complete verse (1 Timothy 1:7)

Following are a number of back-translations of 1 Timothy 1:7:

  • Uma: “They want to become teachers of the Law of Musa, yet they don’t even know [what] its benefit [is]. They say/think [emphatic] they are clever at explaining the meaning of the Law of Musa, yet actually they don’t know its purpose.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “They say that they are the religious-teachers (guru) of God’s law and-what’s-more certainly they do not understand their words/what-they-are speaking-about and what they preach/teach strongly to people.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “For even though they would like to be teachers of the law left behind by Moses, they have no idea about what they are saying, and they do not understand the doctrine which they force on other people.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “They want to teach God’s law, but the truth of it is, they don’t understand what they insist is true and even the words they are saying, they don’t know what they mean (lit. want to say).” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “They want hopefully to be teachers of what was commanded by God. But well, they haven’t understood these words of his. They haven’t comprehended the meaning of that which they teach, even though they testify boldly about it.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “They want it to be said that they know well how to teach God’s law. They speak authoritatively when they teach. But it is not true that they understand about the word they want to teach.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on 1 Timothy 1:7

The false teachers are further described as lacking in adequate understanding of what they are teaching. Of special interest to translators is the fact that this verse is still part of the sentence that began in verse 5. But since the subject matter of this verse is not closely connected with the preceding one, it may be much better to start a new sentence here, as indeed many translations have done.

Desiring translates a present participle, which indicates that the event being discussed is happening at that very moment. The verb “desire” means “to want something,” “to aspire for something”; in this context it can even mean “to claim to be something.” The ambition of these false teachers is to be teachers of the law. Law here may have the general meaning of “divine law” or “teaching from God” (so Good News Translation; compare New English Bible [New English Bible] “moral law”), or may refer specifically to the Old Testament, particularly “the Law of Moses” as contained in the first five books of the Bible (so Contemporary English Version). It is difficult to be certain, but the first option seems more appropriate to the context. Desiring to be teachers of the law may also be rendered as “They want to teach people God’s Law,” if translators follow the first interpretation above. But if the second interpretation is followed, one can translate, for example, “They want to teach people the law that Moses gave (or, handed down).”

But this claim to be the legitimate teachers of the law is shown to be not valid, since these false teachers are without understanding. Understanding translates the present participle of a verb that refers to the act of comprehending something after careful thought and consideration. Many translators will find Good News Translation‘s “but they do not understand” a more natural model. What these false teachers do not understand is twofold: what they are saying, that is, “their own words” (Good News Translation), “the things they say,” and things about which they make assertions. The verb translated make assertions occurs only here and in Titus 3.8 (translated there as “insist on”). The verb means to state something with confidence, firmness, and certainty, hence to affirm, to emphasize (compare Good News Translation “speak with such confidence”).

Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to Timothy. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1995. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator's Notes on 1 Timothy 1:7

1:7a

They want to be teachers of the law: People respected the teachers of Moses’ law and recognized that they were experts. The false teachers about whom Paul was writing here also wanted people to respect them and to consider them experts.

teachers of the law: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as teachers of the law refers to men who were experts in the laws which are recorded in the Old Testament.

the law: Here Paul was referring to the laws that God gave to Moses and that are recorded in the first five books of the Old Testament.

Some ways to translate the law in the sense of “the law of Moses” are:

God’s laws that Moses taught
-or-
the law that God gave to Moses

Since this phrase is singular in English (and Greek), some readers may think that Paul was talking about only one law. If this causes a problem for your readers you may need to use a plural term.

1:7b

they do not understand what they are saying: Paul said that these false teachers did not understand what they were saying. They did not understand the meaning of God’s laws, even though they thought they knew them well enough to teach others. This is similar to what Paul said about the false teachers in 6:4a. See the note there.

1:7c

or that which they so confidently assert: This phrase is similar to what Paul said in 1:7b. However, he now added the idea that the false teachers taught confidently. That meant that they spoke boldly as if they understood what they were teaching.

so confidently assert: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as so confidently assert could also be translated as “insist [on].” This word also occurs in Titus 3:8, where the Berean Standard Bible translates it as “emphasize.”

General Comment on 1:7b–c

In some languages, it may be best to translate 1:7b and 1:7c as two separate clauses, as the Berean Standard Bible does. But in other languages, it may be better to combine both clauses and translate them as only one emphatic clause. For example:

…but they really know absolutely nothing about what they are trying to teach.

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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.

Commentaire sur la traduction de 1 Timothée 1.7

ils prétendent être docteurs de la loi : avec des participes, Paul continue de décrire ces personnes qui perturbent la vie de l’église à Éphèse. Le texte dit littéralement « voulant être maîtres de la loi, ne sachant ce qu’ils disent ni concernant quelles choses ils insistent ».

docteurs de la loi est un mot composé en grec « loi-enseignants ». Selon son utilisation en Luc 5.17 et Act 5.34, il est clair qu’il s’agit d’hommes qui enseignent la loi de Moïse. Le terme simple, souvent rendu « maître » ou « docteur » dans les Évangiles (Matt 8.19), équivaut au titre juif « rabbi » (Matt 23.7), d’où le français « rabbin ».

loi : la question se pose à savoir si la loi en 1 Tim 1.7 renvoie à la loi de Moïse ou à une loi morale au sens général. En Tite 1.14, il y a une référence à la loi juive et cela semble probable ici. Mais certains commentateurs ne sont pas de cet avis, notant que les vices condamnés ont de nombreux parallèles dans la littérature profane, ainsi que dans le NT. Pour la traduction, il y a donc plusieurs possibilités :
1. une traduction littérale : « la loi » (en général), « la loi morale » (certaines versions en anglais) ;
2. « la loi/Loi de Dieu » (Bible en français courant, Nouvelle Français courant) ;
3. « la loi de Moïse » (Parole de Vie ; voir aussi « la Loi », Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Nouvelle Bible Segond, Bible de Jérusalem).

La première option semble la moins probable, et la dernière la plus probable.

alors qu’ils ne savent ni ce qu’ils disent ni ce qu’ils affirment si fortement : la conjonction alors ne figure pas en grec, mais exprime bien le contraste entre le vouloir de ces gens et la réalité. Plusieurs versions introduisent ici la conjonction « mais ».

L’accusation, littéralement « ne saisissant ni les choses qu’ils disent ni au sujet des choses qu’ils affirment catégoriquement » est double : ils ne savent même pas ce qu’ils disent et ils ne comprennent pas le fond de ce qu’ils affirment. D’un certain point de vue, ces deux propositions disent à peu près la même chose, sauf que la deuxième serait plus forte. Bien qu’elle commence par un participe, beaucoup préfèrent commencer la proposition par une affirmation. On pourrait dire « ils ne savent pas ce qu’ils disent » (Parole de Vie, Bible de Jérusalem) ou « ils ne comprennent pas… » (Bible en français courant, La Bible du Semeur, Nouvelle Bible Segond).

ni ce qu’ils affirment si fortement : le verbe exprime le fait d’être sûr de soi, tout en affirmant quelque chose « catégoriquement » (Nouvelle Bible Segond). Les traducteurs devraient trouver une expression forte dans leur langue. La La Bible du Semeur rend ceci explicite en disant « ni les sujets sur lesquels ils se montrent si sûrs d’eux-mêmes ». Voir aussi Tite 3.8.

Source: Zogbo, Lynell & Ellingworth, Paul La première lettre à Timothée – Manuel de traduction – Commentaire linguistique et exégétique de la Bible. Alliance biblique universelle, 2021.