New Greek/English Interlinear New Testament - Flipbook - Page 13
xiii
INTRODUCTION
A Paradigm of English Renderings for Greek Verbs
ACTIVE
PASSIVE
PRESENT
I love/am loving
I am loved/am being loved
FUTURE
I will love
I will be loved
IMPERFECT
I was loving
I was being loved
AORIST
I loved
I was loved
PERFECT
I have loved
I have been loved
PLUPERFECT
I had loved
I had been loved
Note: The forms of the middle voice and the passive voice are often indistinguishable in
Greek, frequently resulting in ambiguity. When context clearly suggests the middle voice
is intended, we have often denoted that through the use of a reflexive pronoun, as in the
translation of ἐνδυσάμενος in Acts 12:21: “having clothed himself.”
Mood
Indicative
The indicative mood, by far the most frequent mood appearing in the New Testament,
is, generally speaking, used to convey statements that are factual. As such, verbs in this
mood have been translated simply (usually with just one word, sometimes including an
implied subject).
Βαρναβᾶς δὲ καὶ Σαῦλος ⌜ὑπέστρεψαν εἰς Ἰερουσαλὴμ⌝
AND∿BARNABAS
AND
SAUL
RETURNED
TO
JERUSALEM,
(Acts 12:25)
Ἐν τούτῳ γινώσκομεν ὅτι ἐν αὐτῷ μένομεν
BY
THIS
WE KNOW
THAT IN
HIM
WE REMAIN
(1 Jn. 4:13)
Subjunctive
The subjunctive mood, generally denoting action that is probable or hypothetical, has
been conveyed in our translation with the use of “might” or “may” whenever possible.
But this was not always possible, particularly with conditional sentences (which
inherently convey the subjunctive sense, rendering the “might” or “may” unnecessary).
Occasionally, “could,” “should,” or “let [me/us]” was used to indicate the subjunctive
mood, especially in exhortations. A notable construction that occurs quite frequently
in the New Testament is οὐ μή + an aorist subjunctive verb, which conveys an emphatic
negation. We have rendered such constructions with the phrasing “will by no means . . .”