8:27a
He who searches our hearts: This refers to God. In some languages this will not be clear. If that is true in your language, you may want to explain in the text. For example:
God, who searches our hearts
This change makes who searches our hearts describe God rather than define to whom the word he refers. Some languages must avoid who in this case for the correct meaning. For example:
God searches our hearts and
searches: Here this word indicates that God carefully examines hearts. It does not refer to looking for something that is lost. Here are other ways to translate this word:
sees into (Good News Translation)
-or-
knows (New Living Translation (2004))
hearts: This refers to generally to the hearts of all people. For example:
all hearts (New Living Translation (2004))
The word hearts refers here to the inner being of people, which includes the mind, the emotions, and the will. Use your usual word for that meaning. For example:
insides/liver
-or-
mind and will
See how you translated this word in 1:21 or 6:17.
8:27b
mind: The Greek word here is translated as “the mind” in 8:6 and 8:7. Here it probably refers to the mind generally, as many English versions and scholars translate. God knows what the Holy Spirit is thinking when he groans on our behalf.
8:27c
saints: The Greek word can mean “holy people,” “people dedicated/consecrated to God,” or “people whom God has made holy.” Here it probably implies all of these meanings. In the New Testament, this word refers to all Christians, not to any special group of Christians. See how you translated this word in 1:7.
8:27d
the will of God: Here the word will refers to what God wants to happen. See how you translated this word in 2:18.
© 2020 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.