The Evangelical Universalist Forum

Ez 16:53- God reverses or restores the captivity? ESV vs KJV

Theology Biblical Theology
#1

I’m trying to figure out why ESV, etc. translates Eze 16:53 completely opposite to KJV, etc. ?? :confused:

It’s not just a once off either, the following are similar: Deut 30:3, Job 42:10, Ps 14:7, 53:6, 85:1, 126:4, Jer 29:14, 30:3,18, 31:23, 32:44, 33:7, 33:11, 33:26, 48:47, 49:6, 49:39, Lam 2:14, Eze 29:14, 39:25, Hosea 6:11, Joel 3:1, Amos 9:14, Zep 2:7, 3:20 :astonished: :open_mouth:

I think the issue arises from the Hebrew/Greek word that can be translated “turn back” or “turn back to”, so that results in it being either “turn back your captivity” (i.e. reverses it & hence “restore your fortunes”) or “turn back to your captivity” (i.e. restores it, the complete opposite!).

#2

I don’t know about the other citations, but if that’s the place in Ezekiel I’m thinking of (I’m at home so far this morning, not at the office where I can access material) the context absolutely demands a translation of freeing Israel along with Samaria (actually referring to the northern nation of “Israel” back in the days before the Babylon captivity, which was zorched as a warning to the southern nation of “Judah” based on Jerusalem) and Sodom (referring to Sodom :mrgreen:) and reconciling them with one another as well as all of them with God.

The only reason to translate it otherwise would be to avoid conflicting with a theology where Sodom could never be raised to forgiveness and restored to fellowship with Israel and with God–but that would be to translate it absolutely against the narrative context.

(Or maybe this is a different place in Ezekiel, but I know that this is said somewhere in the major prophets, in which case the ESV would be translating the prophecy in line with that other place–possibly against local context…? Again, I’ll have to check when I get to the office later this afternoon.)

#3

I think a helpful place to start is comparing the verses where the phrase appears: mobile.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deut+30%3A3%2C+Job+42%3A10%2C+Ps+14%3A7%2C+53%3A6%2C+85%3A1%2C+126%3A4%2C+Jer+29%3A14%2C+30%3A3%2C18&version=HCSB%3BESV%3BKJV

mobile.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jer+31%3A23%2C+32%3A44%2C+33%3A7%2C+33%3A11%2C+33%3A26%2C+48%3A47%2C+49%3A6%2C+49%3A39%2C+Lam+2%3A14&version=HCSB%3BESV%3BKJV

mobile.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Eze+29%3A14%2C+39%3A25%2C+Hosea+6%3A11%2C+Joel+3%3A1%2C+Amos+9%3A14%2C+Zep+2%3A7%2C+3%3A20&version=HCSB%3BESV%3BKJV

Dare I say the ESV looks more consistent with the phrase than KJV.