Abstract
The occasion for this article is the translation of Romans 8:16 in the 2020 Afrikaans translation (2020 At) of the Bible Society of South Africa (BSSA). In previous Afrikaans translations of the BSSA Romans 8:16 was translated as, “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God.” (Afr.: “Die Gees self getuig saam met ons gees dat ons kinders van God is.”). But the 2020 At translates this verse as, “The Spirit himself testifies over against our spirit that we are children of God.” (Afr.: “Die Gees getuig teenoor ons gees dat ons kinders van God is.”) In Afrikaans this “teenoor” (“over against”) is confusing. It might create the impression that the Spirit of God is not in unison with our spirit. Whereas our spirit testifies to the fact that we are God’s children, the Spirit of God testifies to exactly the opposite – that we are not his children. But of course, this cannot be the intention of the 2020 At. It thus begs the question whether the Afrikaans “teenoor ons gees” (“over against our spirit”) is a good translation. This article therefore wants to explore the logic behind the 2020 At of Romans 8:16. Why did it find it necessary to change the previous translations’ “saam met” (“with”) to “teenoor” (“over against”)?
At the root of the argument is the question how to translate the underlying Greek verb συμμαρτυρέω. The problem starts with its meaning. It is a compound verb consisting of a preposition σύν (“[together] with”) and a simplex verb μαρτυρέω (“bear witness” or “testify”), resulting in a reasonably “logical” compound meaning of “testify with” or “bear witness with”. But as Greek linguists are quick to point out, the meaning of a compound word is not necessarily a simple adding up of the constituent parts. As it turns out, once the compound συμμαρτυρέω is being investigated in the various ancient Greek contexts it soon becomes clear that its meaning is not simply the etymological sum total of its constituent components, resulting in a meaning of “testify with someone else”. Rather, συμμαρτυρέω is used in the meaning of “affirming” or “confirming” a situation or another’s testimony, or, if one wants to use the word testify, “to testify in support”.
Once the meaning of συμμαρτυρέω becomes apparent, this leaves us with the question of its translation in Romans 8:16. And then one discovers that few translations in the past have really tapped into the meaning of συμμαρτυρέω. Most translations have stuck to the etymological meaning of “testify with” and have translated (e.g. NIV): “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit …” Furthermore, a compounding factor in the translation of Romans 8:16 is that συμμαρτυρέω is followed by the dative τῷ πνεύματι ἡμῶν. The question then arises: What is the relationship between the verb and the dative? Should the dative be taken as an associative dative (“testify with our spirit”) – as most translations do – or as an indirect object (“testify to our spirit”) or even a dativus commodi (“testify on behalf of our spirit”)? To keep the translation in line with the meaning of συμμαρτυρέω, (affirm, testify in support) the translation should be moving in the direction of the latter two options (indirect object and/or dativus commodi). And that is obviously the intention of the 2020 At. The translation, “The Spirit himself testifies over against (Afr.: ‘teenoor’) our spirit” should not be taken as that the Spirit is testifying against our spirit in the sense of opposing our spirit, but should be taken as indicating a simple indirect object, namely: “The Spirit is testifying to our spirit that we are children of God.” However, my suggestion is to avoid all possible misunderstandings and to stick closer to the meaning of συμμαρτυρέω, and therefore translate: “The Spirit himself affirms to our spirit …” (Afr.: “Die Gees self verseker ons gees …”). This was also the choice of the Revised English Bible (1989) and the Dutch Nieuwe Bijbelvertaling (2004).
Subsequently four reasons are explored why this translation best fits Romans 8:16.
Firstly, it goes without saying that it supports the meaning of συμμαρτυρέω as “testify in support” or “affirm a situation”. The Spirit is not merely “witnessing with” the human ego who independently came to the conviction of being God’s child, but the Spirit is actually the initiator of the human conviction, and He affirms that they are children of God.
Secondly, the translation “affirms to our spirit” (Afr.: “verseker ons gees”) avoids the misunderstanding that the current 2020 At (“testify over against our spirit”) may cause, as if the Spirit opposes the testimony of the human spirit.
Thirdly, when compared to the only two other places where συμμαρτυρέω appears in the New Testament, namely Romans 2:15 and Romans 9:1, the meaning “to affirm” is corroborated. In both these places it is the conscience (συνείδησις) that affirms a situation. In 2:15 it is the conscience of the Gentiles affirming that what the law requires, is written on their hearts. And in 9:1 it is Paul’s conscience that affirms that Paul is not lying when he speaks of the great sorrow in his heart about his fellow Jews not accepting God’s saving grace in Christ.
Fourthly, the context of Romans 8:16 also vouches for the translation of συμμαρτυρέω as “affirms”. Many commentaries that support the translation of “testify with” usually try to make sense of who the two witnesses might be that testify with one another. Then they point to the Spirit and the human spirit who are in unison with one another. However, the problem with this interpretation is that it makes God’s Spirit and the human spirit equal witnesses, as though the Spirit is merely nodding in approval of what the human spirit has accomplished on its own. And that cannot be farther from the truth. The whole argument in Romans 8:1–17, especially from verse 9, is that the Spirit is overwhelmingly dominant in human renewal. It is through Him that we cry, “Abba, Father” (v. 15). And that is exactly what the Spirit affirms in v. 16: indeed we are God’s children. He is the sole initiator of our being children of God. Hence the translation: “The Spirit affirms to our spirit that we are children of God.”
Keywords: 1933/53 Afrikaans translation; 1983 Afrikaans translation; 2020 Afrikaans translation; Bible Society of South Africa; children of God; dativus commode; Holy Spirit; Romans 2:15; Romans 9:1; συμμαρτυρέω; survey of well-known translations of Romans 8:16; translation of Romans 8:16
- This article’s featured image was created by Leonardo Dourado and obtained from Pexels.