Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved
Why is there parentheses around “by grace ye are saved”?
THANKS!
It is in parentheses because of grammar. Consider the following sentences:
“Buzz Aldrin — the second man on the Moon — is now as famous as Neil Armstrong.”
“Buzz Aldrin, the second man on the Moon, is now as famous as Neil Armstrong.”
“Buzz Aldrin (the second man on the Moon) is now as famous as Neil Armstrong.”
Each sentence uses a different method to grammatically separate the middle phrase from the rest of the sentence. The middle phrase is called a subordinate clause. Subordinate clauses are clauses which express a related thought regarding what the writer is talking about.
In Eph. 2:5, the Greek grammar indicates that the phrase “by grace you have been saved” is a subordinate clause within the main sentence. The particular translation you quoted chose to use parentheses to indicate that in English. Other translations use different methods.
If my understanding is correct, all translations of Ephesians 2:5 ought to use some method to indicate that “by grace you have been saved” is a subordinate clause, because that is what the Greek grammar indicates. One method of doing so is through parentheses. As the Neil Armstrong example shows, there are other ways too. Thus it is up to the translator how to do it based on which method he thinks is best.
I hope that helps. God bless!
