3:16a
Before Paul continued in 3:17 with the spiritual application of his example, he first explained in this verse, as background information, that Christ was the focus of the promise to Abraham. Paul introduced this background information with a Greek conjunction that most English versions translate as “now.” In this context, “now” is not a time word.
The Berean Standard Bible has not translated this conjunction, and some other versions, such as the New International Version and New Living Translation (2004), also do not translate it. In some languages, it will not be necessary to translate this conjunction either. Connect 3:16a to 3:15b in a way that is natural in your language.
The promises were spoken to Abraham: Here Paul compared a “covenant” that men make (in 3:15b) to the promises that God made to Abraham. Paul had referred to that promise in 3:8d when he quoted Genesis 12:3.
The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as were spoken is passive. Some ways to translate this clause are:
• Use a passive clause. For example:
the promises were made to Abraham (Revised Standard Version)
• Use an active clause. For example:
God made his promises to Abraham (Good News Translation)
and to his seed: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as seed means “descendant” in this context. This word is singular. Paul used the singular of seed because he was referring to Jesus Christ. You must use a singular form for this word in your language. For example:
and to his descendant (Good News Translation)
3:16b
The Scripture does not say: In some languages, it may not be natural to speak of the Scripture as saying something. If that is the case in your language, you can say:
The scripture does not use the plural (Good News Translation)
-or-
God did not say (New Century Version)
“and to seeds,” meaning many: In this clause, Paul explained the last phrase of the Scripture quotation that he referred to in 3:16a. He said that Scripture did not use the plural seeds. It did not refer to many people. You must use a plural form for seeds here.
Some other ways to translate this clause are:
“to his descendants,” as if it meant many of them
-or-
“and to your descendants.” That would mean many people. (New Century Version)
3:16c
but: There is a contrast between 3:16b and 3:16c. The contrast is between what Scripture did not say (“seeds”) and what it did say (seed). Languages have different ways to indicate this negative-positive order of contrast. Some of the ways are:
• With the conjunction “but.”
• With a conjunction other than “but.” For example:
Rather (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
Instead
• With no conjunction. For example:
b The Scripture did not say “and to descendants.” c It said “and to your descendant.”
“and to your seed,” meaning One, who is Christ: In this clause Paul stated that Scripture used the singular word seed. This refers to one person. He explicitly said who is the one descendant of Abraham through whom the promise comes. That descendant is Jesus Christ.
Some other ways to translate this clause are:
it says “to his descendant.” It is one person. That person is Christ.
-or-
God said, “and to your descendant.” That means only one person; that person is Christ. (New Century Version)
your seed: The Berean Standard Bible literally translates the Greek pronoun your here. However, in some languages, it may be more natural to use the pronoun “his” here. This will correspond better with the quote “his seed” in 3:16a. An example is given in the first Meaning Line of the Display.
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