KJV Translation Errors at Mark 6:20

One place where a relatively small error in the King James Version can be found is in the translation of "συνετήρει αὐτόν" (preserved him) as "observed him."

Mark 6:20 - (KJV) For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.

Mark 6:20 - (‘16) because, Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and protected him. And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.

Mark 6:20 (TR) ὁ γὰρ Ἡρῴδης ἐφοβεῖτο τὸν Ἰωάννην εἰδὼς αὐτὸν ἄνδρα δίκαιον καὶ ἅγιον καὶ συνετήρει αὐτόν καὶ ἀκούσας αὐτοῦ πολλὰ ἐποίει, καὶ ἡδέως αὐτοῦ ἤκουεν

Other Scripture uses of "Observe" with a Human Object

• 2 Samuel 11:16 And it came to pass, when Joab observed the city, (שָׁמַר) that he assigned Uriah unto a place where he knew that valiant men were.
• Hosea 14:8 Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have heard him, and observed him:(שׁוּר) I am like a green fir tree. From me is thy fruit found.

There are not a lot of examples, but those that there are defy this "protect" interpretation of "observe."

Interestingly, the Hebrew of 2 Samuel 11:16 is the verb samar (שָׁמַר), which is variously translated, but can have the sense of saving or protecting.  In that particular context, it is plain that "observed" means "inspected."

The Hebrew word used in Hosea 14:8, sur (שׁוּר), only has the sense of watching. Moreover, like the use in Mark 6:20, it is immediately adjacent to a reference to hearing.  So, it is only natural to understand the intended meaning as being one of inspection. 

How was the phrase, "observed him" used in English books from 1511 to 1711?  My initial survey of the Google books from that era seems to confirm that "observed him" was generally used to mean "watched him" or the like.

The fact that the alternative readings in the margin (reproduced above) are "kept him" and "saved him" is the conclusive evidence that such is not the main text reading.  

Furthermore, we see that the "saw" sense of "observed" is the very sense understood by Edward Reynolds, Fellow of Merton College in Oxford (1632) (link to relevant page). Likewise we see Ralph Browning, Lord Bishop of Exceter, (1661) suggesting that "observed him" means that he watched John almost reverentially (link to start of Sermon on Mark 6:20)(link to substance)(Poole seems to concur).  Nathaniel Vincent (1681) seems to think that "observed" means something like "obeyed," (link)(so likewise Matthew Henry) but I was not able to find anyone who remotely contemporary who interpreted the words of the KJV as proposed by the Error-Free KJV folks.

Moreover, the same Greek word is elsewhere translated by the King James translators as "preserved" or "kept".  In fact, the following is the remainder of uses of the Greek word in the New Testament:

Matthew 9:17 Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved. 

Luke 2:19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

Luke 5:38 But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved.

"God Forbid" in the King James Version

Introduction to the Literal Translation Objection to "God Forbid" in the King James Version (and many other English translations)

One of the things I love about the King James Version is that it is generally a literal translation.  It's my translation preference that translators stay out of the idiom substitution business.  For example, if I am reading something translated from German to English, I would prefer the German phrase, "Morgenstund hat Gold im Mund," directly translated to “The morning hour has gold in its mouth," rather than being translated to the similar English expression, "The early bird gets the worm."  The former approach is a literal expression, the latter is a dynamic equivalent expression.  While translating the German expression literally may be a little confusing to English readers, it conveys some of the beauty of the original language, and broadens the English reader's horizons and it seems fairly intuitive after a literal translation.  

I admit that there can be challenges to this translation methodology.  Finnish has the expression, "aukoa päätään," which I understand means "to [continuously] open his head."  The meaning of this idiom is not perfectly clear without some explanation (apparently it means to speak provocatively to the person).  Even more obscure than this is the English expression, "three sheets to the wind," as way of discussing someone who is drunk.  In both of these cases, it might be helpful for the translator to do something more than just literally translate the source language (depending on the extent of existing idiom-sharing between the languages, and the level of abstraction required to understand the idiom). 

There are also grammatical constructions that can complicate literal translation.  For example, while we might prefer to literally translate periphrasis, the actual meaning of certain periphrastic constructions may need to be expressed with significantly different wording in the target language than in the source language.

This leads me to the expression, "God forbid," found about two dozen times in the King James Version, nine times in the Old Testament, and the remainder in the New Testament.  The 1611 KJV never notes this translation issue in the margins at any of the places, whether in the Old Testament, New Testament, or Apocrypha.  In the following lists, I've noted the Septuagint (LXX) translation as a point of interest, with the following notation:

• & cases the LXX uses "μὴ γένοιτο"
• &* cases the LXX uses "μή μοι γένοιτο"
• % cases the LXX uses "μηδαμῶς" 
• X cases the LXX omits 
• M cases the LXX has "May God be merciful to me" or "Mercy Me" form of ἵλεως (G2436)
• NR cases the LXX has "It's not right for me"
• &- cases the LXX uses "μή ... ἔναντι" (not ... next to)

Old Testament "God Forbid" translation of  חָלִילָה (ḥālîlâ)

The KJV translates halila as "God Forbid" in the following passages:

• & Genesis 44:7 And they said unto him, Wherefore saith my lord these words? God forbid that thy servants should do according to this thing:
• &* Genesis 44:17 And he said, God forbid that I should do so: but the man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my servant; and as for you, get you up in peace unto your father.
• & Joshua 22:29 God forbid that we should rebel against the Lord, and turn this day from following the Lord, to build an altar for burnt offerings, for meat offerings, or for sacrifices, beside the altar of the Lord our God that is before his tabernacle.
• & Joshua 24:16 And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the Lord, to serve other gods;
• % 1 Samuel 12:23 Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way:
• X 1 Samuel 14:45 And the people said unto Saul, Shall Jonathan die, who hath wrought this great salvation in Israel? God forbid: as the Lord liveth, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground; for he hath wrought with God this day. So the people rescued Jonathan, that he died not.
• % 1 Samuel 20:2 And he said unto him, God forbid; thou shalt not die: behold, my father will do nothing either great or small, but that he will shew it me: and why should my father hide this thing from me? it is not so.
• M 1 Chronicles 11:19 And said, My God forbid it me, that I should do this thing: shall I drink the blood of these men that have put their lives in jeopardy? for with the jeopardy of their lives they brought it. Therefore he would not drink it. These things did these three mightiest.
• NR Job 27:5 God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me.

Old Testament Literal translation of  חָלִילָה (ḥālîlâ)

The KJV literally translates halila as "far be it" (or the like) in the following passages:

• % Genesis 18:25 - That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?
• % 1 Samuel 2:30 Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.
• % 1 Samuel 20:9 And Jonathan said, Far be it from thee: for if I knew certainly that evil were determined by my father to come upon thee, then would not I tell it thee?
• % 1 Samuel 22:15 - Did I then begin to enquire of God for him? be it far from me: let not the king impute any thing unto his servant, nor to all the house of my father: for thy servant knew nothing of all this, less or more.
• M 2 Samuel 20:20 And Joab answered and said, Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy.
• M 2 Samuel 23:17 And he said, Be it far from me, O LORD, that I should do this: is not this the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives? therefore he would not drink it. These things did these three mighty men.
• &- Job 34:10 Therefore hearken unto me, ye men of understanding: far be it from God, that he should do wickedness; and from the Almighty, that he should commit iniquity.

Old Testament Quasi-Literal translation of  חָלִילָה (ḥālîlâ) with YHWH, namely (חָלִילָה לִּי מֵֽיהוָה) translated as "LORD Forbid" 

The KJV translates (חָלִילָה לִּי מֵֽיהוָה) or the like, namely חָלִילָה (ḥālîlâ) with YHWH, as "The LORD forbid" rather than God forbid.  I refer to this as "Quasi-Literal" because "LORD" is itself a quasi-literal rendering of the tetragrammaton, which is literally Jehovah or Yahweh, but also because it replaces "God" in the dynamic equivalent expression, "God forbid," rather than literally translating the statement. 

• % 1 Samuel 24:6 And he said unto his men, The LORD forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the LORD'S anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the LORD.
• % 1 Samuel 26:11 The LORD forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the LORD'S anointed: but, I pray thee, take thou now the spear that is at his bolster, and the cruse of water, and let us go.
• &* 1 Kings 21:3 And Naboth said to Ahab, The LORD forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee.

New Testament Literal translation of Greek Equivalent[?] of חָלִילָה (ḥālîlâ) namely ἵλεως (hileos)

In one place in the New Testament, Matthew quotes Peter using a Greek wording that is similar to three places where the Septuagint translates halila (the "M" notation above).  Interestingly, the King James translators at Matthew 16:22 seem to provide what appears to be a literal translation of the expression that Peter may have used in Hebrew/Aramaic.  Of course, we do not know whether Peter was speaking Greek or not in this case.     

• Matthew 16:22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.

New Testament "God Forbid" translation of μὴ γένοιτο (me genoito)

The phrase, μὴ γένοιτο, is consistently translated everywhere in the NT as "God forbid."

• Luke 20:16 He shall come and destroy these husbandmen, and shall give the vineyard to others. And when they heard it, they said, God forbid.
• Romans 3:4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.
• Romans 3:6 God forbid: for then how shall God judge the world?
• Romans 3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.
• Romans 6:2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
• Romans 6:15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
• Romans 7:7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.
• Romans 7:13 Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.
• Romans 9:14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.
• Romans 11:1 I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.
• Romans 11:11 I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.
• 1 Corinthians 6:15 Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.
• Galatians 2:17 But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid.
• Galatians 3:21 Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.
• Galatians 6:14 But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.

The non-literal rendering tends to obscure the fact that Romans 3:4 begins, "μὴ γένοιτο· γινέσθω δὲ," (may it never be, but may it be ...) and similarly tends to obscure the fact that Romans 7:13 says "... ἐμοὶ γέγονεν θάνατος μὴ γένοιτο ..." (to me become death - may it never become).

Apocrypha Translations of Similar Expressions

Although it is not inspired Scripture, the Apocrypha was also translated by the KJV translators, and included in the 1611 KJV to be read in churches at the appropriate times.  Although some have argued for a Hebrew original of some (or even all, which seems highly unlikely) of the Apocrypha, the King James translators were working from the Greek (probably original language in most places) as well as translations.  

As highlighted below, the KJV inconsistently translated the Septuagint expressions that seem to correspond to halila.  1 Maccabees 8:23 seems to be a literal translation, perhaps because a non-idiomatic usage was intended.  As this is different from the other renderings, I've denoted it by "L" here.

• M 1 Maccabees 2:21 God forbid (ἵλεως) that we should forsake the Law, and the ordinances:
• L 1 Maccabees 8:23 Good success be to the Romans, and to the people of the Jews, by sea and by land for ever: the sword also and enemy be far from them, (μακρυνθείη ἀπ᾿ αὐτῶν)
• & 1 Maccabees 9:10 Then Iudas said, God forbid (μὴ γένοιτο) that I should doe this thing, and flee away from them: If our time be come, let vs die manfully for our brethren, and let vs not staine our honour.
• &* 1 Maccabees 13:5 Now therefore be it far from me (μή μοι γένοιτο), that I should spare mine own life in any time of trouble: for I am no better than my brethren.

These translation choices seem roughly opposite the NT translation choices, in that the "ἵλεως" expression is translated as "God Forbid" in 1 Maccabees 2:21 but as "Far be it from thee" in Matthew 16:22.  By contrast, "μή μοι γένοιτο" is translated as "be it far from me" in 1 Maccabees 13:5, but as "God Forbid" everywhere else. 

Possible Other Example?

Psalm 109:17 As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him: as he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from him.

Although Psalm 109:17 may seem like a candidate text for another example of "far be it," this text uses the Hebrew word "rahaq" (רָחַק).  So, while there is some similarity in English translation, I don't think it is significant here.

False Opposite Expression

One wonders whether misleadingly inserting "God" into the "far be it ..." idiom renders it a false opposite of the Hebraic way of swearing by God's name: "the LORD do so to me, and more also" (Ruth 1:17), "God do so to me, and more also" (2 Samuel 19:13 and 1 Kings 2:23), "So do God to me, and more also" (2 Samuel 3:34), "So let the gods do to me, and more also" (1 Kings 19:2), "God do so and more also to me" (2 Kings 6:31), "God do so to thee, and more also" (1 Samuel 3:17).  Broadly, the formula "כֹּה יַעֲשֶׂה ...לִי וְכֹה" (do to me, and more also) does seem to invoke God's name explicitly, whereas the name of God is only explicitly invoked in the "halila" expression sometimes, by combining it with the  "halila" expression.

Final Thoughts

I'm almost always a fan of direct, literal translation of the text of Scripture, assuming it can be done with intelligibility.  I don't yet see a persuasive case for sometimes translating the Hebrew idiomatically, and sometimes literally.  I am open to being persuaded, but I'm not sure what shape that persuasion would take.  One interesting question to me is whether ἵλεως (hileos) is sometimes used in place of חָלִילָה (ḥālîlâ) based - at least in part - on their similarity in sound.  My guess is that this idea will not work out because the "h" sound before the Greek iota is usually pronounced much more smoothly than the rough "h" sound of the het. 

Perhaps another time, we should delve into the usage of the "may it never be" in pre-Christian Greek writers, such as Euripides and others.