OET interlinear HEB 11:15

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-words-phrases

καὶ εἰ μὲν

and if on_one_hand

Here, the word And introduces another step in the author’s argument. The word indeed indicates that this further step is in two parts, with the second part beginning with “but” in 11:16. The word if indicates that the first part of the further step is in conditional form. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a different form to indicate these relationships in a natural way. Alternate translation: “Further, on the one hand, if” or “First, if”

Note 2 topic: grammar-connect-condition-contrary

εἰ μὲν & μνημονεύουσιν

if on_one_hand & ˱they˲_/are/_remembering

Here the author is making a conditional statement that sounds hypothetical, but he is already convinced that the condition is not true. He knows that they were not actually thinking of that land from which they went out. He proves that the conditional statement is not true by pointing out that they had opportunity to return but did not take that opportunity. Use a natural form in your language for introducing a condition that the speaker believes is not true. Alternate translation: “if indeed they had really been thinking” or “were they indeed thinking”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ἐκείνης μνημονεύουσιν ἀφ’ ἧς ἐξέβησαν

˱of˲_that ˱they˲_/are/_remembering from which ˱they˲_walked_out

Here the author implies that they could have thought of that land from which they went out as their “homeland.” He does not mean that they could have just thought about that land. If it would be helpful in your language, you could clarify that the author is referring to thinking of that land as a “homeland.” Alternate translation: “they had been thinking of that land from which they went out as their homeland”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

εἶχον ἂν καιρὸν

˱they˲_/were/_having would time

If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of opportunity, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: “they would have been able”