Capitalize the Pronouns?
1 John 3:1-7 (KJV)
1Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. 2Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 3And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
4Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. 5And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. 6Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. 7Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
There’s no accounting for where the mind wanders, especially in predawn when, truth be told, it should still be asleep anyway. What wandered into my mind this morning while reading the First John lesson for this Sunday was that verse 7b is ambiguous, depending on where the lector puts the inflections. “he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.” Does the second “he” refer to the same person as the first “he” or not?
Then it occurs to me that my problem is this habit of always starting with the King James Version; so what says the NRSV, from which the Sunday lector actually will be reading?
1John 3:1-7 (NRSV)
1See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he* is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. 3And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
4 Everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. 5You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 6No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him. 7Little children, let no one deceive you. Everyone who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.
OK, a little clearer, not much. It would be clearer if the second “he” were capitalized, wouldn’t it. And there has been a cultural, or maybe pious habit among some folks, of capitalizing pronouns that refer to God or Jesus. Does any Bible translation follow that practice? Yep, the New American Standard Bible does:
1 John 3:1-7 (NASB)
1 See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
4 Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him. 7 Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous;
Much clearer, and piously, perhaps from childhood, capitalizing the pronouns appeals to me as properly respectful, reverent. How about another translation? How does the Good News Translation render it?
1 John 3:1-7 (GNT)
1 See how much the Father has loved us! His love is so great that we are called God's children—and so, in fact, we are. This is why the world does not know us: it has not known God.2 My dear friends, we are now God's children, but it is not yet clear what we shall become. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he really is.3 Everyone who has this hope in Christ keeps himself pure, just as Christ is pure.
4 Whoever sins is guilty of breaking God's law, because sin is a breaking of the law.5 You know that Christ appeared in order to take away sins, and that there is no sin in him.6 So everyone who lives in union with Christ does not continue to sin; but whoever continues to sin has never seen him or known him. 7 Let no one deceive you, my children! Whoever does what is right is righteous, just as Christ is righteous.
Clearer still and in accordance with the “sense of it” translation style of the GNT over against the “literal word for word” translation style of the KJV and its successors. But how much liberty is taken with the original Greek?
ΙΩΑΝΝΟΥ Α΄ 3 1881 Westcott-Hort New Testament (WHNU)
1ιδετε ποταπην αγαπην δεδωκεν ημιν ο πατηρ ινα τεκνα θεου κληθωμεν και εσμεν δια τουτο ο κοσμος ου γινωσκει ημας οτι ουκ εγνω αυτον
2αγαπητοι νυν τεκνα θεου εσμεν και ουπω εφανερωθη τι εσομεθα οιδαμεν οτι εαν φανερωθη ομοιοι αυτω εσομεθα οτι οψομεθα αυτον καθως εστιν
3και πας ο εχων την ελπιδα ταυτην επ αυτω αγνιζει εαυτον καθως εκεινος αγνος εστιν
4πας ο ποιων την αμαρτιαν και την ανομιαν ποιει και η αμαρτια εστιν η ανομια
5και οιδατε οτι εκεινος εφανερωθη ινα τας αμαρτιας αρη και αμαρτια εν αυτω ουκ εστιν
6πας ο εν αυτω μενων ουχ αμαρτανει πας ο αμαρτανων ουχ εωρακεν αυτον ουδε εγνωκεν αυτον
7τεκνια μηδεις πλανατω υμας ο ποιων την δικαιοσυνην δικαιος εστιν καθως εκεινος δικαιος εστιν
Quite a bit, obviously; but the GNT is still good. Of the above English translations, however, the NASB is my preference -- the question being, “To capitalize pronouns that refer to God and Jesus, or not to capitalize?” Piety and reverence aside, to capitalize makes for less ambiguity.
TW+