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OET (OET-LV) Or not you_all_have_known that the one being_joined_together to_the one, prostitute body is?
For/Because will_be, he_is_saying:
the two into one flesh.
OET (OET-RV) Or don’t you know that having sex with a prostitute is a joining together, because it says: ‘The two will become one body.’
In 6:12–20 Paul talked about another problem in the church in Corinth. He had heard that some people in Corinth were behaving immorally. It appears that some of the Christians there were saying that it was all right for them to live as they pleased, because God would save and forgive them. They were saying that it did not matter what they did with their bodies. Paul said that they were wrong. In this section he told them why as believers they should honor God in everything they did.
In this paragraph Paul wrote that it is wrong for Christians to behave immorally, that is, to disobey God’s laws about sex. It seems some believers in Corinth had misunderstood what Paul had taught them. Paul had taught that a believer does not have to obey Jewish rules and rituals in order to become acceptable to God. But the Corinthians thought that since Christians do not have to keep the Jewish law, they could do whatever they wanted. Paul said that immoral behavior is wrong because our bodies belong to the Lord and he sent his Spirit to live in our bodies.
Or don’t you know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body?
Do you not know that when you join yourself to a prostitute, you unite your body with hers?
You must/surely know that when a person has sex with an immoral person, the two of them become one person/body.
Do not forget that when a man has relations with a prostitute, he and the prostitute have become like one person.
Or: The Greek word that the BSB translates as Or often occurs before a rhetorical question. It implies that the following sentence will support what Paul said in 6:15. Here this word is not used to indicate a choice between two options. It is perhaps for that reason that some English versions omit this word.
don’t you know: This is another rhetorical question. Paul used this question to make the Corinthians feel ashamed for not remembering important things and thinking like unbelievers. There are two ways to translate this verse part:
as a rhetorical question. For example:
Don’t you realize that the person who unites himself with a prostitute becomes one body with her? (GW)
as a statement. For example:
So you should know that anyone who joins with a prostitute becomes one body with the prostitute. (NCV)
You surely know that anyone who joins himself to a prostitute becomes physically one with her (REB)
he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body: The Greek word that the BSB translates as unites himself means “associates oneself in a very close way.” Here it refers to joining oneself to another in a very close way as a sexual partner.
is one with her in body: This is referring to the physical unity of the sex act. When a man and woman join themselves together sexually, in one sense they become like one person.
For it is said,
This is written in God’s Book:
I say that because the Scriptures say:
For: The Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as For here introduces an explanation of the previous verse part.
it is said: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as it is said here introduces a quotation from Genesis 2:24. Other ways to translate it include:
the Scriptures say (NLT)
it is written
“The two will become one flesh.”
“The two people will become like one person/body.”
“The man and woman will unite and become as one.”
The two will become one flesh: This is a quotation from Genesis 2:24. Paul quoted from this verse in order to explain what he had just said about a man becoming like one person with the prostitute. When God made man and woman, he told them: “a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife and they will become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24).
Genesis 2:24 is also quoted in Matthew 19:5, Mark 10:7–8, and Ephesians 5:31. You will probably want to translate it here in a way similar to the way you translated it in those places. Other possible translation models include:
The two will become one body. (NCV)
The two are united into one. (NLT)
The two of them will be like one person. (CEV)
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion
ἢ οὐκ οἴδατε ὅτι ὁ κολλώμενος τῇ πόρνῃ, ἓν σῶμά ἐστιν?
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἤ οὐκ οἴδατε ὅτι ὁ κολλώμενος τῇ πόρνῃ ἕν σῶμα ἐστίν ἔσονται Γάρ φησίν Οἱ δύο εἰς σάρκα μίαν)
Paul does not ask this question because he is looking for information. Rather, he asks it to involve the Corinthians in what he is arguing. The question assumes that the answer is “yes, we know.” If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea behind this question as an emphatic statement. Alternate translation: [You know for sure that the one who is joined to the prostitute is one body.]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / euphemism
ὁ κολλώμενος τῇ πόρνῃ
the_‹one› ˓being˒_joined_together ˱to˲_the prostitute
Here, being joined to the prostitute is a euphemism for having sex with a prostitute. Paul uses this euphemism in order to be polite. He also picks this specific euphemism because it can also refer to being joined to someone without sexual implications. He uses the phrase in this way in the next verse to speak about union with Christ ([6:17](../06/17.md)). If it would be helpful in your language, you could express being joined to the prostitute with a similar polite euphemism in your language. If possible, use a euphemism that can also work to describe the nonsexual union with Christ in the next verse. Alternate translation: [the one who lives with the prostitute]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
ὁ κολλώμενος τῇ πόρνῃ
the_‹one› ˓being˒_joined_together ˱to˲_the prostitute
If your language does not use the passive form in this way, you can express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Paul uses the passive form here to focus on the person who is joined rather than the person doing the “joining.” If you must state who did the action, Paul implies that the person did it to himself. Alternate translation: [the one who joins himself to the prostitute]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun
τῇ πόρνῃ
˱to˲_the prostitute
Jesus is speaking of prostitutes in general, not of one particular prostitute. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a phrase that refers in general to “prostitutes.” Alternate translation: [to any prostitute]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis
ἓν σῶμά ἐστιν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἤ οὐκ οἴδατε ὅτι ὁ κολλώμενος τῇ πόρνῃ ἕν σῶμα ἐστίν ἔσονται Γάρ φησίν Οἱ δύο εἰς σάρκα μίαν)
Here Paul is pointing out that the one being joined and the prostitute make up one body together. He is not arguing that the one being joined by himself is one body. If it would be helpful in your language, you could include some words that Paul implies. Alternate translation: [is one body with her]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
ἓν σῶμά ἐστιν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἤ οὐκ οἴδατε ὅτι ὁ κολλώμενος τῇ πόρνῃ ἕν σῶμα ἐστίν ἔσονται Γάρ φησίν Οἱ δύο εἰς σάρκα μίαν)
Here Paul is speaking as if the one being joined and the prostitute together share one body when they have sex. He speaks in this way to emphasize the unity that these two people have when they have sex, which is as close as if they had only one body. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this figure of speech with a comparable metaphor or express the idea plainly. Alternate translation: [shares all things with her] or [is united to her]
Note 7 topic: writing-quotations
γάρ, φησίν,
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἤ οὐκ οἴδατε ὅτι ὁ κολλώμενος τῇ πόρνῃ ἕν σῶμα ἐστίν ἔσονται Γάρ φησίν Οἱ δύο εἰς σάρκα μίαν)
In Paul’s culture, For it says is a normal way to introduce a quotation from an important text, in this case, the Old Testament book titled “Genesis” (See: [Genesis 2:24](../gen/02/24.md)). If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable phrase that indicates that Paul is quoting from an important text. Alternate translation: [For it can be read in the Old Testament] or [For in the book of Genesis we read]
Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / quotations
ἔσονται & φησίν, οἱ δύο εἰς σάρκα μίαν
will_be & ˱he˲_˓is˒_saying (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἤ οὐκ οἴδατε ὅτι ὁ κολλώμενος τῇ πόρνῃ ἕν σῶμα ἐστίν ἔσονται Γάρ φησίν Οἱ δύο εἰς σάρκα μίαν)
If you do not use this form in your language, you could translate these statements as indirect quotes instead of as direct quotes. Alternate translation: [it says that the two will become as one flesh]
Note 9 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
ἔσονται & οἱ δύο εἰς σάρκα μίαν
will_be & (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἤ οὐκ οἴδατε ὅτι ὁ κολλώμενος τῇ πόρνῃ ἕν σῶμα ἐστίν ἔσονται Γάρ φησίν Οἱ δύο εἰς σάρκα μίαν)
The passage that Paul quotes here comes from the book of Genesis. The story is about God creating Adam and Eve, the first man and woman. When God brings Eve, the woman, to the man named Adam, the narrative comments that this is why “a man will leave his father and his mother, and he will cling to his wife, and they will become one flesh” ([Genesis 2:24](../gen/02/24.md)). Paul quotes the end of this sentence here. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express what this quote refers to, you could include a footnote explaining the context. Additionally by clarifying what the word two refers to. Alternate translation: [A man and a woman will become as one flesh]
OET (OET-LV) Or not you_all_have_known that the one being_joined_together to_the one, prostitute body is?
For/Because will_be, he_is_saying:
the two into one flesh.
OET (OET-RV) Or don’t you know that having sex with a prostitute is a joining together, because it says: ‘The two will become one body.’
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.