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OET (OET-LV) The love is_being_patient, is_being_kind, the love not is_being_jealous, the love not is_bragging, not is_being_arrogant,
OET (OET-RV) Love is patient and kind. It doesn’t envy others, it doesn’t boast, and it isn’t arrogant.
In this section Paul talked about the importance of love. He described how a person who loves will behave toward others. He concluded that love is more important than any of the spiritual gifts. One day all the spiritual gifts will cease, but love will never cease.
Here are some other possible section headings:
Love
Paul urged believers to act in love
The way of love
In this paragraph Paul used a figure of speech called personification. He wrote as though love is a person who behaves in certain ways. In some languages it may not be possible to say that an abstract idea like love does things. The notes and the meaning lines in the Display suggest some ways to remove this personification if it is necessary.
Love is patient, love is kind.
¶ Love endures patiently. Love is kind-hearted.
¶ If we love other people, we don’t get angry with them easily, and we want to help them.
Love is patient: In some languages there is no noun for Love. It may be necessary to translate the abstract noun Love as a verb.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
A person who loves other people is patient with them
If we love other people we are patient with them
The person with a heart that loves is patient
To love is to be patient
patient: A patient person does not become angry but endures the imperfections and errors of others quietly.
Here are some other ways to translate this word:
endures patiently
endures a long time
doesn’t easily get angry
love is kind: A person who loves acts in a kind and gentle way to others. He or she is generous and thoughtful.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
a person who loves is kind-hearted to others
a person who loves is gentle to others
a person who loves wants to help other people
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
Love is not jealous of others. It does not say that it is better than other people. It is not proud.
If we love other people we are not angry that they have more than us. We do not praise ourselves. We do not think we are better than other people.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud: This tells three things that a person who loves does not do. It is possible that in your language there are idioms that express these actions.
not envy: A person who feels envy for someone else gets upset or angry because that person has possessions, position, or accomplishments that we don’t have.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
is not jealous
is not angry when other people have more than we do
not boast: A person who “boasts” talks about their own possessions, position, or accomplishments. They say they are superior to other people. In some languages there may be an idiom for this (such as the English “show off”).
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
does not boast about what he has done
does not lift himself up
does not praise herself
not proud:The RSV puts this word “proud” in the beginning of verse 5. The Greek word that the BSB translates as proud is literally “puffed up.” People who are proud think that they are better or more important than other people. See how you translated this word in 4:6 and 4:18.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
is not proud of what he has/is
does not think that he is better than other people
is not conceited/arrogant/haughty
In some languages it may be better to translate this as a positive statement. For example:
A person who loves is humble
The Greek idiom for proud is “puffed up,” as if somebody has blown air into the proud person. There may be a different idiom for pride in your language. Idioms in some languages include:
lift up one’s chin/nose
have a tall heart/liver
make one’s body high
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / personification
ἡ ἀγάπη μακροθυμεῖ, χρηστεύεται; ἡ ἀγάπη οὐ ζηλοῖ; ἡ ἀγάπη οὐ περπερεύεται, οὐ φυσιοῦται
¬the love ¬the love (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἡ ἀγάπη μακροθυμεῖ χρηστεύεται ἡ ἀγάπη οὒ ζηλοῖ ἡ ἀγάπη οὒ περπερεύεται οὒ φυσιοῦται)
Here Paul speaks as if love were a person who could be patient, kind, without envy, without “boasting,” and not arrogant. Paul speaks in this way to describe the abstract idea of love in more concrete ways that are easier to think about. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make Paul’s description of love more concrete in another way, such as by speaking about the “people” who love. Alternate translation: [If you love others, you are patient and kind; you do not envy; you do not boast, you are not arrogant]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis
μακροθυμεῖ, χρηστεύεται
˓is˒_being_patient ˓is˒_being_kind
Here Paul does not connect is patient and is kind with any other words. He does this because he wants the Corinthians to think of these two ideas as closely connected. Since English speakers would misunderstand this connection, the ULT has added “and” to clarify that these two ideas are connected. If your readers would also misunderstand the connection, you could add a connecting word like the ULT does or you could express is kind as its own thought. Alternate translation: [is patient; it is kind]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / doublet
οὐ περπερεύεται, οὐ φυσιοῦται
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἡ ἀγάπη μακροθυμεῖ χρηστεύεται ἡ ἀγάπη οὒ ζηλοῖ ἡ ἀγάπη οὒ περπερεύεται οὒ φυσιοῦται)
Here, boast refers to how people try to draw attention to how great they are, often with words. On the other hand, arrogant refers to how highly people think about themselves. If your language has words that fit with these distinctions, you could use them here. If your language does not have words that fit with these distinctions, you can use one general word for “arrogance” or “pride.” Alternate translation: [is not proud]
OET (OET-LV) The love is_being_patient, is_being_kind, the love not is_being_jealous, the love not is_bragging, not is_being_arrogant,
OET (OET-RV) Love is patient and kind. It doesn’t envy others, it doesn’t boast, and it isn’t arrogant.
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.
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