OET interlinear 1COR 14:38

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-condition-fact

εἰ & τις ἀγνοεῖ

if & anyone /is/_not_knowing

Here Paul speaks as if some of the Corinthians might be ignorant, but he expects that some of them truly might be. He uses if to identify these people as the ones that he is addressing. If your language does not use if to identify a certain group of people, you can use a form that does do this. Alternate translation: [whoever is ignorant]

ἀγνοεῖ, ἀγνοείτω

/is/_not_knowing ˱him˲_/let_be/_not_knowing

Here, ignorant could refer to: (1) the opposite of “acknowledge” in the last verse (14:37), that is, not accepting the authority of something or someone. Alternate translation: [does not acknowledge this, let him not be acknowledged] (2) not knowing that something is true. Alternate translation: [does not know this, let him continue not to know]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ἀγνοεῖ

/is/_not_knowing

Here Paul does not state what the person is ignorant about. However, the previous verse (14:37) implies that the person is ignorant about how what Paul has written is a command of the Lord. If your readers would not infer this information, you could state it explicitly. Alternate translation: [is ignorant that I am writing a command from the Lord]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / imperative3p

ἀγνοείτω

˱him˲_/let_be/_not_knowing

Here Paul uses a third-person imperative. If you have third-person imperatives in your language, you could use one here. If you do not have third-person imperatives, you could express the idea using a word such as “should” or “must.” Alternate translation: [he must be ignorant]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ἀγνοείτω

˱him˲_/let_be/_not_knowing

Here Paul does not state who is letting him be ignorant. He could mean: (1) that the Corinthians should let him be ignorant. Alternate translation: [you should let him be ignorant] (2) that God lets him be ignorant. Alternate translation: [God will let him be ignorant] or [God will consider him ignorant]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations

ἀγνοείτω

˱him˲_/let_be/_not_knowing

Although him is masculine, Paul is using it to refer to anyone, whether man or woman. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express him with a non gendered word or refer to both genders. Alternate translation: [let him or her be ignorant]

Note 6 topic: translate-textvariants

ἀγνοείτω

˱him˲_/let_be/_not_knowing

In Paul’s language, let him be ignorant and “he is considered ignorant” look and sound very similar. While some early and important manuscripts have “he is considered ignorant” here, many early and important manuscripts have let him be ignorant. Unless there is a good reason to translate “he is considered ignorant,” it is best to follow the ULT here.