishes to make this correction, so that it may not be repeated by some one else as a quotation from the Syriac.

Murdock's rendering is, "Jesus said to him, Verily I say to you, that this day thou shalt be with Me in Paradise." There is the same difficulty with Murdock that there is with the ordinary version. Rotherham's New Testament translation from the Greek text of Tregelles, critically emphasized, in its twelfth edition revised, renders it this way: "And Jesus said to him, 'Verily, to thee I say, this day, with Me shalt thou be in the Paradise.'" He has this note: "It is left for the reader to determine whether the words 'this day' should be joined (a) with the former part of the sentence, or (b) with the latter. In favor of (a) may be urged, first, the fact that semeron, 'this day,' does not always stand first in the clause to which it belongs (see Luke 2:11; 5:26; 22:34; Acts 20:26; 22:3; 24:21; 26:29); (2) that being essentially a demonstrative word, it will bear any reasonable stress which may be laid upon it, whether it be placed before or after the words which it qualifies; (3) that it is far from meaningless if regarded as belonging to the opening words of asseveration ("Thou dost ask to be remembered then; verily thou art assured now. As on this the day of My weakness and shame, thou hast faith to ask, I this day have authority to answer"); (4) that the latter part of the verse is thus left free to refer to the very matter of the supplicant's request ("Thou dost ask to be remembered when I come in My kingdom; thou shalt be remembered then, and with distinguished favor; thou shalt be in My kingdom; shalt be with Me in the very Paradise of My kingdom, in the garden of the Lord (Isa. 51:3), . . . in that most central and blessed part of the coming kingdom, of which thou dost believe Me to be the destined King.")." Rotherham has more, but this is given in support of placing the comma after "to-day."