Beware of the Greek Rookie

Sep 19, 2023

Last Update: 2024, March 14

“Cursed is the man who trusts in man, and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the LORD.”
—Jeremiah 17:5

I’m not a student of Greek and I don’t pretend to be one. It’s rare for you to hear me say, “The Greek says this…” But when I do it’s usually to show the inconsistency in people’s arguments and to make a theological point, as seen here, but not to lecture people on Greek. As a layman, I stay away from Greek/Hebrew because a little knowledge of something is a dangerous thing, and Paul says, “not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil.” (1 Timothy 3:6).

In unbelief, people often run to the original language to explain away the obvious teachings of Scripture with their private interpretation of the language. Don’t fall for it, and don’t be intimidated by it. Over the years, I have engaged with many people and I can tell you that the English language is enough to cause these rookies or so-called “experts” to stumble. Many people know Greek/Hebrew but they don’t know the Bible doctrinally and theologically. As laymen, you have more than enough to study and know God’s words without having to go back to the original languages! Greek and Hebrew have their places and purposes, but in the hands of the unbeliefs (2 Corinthians 11:13-15; 2 Timothy 3:13), they can be used as weapons against the children of God.

The Devil and his children know Greek and Hebrew, but discernment and understanding comes from God. Be on guard. Don’t be quick to believe what you’re told about Greek/Hebrew, no matter how convincing it sounds. Always hear both sides (Proverbs 18:13,17,14:15; Philippians 3:15; 2 Timothy 2:7; James 1:5) and consult other men of truth (Exodus 18:21; Acts 6:3, 8:30-31). Consider what they say (2 Timothy 2:7) but remember to always wait on the Lord (John 4:25 [cf. Proverbs 3:5-7; James 1:5; Psalms 139:23-24]).

The Heart is Unknowable?

I have written a post on Jeremiah 17:9 here. The truth of that passage is plain and obvious. You don’t have to be a scholar to understand it, and yet, in unbelief you will have people finding ways to deny and twist the simplicity of that passage. Recently, someone objected,

“The real Bible didn’t even say anything close to this. It simply says that the heart is unknowable. It doesn’t even say deceitful. It says it’s ‘beyond’ all things.”

I don’t know Hebrew but I can tell you that I know my Soteriology. We need to read our Bibles in and out so we don’t fall for this sleight of hand. Most people you’ll meet online may not be scholars, but even if they are, you have nothing to fear. God’s word is incredibly powerful and transformative in the language it was given to you, whether it’s English, Chinese, or even Greek. It works effectively and powerfully in those who believe (1 Thessalonians 2:13). In those who doubt and try to correct God’s word, their minds and hearts will have no room for God’s truth (cf. John 8:37).

Knowing your Bible and how everything is interconnected is far more important than word studies. Word studies look at the tree at the risk of not seeing the forest. See here:

Deceivers’ primary objective is to make you doubt the Bible in the language it was given to you. For us, that’s the English Bible. I’ll dare say that you’re better off with English Bibles than going back to Hebrew/Greek, as more scholars have worked on the English translations than any other. The KJV, LSB, ESV, etc., each have more than 10+ scholars who are experts in their fields working on the translation. It’s not wise to trust a random Greek novice or a one-man Greek expert over the many scholars who have worked on the English translations. With that in mind, let me now address the objection above.

It’s true that the heart is unknowable. For the sake of argument, let’s say the text does not say “deceitful, sick or wicked.” But why is the heart being “unknowable” is a problem? So much so that we’re required to circumcise it and to get a new heart? Do you suppose that having a new heart, it will become knowable? Not according to Paul! See this section: “Who Can Know It?”. In response to this, I was told, “You don’t trust your heart. You trust God.” And God tells us we need a new heart, so the question still stand. Why do we need a new?

We often perceive ourselves as humble, generous, and kind, but the truth is that we’re not. Augustine said it best: “O Lord, everything good in me is due to you. The rest is my fault.” There’s a story in the Old Testament of a man who thought he was humble – his name was Hazael. Ben-hadad was sick, and he sent Hazael to Elisha to find out if he would recover from his illness. Elisha told Hazael that Ben-hadad would recover, but then he wept. Hazael asked, “Why is my lord weeping?” Elisha revealed the evil that Hazael would do and that he would end up killing Ben-hadad. Hazael’s response to this? Here it is: “But what is your servant—a dog, that he should do this gross thing?” Hazael ultimately killed Ben-hadad. Our hearts are that deceitful and desperately wicked (2 Kings 8:10-15). Without grace, we can’t comprehend just how dark our true nature is.

Induced vs Deceived

Many people think that just by looking up for the definition of a Greek word that it will somehow give them the key to right interpretation. Well, that depends. In most cases it leads people astray because knowing Greek is one thing and knowing your Bible is another. They’re not the same.

In one of my past discussions, I brought up Ezekiel 14:9 to show that God deceived a prophet and I quoted from the ESV. My opponent objected and played the Greek game on me, said that induce is a much better translation. This is because in his theological worldview God can’t deceive people like that. Well, “induce” didn’t help him when I brought up 2 Chronicles 18:22, where God put a lying spirit in the mouth of Ahab’s prophets to deceive them.

“so that…”

In Exodus 4:21, the phrase “so that” was added to the Hebrew text to connect the two conditional statements. However, it is not present in the original Hebrew. A more accurate translation would be, “But I will harden his heart and he will not let the people go.” The two ideas are related, and the translator inserted “so that” which they meant as a passive tie in. You have constructed a doctrine based on the interpreter’s clarification addition.

Even if “so that” is thrown out, it does nothing to refute Reformed Soteriology. The effect of Godʼs hardening his heart is him not letting them go. We see this in Exodus 10:16-20 where he came to his senses, and notice what he asked of Moses, “I have sinned against the LORD [your God] and against [you]… entreat the LORD [your God]… But the LORD hardened Pharaohʼs heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go.” If you donʼt like “so that…” You have here the effect of God hardening his heart. Now ask yourself, what is the purpose of God hardening Pharaoh if it’s not so that he wouldn’t let the Israelites go?

“Go in to Pharaoh; for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his servants, [that I may show these signs of Mine before him], and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and your son’s son the mighty things I have done in Egypt, and My signs which I have done among them, that you may know that I am the Lord.” —Exodus 10:1-2

If Pharaoh let the Israelites go, would God be able to show His signs? Would there be a reason to plague Egypt? The translators were right: “I will harden his heart, [so that] he will not let the people go” (NKJV,ESV,NASB).

Conclusion

PNTC on Luke 7:47-50…: The original Greek, which reads “because she loved much,” could imply that her forgiveness was the result of her love, which would make grace dependent on the quality of her love (e.g., John 9:31). This deduction runs counter to the summary story of Jesus — and to elements within this narrative. It is precisely the unwarranted free conferral of grace to “tax collectors and sinners” that forever scandalizes Pharisees, Simon included. Jesus’ foregoing parable in vv. 41-42 declares the gracious forgiveness of the two debtors irrespective of merit on their part.

“This deduction runs counter to the summary story of Jesus — and to elements within this narrative” — This further demonstrates the danger of knowing Greek but not knowing Bible. That is often the case with many Greek Rookies out there. They deduced based on the structure of the Greek alone and ignore the Bible as a whole.

Original language and word studies have their places and purposes. However, in the hands of the unbeliefs, they’re weapons used against the children of God. I’m a layman and I can say with confident that you don’t need to study the original language to rightly divide the word of truth. There are plenty of resources out there for the laymen that don’t require knowledge of Greek or Hebrew, and my writings here on Substack are proof of that!

See Part 2 of this post: