OET interlinear HEB 11:5

uW Translation Notes:

Here the author refers to a story about a man named Enoch. Because he pleased God, God did not let him die but instead took him to heaven. You can read about Enoch in Genesis 5:21–24. You might want to include this information in a footnote.

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

πίστει Ἑνὼχ μετετέθη

˱by˲_faith Enoch /was/_translated

If your language does not use the passive form in this way, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. The author uses the passive form here to focus on Enoch, who was transferred, rather than on the person doing the transferring. If you must state who did the action, the author implies that God did it. Alternate translation: “By Enoch’s faith, God transferred him”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

τοῦ μὴ ἰδεῖν θάνατον

¬which not /to/_see death

Here, the phrase see death refers to experiencing death or dying. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea in plain language. Alternate translation: “so that he did not experience death” or “so that he did not die”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

θάνατον

death

If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of death, you could express the idea by using a verb such as “die.” Alternate translation: “himself dying”

Note 4 topic: writing-quotations

καὶ

and

Here the author quotes from the Old Testament Scriptures. While he does not introduce the quotation with any special words, the audience would have understood that these were words from the Old Testament, specifically from Genesis 5:24. If your readers would not know that the quotation is from the Old Testament, you could use words that introduce a quotation from an important text. Alternate translation: “and as you can read in the Scriptures,” or “as it is said in Genesis,”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

οὐχ ηὑρίσκετο

not /was_being/_found

If your language does not use the passive form in this way, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. The author uses the passive form here to focus on Enoch, who was not found, rather than on the people who could not find him. If you must state who did the action, you could use an indefinite subject. Alternate translation: “People did not find him”

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

οὐχ ηὑρίσκετο

not /was_being/_found

Here, the phrase He was not found indicates that no one knew where Enoch was, because he was not on earth any longer. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable phrase that indicates that someone is no longer in an area or space. Alternate translation: “He disappeared” or “He was gone”

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / infostructure

πρὸ & τῆς μεταθέσεως, μεμαρτύρηται εὐηρεστηκέναι τῷ Θεῷ

before & the changing ˱he˲_/has_been/_attested /to_have/_pleased ¬the ˱to˲_God

Here, the phrase before his transfer modifies how Enoch was well-pleasing to God. It may also modify he was reported if God is the one who is doing the “reporting.” If the Scripture or the author of Scripture “reports” this, then before his transfer does not modify he was reported. Arrange the elements in this sentence so that they match your decision about who is doing the reporting. Alternate translation: “he was reported before his transfer to have been well-pleasing to God” or “he was reported to have been well-pleasing to God before his transfer”

Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

μεμαρτύρηται εὐηρεστηκέναι τῷ Θεῷ

˱he˲_/has_been/_attested /to_have/_pleased ¬the ˱to˲_God

If your language does not use the passive form in this way, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. The author uses the passive form here to focus on Enoch, who was reported rather than on the person or thing doing the reporting. If you must state who did the action, the author implies that God did it, or that the Scriptures do it. Alternate translation: “God reported that Enoch was well-pleasing to him” or “the Scriptures report that he was well-pleasing to God”