Repent or Penance

[robin_hood]

One for the experts in Greek, the word Metanoeo in Greek is translated into English mainly as Repent but sometimes as Penance. although there is a obvious connection between the two words there is also a difference in my mind . In my Strongs Concordance it points more to Repent, is there a wider meaning in the Greek which points to Penance.

 

[Daniel_Marsh]

Hi Robin, a word gains its meaning from its imediate context. So, if a greek word has a range of meanings, one must examine the use of that word in the context given. So, read each passage with a chapter to both sides of it to gain the fuller context. If you can find an outline of a book, go thtough it to see what the train of thought is in that book.

 

[Daniel_Marsh]

The History of NT Translations of Metanoia

The Old Latin

The Latin Fathers translated metanoia as paenitentia, which came to mean “penance” or “acts of penance.” They felt that in order to obtain eternal salvation men had to perform righteous acts of penance as prescribed by one’s confessor priest.

The Latin Vulgate

Jerome established this Old Latin translation as authoritative when he retained paenitentia as the translation of metanoia. The system of penance became an established pathway whereby one hoped to obtain grace.

Early English Versions

John Wycliffe, “the Morning Star of the Reformation,” pioneered the first complete English Bible in the late 1300’s. Unfortunately his work was not based on the original Greek and Hebrew, but was a very literal translation of the Vulgate. Hence we should not be surprised that he translated the Latin agite paenitentiam as “do penance.” This was adopted in 1609-1610 in the Roman Catholic Douay Version.

William Tyndale produced the first printed English NT in 1526. He used repent and repentance for me anoia and metanoeo??, a great improvement over “do penance,” but still misleading in many contexts.

Later English versions, including the Authorized or King James Version of 1611, were deeply indebted to Tyndale’s phraseology, including his repent and repentance.

Repentance as a translation seems to keep the idea that one must turn from his sinful deeds to obtain God’s favor. However, it eliminates the notion that, in addition, one must confess his sins to a priest and do prescribed good works before he can obtain (or regain) grace.

Modern Translations

Modern translators also generally translate metanoia as repentance. While this is an improvement over the Latin translation “penance,” it is in most cases, as we shall now see, a poor reflection of its meaning in the NT.

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