G1656

• {"n":"eleos","s":"Mercy. In the Septuagint it is the word chosen for Hebrew chesed, which is much larger.","u":"https:\/\/jayms.com\/bible-study-tools-2\/bible-translation-differences\/#id=eleos","r":"Matthew 9:13","b":[{"l":"How modern translations read it","t":"Every version reads mercy. Some render compassion or lovingkindness where the Old Testament background is being quoted."},{"l":"First, in plain English","t":"**He showed mercy.** You picture someone being let off. Now picture a word that also covers standing by someone for thirty years, and you can see the join not fitting."},{"l":"What you are seeing","t":"Eleos translates chesed hundreds of times in the Septuagint. So when a New Testament writer quotes Hosea 6:6, I desired mercy and not sacrifice, the word underneath is covenant loyalty rather than leniency."},{"l":"Why translators split","t":"English split obligation from kindness. Greek eleos on its own is nearer pity, and it is carrying a Hebrew load it was not built for."},{"l":"The rule to carry away","t":"When a Greek word sits under a quotation from the Old Testament, find the Hebrew word it is standing in for. Septuagint vocabulary is the bridge between the two Testaments and almost nothing else explains it."},{"l":"Choosing between them","t":"Mercy is the majority rendering and has been since Tyndale. Nothing else has ever been in serious contention."},{"l":"The word","t":"\u1f14\u03bb\u03b5\u03bf\u03c2 eleos \u00b7 G1656"}],"src":["Septuagint eleos for chesed throughout the Psalms","Hosea 6:6 quoted at Matthew 9:13 and 12:7","Compare oiktirmos, compassion, which is the narrower Greek word"]}