Bible Translation Journey Part 2: the ESV and Eph 5:32

The last blog post in this mini-series laid the groundwork for how I initially began using the ESV, but then began having issues with the translation. I recognize that there is no "perfect" translation and that all translations have to make interpretive decisions to maintain some level of coherence. The issues I began seeing with the ESV, however, rose to such a level that it caused me to begin considering other options. This blog post will discuss one such text.
Ephesians 5:32

In the fall of 2023, I took a class titled "Scripture Citing Scripture" at Shepherds Theological Seminary with Dr. Michael Vlach. In this class, I had the opportunity to research four cases of Scripture referencing Scripture and note how the later authors used earlier texts. One of the texts I selected was Ephesians 5:31 and its use of Gen 2:24. I was not aware of the depth of issues when I selected this text, but I was amazed when I started diving in.

The context is Paul instructing husbands and wives how to relate to each other. He compares how Christ treats the church and how husbands ought to love their wives, and he quotes Gen 2:24 in Vs 31. But then he says this in Vs 32, which became the focal point of my study:

ESV	LSB/NASB95	NKJV	CSB
This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.	This mystery is great, but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.	This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.	This mystery is profound, but I am talking about Christ and the church.

From a pure translation standpoint, things really hinge on two key things: How does one understand the conjunction (and/but) and the concept of reference? With the side-by-side comparison of these texts, you may notice that the ESV stands alone with "and" instead of "but" and how it renders the concept of reference.[1]

Here's the issue: if the ESV is correct, it seems as though Paul is adding to or possibly even changing the fundamental meaning of the Gen 2:24 text. By rendering the conjunction as "and" and translating Paul's words as "it refers to Christ and the Church", the ESV would be making Gen 2:24 no longer merely about marriage, but it almost becomes a prophetic picture of Christ and the Church.

This is a big deal because it directly influences our hermeneutics. If Paul is adding to or changing the meaning of Gen 2, does that give us freedom to look for other places where something similar may be at play?

Those of you who know me know that I take significant issue with hermeneutical approaches often called "Christocentric" or "Redemptive-Historical" because of their propensity to "find Christ" in places He was never meant to be found. In these approaches, the original intent of the author is so often ignored to force the passage to be about Christ. I do recognize that the Old Testament points us to Christ, and so we might say it is "Christotelic" (i.e. has its goal or end in Christ), but that is fundamentally different from saying that each passage is directly about Christ and therefore we must figure out how to find Him in it. 

But let's set all that aside for a moment. Let's evaluate Eph 5:32 simply based on the original text. Does the ESV provide a defensible translation here? Please permit me to be technical for a bit.

The Greek: τὸ μυστήριον τοῦτο μέγα ἐστίν· ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω εἰς Χριστὸν καὶ εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν.

As literal and wooden as possible, while still being coherent: "This mystery is great; but I am speaking into Christ and into the Church."

The Greek "δε" is best understood to be adversative (showing a degree of contrast, see Larkin, Ephesians: A Handbook on the Greek Text and Hoehner, Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary) and the discourse function of δε is to mark development rather than continuity, which would suggest "but" is a better translation than "and" (see Steven Runge's Discourse Grammar of the Greek New Testament). Thus, the ESV's translation creates an artificial continuity with its "and" translation.

The preposition "εἰς" is best taken as a preposition of reference, but what is a reference to what? I believe the ESV confuses the grammar here by using "it refers" instead of "with reference to":

• The phrase "it refers to" is a phrase that speaks to a meaning shared by two things. It creates an equivalency (e.g., "the phrase 'The Almighty' refers to God.")
• The phrase "with reference to" is a phrase that means that a later concept is being considered in light of the previous ideas, information, or objects (e.g., "With reference to your previous question, I'd like to clarify a few points.")

The second understanding is what an "εις of reference" means. Paul is speaking in light of Christ and the Church, not necessarily drawing a direct equivalency between marriage and the Christ-Church union.

Furthermore, the ESV's translation necessitates that an impersonal pronoun be supplied in translation ("it refers to..."), which is absent from the original text. Adding this to the original text forces the reference back to the mystery as the object of the reference. However, the natural grammar of the text suggests that the object of Paul's reference is Christ and the Church. This is seen through the double use of εις, once before "Christ" and once before "the Church". If Paul was referring to the mystery, the double use of the εις is confusing, as is the lack of the pronoun.

These considerations make it clear that the ESV's translation is simply not supported by the original text. Couple that with the concern that the ESV's translation erroneously leads people to embrace faulty approaches to hermeneutics, and we have here a text of significant concern for faithful Bible interpreters. 

What I believe Paul is doing here is that he is making use of the Christ-Church union to illustrate how husbands and wives should relate to each other, and then in turn is using a godly picture of marriage to illustrate how Christ relates to the Church. This does not mean that marriage means Christ and the Church. Only that there are things to learn by way of analogy and illustration. 

Thus, Genesis 2:24 is not fundamentally about Christ and the Church; it is about the marriage relationship. Paul doesn't change that meaning but rather uses the text to illustrate. 

As I noted at the beginning of the article, I recognize that there is no "perfect" translation, and there are renderings I would take issue with in every translation. Concern over this text, however, is higher than most disagreements, as it directly affects how we understand the Bible at its most basic level. It directly affects our hermeneutics. That's a big deal—big enough to cause me to consider other options.

In the next installment of this mini-series, I will explore one more text that caused me to reconsider my usage of the ESV.

Until then, 

Be blessed; be a blessing

[1] The ESV is a revision of the RSV, and the RSV and NRSV are the only other translations that similarly went this direction:

Ephesians 5:32
CSB This mystery is profound, but I am talking about Christ and the church.
ESV This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.
HCSB This mystery is profound, but I am talking about Christ and the church.
DARBY This mystery is great, but I speak as to Christ, and as to the assembly.
ASV This mystery is great: but I speak in regard of Christ and of the church.
NKJV This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
NASB95 This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.
NASB 2020 This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.
NET This mystery is great—but I am actually speaking with reference to Christ and the church.
NIV This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.
NRSV This is a great mystery, and I am applying it to Christ and the church.
LEB (This mystery is great, but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.)
RSV This mystery is a profound one, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church;
KJV 1900 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
LSB This mystery is great, but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.
NA28 τὸ μυστήριον τοῦτο μέγα ἐστίν· ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω εἰς Χριστὸν καὶ εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν.