Translation question: I was working on translating 1 John 4:1 and came across something that seemed curious to me. Why is “ἐστιν” translated as “they” instead of “he/she/it”? I translated as he or it, which frankly didn’t make sense; so, I compared my results with various translations. Every translation I consulted rendered it “they.” Was it just to force subject/verb agreement in English or can ἐστιν sometimes be used in the plural? Or did I just flat out overlook something.
Full text of the verse:
Ἀγαπητοί, μὴ παντὶ πνεύματι πιστεύετε ἀλλὰ δοκιμάζετε ⸂τὰ πνεύματα⸃ εἰ ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστιν,* ὅτι πολλοὶ ψευδοπροφῆται ἐξεληλύθασιν εἰς τὸν κόσμον.*
- Hi Tom, Good question. τὰ πνεύματα is a neuter nominative plural noun. The grammar rule is that all neuter subjects are followed by singular verbs, which in this instance is ἐστιν. However, we still translate the verb in the plural: “the spirits…they”. Hope this helps. God bless.
- Thank you so much!
- Tim Nsair Wow! There it is in black and white: "Neuter Plural Subject with Singular Verb: neuter plural subjects normally take singular verbs since impersonal things are usually in view...." Daniel B. Wallace, Greek Grammar beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996), 745. I was not fact checking you. After you posted this, I searched all my resources to find "neuter NEAR subject NEAR singular NEAR verb" and see if I could find this rule and whether I missed in it my prior readings. Thank you for all your help. This was great. I'm so glad you replied. -Tom
