It is Greek to Me

Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 13:7

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things…

The whole passage on love is a masterpiece of literature. That is proven by how it is used and quoted so often today. It is even more evident in the Greek language. I do not think that it is absolutely essential to know Greek and Hebrew to understand the Bible. To make that claim puts you on the same ground as those in the Middle Ages who protected the commoner from the task of reading and interpreting the Scripture on their own by only allowing it to be available in Latin. So, by pointing out this little bit of Greek, my goal isn’t to discourage your studying the Bible in your own language. Thank God for Greek and Hebrew scholars. And thank God we all don’t need to be one to understand the Bible.

Nevertheless, I just thought you might appreciate the beauty of the way this was written. Paul uses four Greek words that all have the same sounding ending. It creates something of a phonetic rhythm that would have been pleasing to the ear and would have made this easier to remember.

There is also an intentional parallel between this verse and verses two and three. It is in the use of the Greek word “panta,” which is translated as “all” in English. In verses two and three it is:

All mysteries

All knowledge

All faith

All I possess

Then, here in verse seven, it is:

Bears all things

Believes all things

Hopes all things

Endures all things

This parallel way of writing emphasizes what is missing from the pantas of verses two and three. It is love that is missing, a love that bears all, believes all, hopes all, and endures all.

I said that the Greek form has a poetic symmetry to it, but the English does as well. It is beautiful in Greek or English and even more beautiful when displayed in life.