Hollander, H.W.

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242 THE BIBLE TRANSLATOR (VOL. 44, NO. 2because of the frequent use of mnemonic devices such as assonance,parallelism, repetition, rhythm, music, and so on. Moreover in many ofalcultures singing songs interacts with storytelling, thus making it easier tomemorize the narratives which also often have a teaching function;At first the Yali people were reluctant to compose hymns \n their ownidiom, but once composition of indigenous Yali hymns began there was nostopping. The hymns are usually composed by literate people with access toScripture portions. Compositions are then tried out at ifie informal firesideservices each evening, and with input from participants they are modifiedunt i l they flow right. If the composer and his oixner friends feel satisfied,they wi l l introduce the new song at the larger,community services, such ason a Sunday morning. I f the song is a goad one - easily memorized withcaptivating melody and meaningful words - it will soon spread throughoutthe entire community of 9000, through both formal and informal use.The following is a typical example of Scripture carried in an indigenousYali hymn, which is based on John 14:The path on which we go/fo God our father,That path is me, Jesus.'Your hearts must npt'continue to swell, (be anxious)Keep t rus t ing in Q6d and in me,Your hearts rrui^t not continue to swell.(Refrain) Yyo i, our older brother Jesus,w i o i, our father God.Indigenous hymns like this are not limited to any section of thecommurxiy but are sung by everyone. Nor are they limited to any particular, except perhaps those composed for a special occasion, such as alament appropriate only at a funeral. Their role in the life of the churchimmeasurable. They are a heartfelt expression of belief; they reinforcea sense of community because everybody takes part, and they are wid:lyaccepted in every segment of society and throughout the region; and mostsignificantly they assist transmission and recall of the biblical message.That is what a pnnd IranfttaTïóïTshould do.NOTESRevelation by fire: 1 Corinthians 3.13In 1 Corinthians 3.10-15 we find a very interesting passage on the LastDay and the final Judgement. In these verses the apostle Paul comparesthe church in Corinth with a bui ld ing. He himself laid, as it were, itsfoundation, preaching the knowledge of "Jesus Christ and him crucified"(1 Cor 2.2). And other missionaries were called "to build upon it", thatis, to deepen the faith of its members and to stimulate the growth of thesmall Christian community.The apostle argues that all builders of the church are just servants ofGod and will be rewarded according to their activities at the end of time.APRIL 1993) NOTES 243Fire will test the quality of each person's work: if the work survives, thebuilder will be rewarded; but if it is burned up, he will be "fined" or "savedas through fire."Though the general sense of the passage seems to be clear, some of thedetails of the judgement imagery are not. One such detail is the intendedsubject of the verb apokalyptetai in verse 13; it means "is revealed", or asit refers to a coming event, "will be revealed". Since the Greek text doesnot have a noun as its subject, translators have understood the phrase indifferent ways. For example:Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it,because it shall be revealed by fire.. .(KJV)His work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it tolight. II will be revealed with fire. ..(NIV)The work that each does will at last be brought to light; the day ofjudgement will expose it. For thai day dawns in fire...(REB)And the quality of each person's work will be seen when the Day ofChrist exposes it. For on that Day the fire will reveal everyone's work...(GNB)".. .for it (the Day) must reveal itself in the fire..." (JB)".. .because it (the work) will reveal itself in the fire..." (La Bible à laColombe)Among other things, this shows us that it is possible for translatorsin English to leave open the question about the subject of the verb "berevealed". But when translators do not have to choose, or do not wantto choose, this results in a text that is unnecessarily ambiguous for theirreaders. And we may be sure that the original text was quite clear for theauthor and those he addressed.In languages other than English, translators were often forced to makea choice. And what they chose can easily be seen from the gender of thepronoun, or from the noun they used as subject.The majority of translators are of the opinion that "the Day" is theintended subject of the verb "be revealed". So are most New Testamentcommentators; and modern dictionaries and word-books also support thisinterpretation. They usually refer to passages like Malachi 4.1 ("Forbehold, the day comes, burning like an oven...", RSV); Joel 2.3, 30; Daniel7.9; and 2 Thessalonians 1.7, where the Last Day is associated with fire.Indeed, according to a more-or-less fixed Jewish-Christian tradition,fire was considered as an agent of God's judgement on the Last Day,destroying all those who have turned against God. But in this passage in1 Corinthians fire is not pictured as the agent of God's punishment, butas a means of testing; it tests the quality of the work of missionaries.Commentators who are aware of this difficulty do not hesitate to speak ofPaul's "somewhat inconsistent" judgement imagery, due to his supposeduse of several fire images in these few verses - but they do so on the basisof Iheir assumption that "the Day" is the intended subject of apokalyptetai"will be revealed".244 THH BIBLE TRANSLATOR (VOL. 44, NO. 2A minority of translators, however, are in favour of understanding toergon "the work" as the subject of the verb: "Everyone's work will berevealed by fire" (see Good News Bible and La Bible à la Colombe above).They are supported by, surprisingly, no more than a few New Testamentscholars. Arguments are seldom given; the commentators contentthemselves with saying that such an interpretation fits the immediatecontext well.Nevertheless I t h ink this interpretation is the right one. First of all itdoes fit the context very well, because in these verses Paul mentions thedisclosure of each person's works (see verse 13a especially). A supposedunnecessary repetition in verse 13, an argument often put forward bythe advocates of the other view, is not a decisive point against it, sinceredundancy is obviously a feature of Paul's writing elsewhere (see, forexample, Rom 7.14-25; Gal 2.16). Besides, when "work" is the intendedsubject there is no need to assume a change in the meaning of the idea of"fire" in the latter part of the verse.But there are other arguments as well in favour of understanding"(everyone's) work" as the subject of the verb "be revealed". Thisinterpretation not only fits the immediate context, it also accords wellwith the traditional Jewish-Christian theme that not only a person's worksbut even our secret deeds and thoughts will be revealed and judged onthe Day of Judgement. And the verb apokalyplein "to reveal" is a termthat is associated with "secrets" (as, for example, in Luke 12.2 "Nothingis covered up that wi l l not be revealed, or hidden that wil l not be madeknown," RSV).Finally, nowhere in the whole Greek l i terature does the passive of thisverb apokalyplein go with "day"; and nowhere is a revelation of the (last)day mentioned, except in one reference from John Chrysostom, which isitself a part ial quotat ion and interpretation of 1 Corinthians 3.13. On theother hand, however, th is verb does occur with ergon "work" in Greekl i t e ra tu re , and the combination is found in at least one text which isindependent of Paul's writings (Sirach 11.27, at a person's death there is"a revelation of his works").All this makes it most likely that in 1 Corinthians 3.13 "(everyone's)work" should be regarded as the intended subject of the verb apoka/yptetai"will be revealed". Paul wants to emphasise that builders of the churchwi l l be judged by God at the end of the age. Fire wil l test and reveal theirworks, even their activit ies that have gone unnoticed by other people. Andeach person wi l l be rewarded according to his or her efforts for the buildingup of the church.HARM W. HOLLANDEROn scam u Jhougnis . . .Ihe article "CanjHuoettm-be divine?":"The ovcrvie»t--oTTTandling capitals in English by John Ellington

Revelation by fire: 1 Corinthians 3.13

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Revelation by fire: 1 Corinthians 3.13

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