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John 20:23; Matthew 16:19 and 18:18 in the Light of the Greek Perfect Tenses

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John 20:23; Matthew 16:19 and 18:18 in the Light of the Greek Perfect Tenses John 20:23; Matthew 16:19 and 18:18 In the Light of the Greek Perfect Tenses WiLBBB T. Dayton I certain men have been divinely author The Problem ized to forgive sins in behalf of God." The verses in the Authorized Ver Commenting on the Revised Stand sion in English read as follows: (In ard Version of the New Testament, parentheses the suggested corrections W- D. Chamberlain of Louisville Pres of tense are made.) byterian Seminary cites Matthew 16: 20:23� 19 as an example of an error which the John Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted revisers failed to correct. He (perfect tense: have been remitted) quotes unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they and comments as follows: are retained (perfect tense: have been retained). "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of Matthew 16:19�And I will give unto thee the heaven and whatever you bind on earth shall be keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatsoever bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound (future earth shall be loosed in heaven." The words perfect tense: shall have been bound) in heaven; and 'bound' and 'loosed' in the original Greek are in whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be the future perfect tense and should be trans loosed (future perfect tense: shall have been lated 'shall have been bound' and 'shall have been loosed) in heaven. loosed.' The difference in the two meanings is of Matthew: 18:18� � I unto theological importance it is a question whether Verily say you, what soever ye shall bind on earth shall be Jesus means that Heaven determines the policy bound (fu ture perfect tense: shall have been for Christian ministers, or whether the ministers bound) in heaven; and whatsoever shall have authority over Heaven. I don't know ye loose on earth, shall be loosed whether the translators perpetuated this mistake (future perfect tense: shall have been loosed) in heaven. through ignorance or by choice.^ The importance of this reference is The problem of translation and seen in the fact that the authority interpretation involves the whole of man's back of one of the most prevalent and question place in the Divine Are most significant errors in Christendom Economy. the servants of God to is found in the current translation and act upon their own judgment and in- interpretation of the Greek future iative and bind Heaven to ratify their perfect tense in Matthew 16 :19 and own exclusions from, and inclusions 18:18 and the Greek perfect tense in in, the kingdom of heaven (as seems to John 20 :23. On this basis over half of be a fair interpretation of the im the professed Christians in the world plications of sacerdotalism as so com believe in sacerdotalism�that is, that monly jiracticcd by the Roman Cath olics and some other bodies) ? Or are ^ Louisville Courier Journal, Feb. 17, 1946. Quoted in The Union Seminary Review, May, ^J. R. Mantey: "The Mistranslation of the 1946 by P. Frank Price, "The 1946 version of Perfect Tense in John 20:23, Matthew 16:19 and the New Testament�from a Reader's Point of Matthew 18:18," Journal of Biblical Literature View," p. 209. LVni (1939), p. 243. SCRIPTURES .. THE GREEK PERFECT TENSES 75 the ministers of God sent forth as am completion and has abiding results. bassadors who carry the terms of With Chamberlain, the writer does and � peace forgiveness doing what not fully understand why no revision God has authorized and has Himself has been made of the translation of done, and declaring what God has de these passages. The wonder is in clared? That is, are the men of God creased by the fact that at least three judges who decide the salvation or or four times this matter has been reprobation of their hearers or are called to the attention of the scholars. the ac- In they preachers, "proclaiming 1922, J. R. Mantey had an article ceptaible year of the Lord" and offer published in The Expositor in London ing salvation on Divine terms? under the title "Perfect Tense Ig Evangelical Protestantism has al nored in Matthew 16:19; 18:18, and ways held to the latter while sacer John 20:23."* Later he read before the dotalism has generally if not always Society of Biblical Literature and Ex involved the former the in through priest egesis America a paper entitled ly insistence upon selecting the recip "The Mistranslation of the Perfect ients of its saving sacraments. It Tense in John 20 :23, Matthew 16 :19 should be and said, however, that the Matthew 18:18." In 1939, this evangelical view need not be inter article was published in the Journal as the preted minimizing high calling of BihUoal Literature* In the same of issue a the Gospel ministry. What could be rebuttal appeared under the a title more exalted position than that of "The Meaning of John 20:23, an ambassador of Christ beseeching Matthew 16:19 and Matthew 18:18."' men The in Christ's stead to be reconciled author was Henry J. Cadbury of to God and declaring the terms of rec Harvard University, a member of the Man's onciliation? function is neces newly selected committee on revision. sary and in a limited sense decisive. He expressed strong disagreement with But God trusts no human being to give Dr. Mantey at several crucial the ultimate verdict in any soul's sal points of the discussion. In 1941 vation. God Himself by the Holy W. p. Chamberlain produced An Ex- Spirit applies redemption personally. egetical Grammar of the Greek New Testament" Man is authorized only to carry the in which he commented on tidings and to intercede. That seems Matthew 16:19 and 18:18 in words to be the implications of the Greek similar to those already quoted.' He tenses. In all of the leading English agreed essentially with Mantey. Versions, at least, there is either con This difference of opinion that siderable ambiguity or the positive existed among these scholars and that implication of the opposite view: involved a member of the committee namely, that man, in God's stead, for on the new revision attracted the at gives sin and God ratifies the act, tention of a doctorate candidate who making it His own. was majoring in the field of New Tes Part of the confusion may lie in the tament at Northern Baptist Theolog fact that there is no exact equivalent ical Seminary. He continued the in English of the Greek perfect tense research in consultation with Profes and that at best one can only use an sor Mantey and compiled the results English tense and leave the untrans- in the dissertation which is beine lataible element to the commentators. writer's �Volume XXIII, pp. 470-2. But it was, in the opinion, * Volume LVIII, pp. 243-9. unfortunate to use a in ' rendering Ibid., pp. 251-4. these passages that makes no sugges 'Macmillan Company. ' tion of a past action that has come to Op. cit., p. 180. 7G WILBER T. DAYTON summarized in this article. The final successors of Peter, can forgive sins, versions copies were presented to the seminary but that it was in the Latin in May, 1945, and the conclusions were that erroneous translations appeared sent to Professor Cadbury. It was and that these errors have been found, however, that the work of re repeated in all languages up to the vision had already been officially ter present time. That is, of course, minated and the material had reached quite natural in view of the fact that the publisher. Hence no action was the perfect tense in Greek is far from taken�either favorable or adverse. identical with that in the Latin, Eng Briefly stated, the aim of the re lish, and modem European languages. search was to clarify the problems of Allen and Greenough point out the the controversy and, if possible, to find loss of the distinction between the two the correct translation and interpre uses in Latin (i.e., perfect definite and tation of the verses. More explicitly. the historical or aoristic perfect),' the pui*pose of the dissertation was to Goodwin and Gulick also state that, ascertain the basic meanings of the unlike the Latin and English perfects, Koine Greek perfect and future per the Greek Perfect is not properly a fect tenses and to determine the proper past tense, but rather represents a divergent meanings, and to bring this fixed condition in the present," That information to the translation of John this does not exclude a past reference 20:23, Matthew 16:19, and Matthew also is, however, clear in their further 18 :18 with a view to finding a correct statement that "the perfect represents re translation and interpretation and an action as finished at the time at moving the grounds for the erroneous which the present would represent it doctrines and corruj)t practices con as going on,''" Dana and Mantey add nected with sacerdotalism. With this that the "Greek aorist is much wider the work is naturallv a objective, in range than the English simple past, sequel to and extension of Mantev's while the Greek perfect is more re articles. stricted in use than the parallel Eng lish tense,"" They add that "the con II fusion arises from the effort to explain Preliminary Considerations the Greek in terms of our own idiom,"" To these perils confronting the collateral evidence As strong against translators must be added the uncer of these the common translations pas tainty that arises from the fact that in his articles sages Mantey points out ancient scholars did not adequately was not until the torch of learn that it use the inductive and historical meth from the ing and theology passed ods and were too little aware of the and Greek-speaking Greek-writing value of the study of comparative lan Ante-Nicene Fathers to the Latin- guages.
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