I have a friend who is a VERY sharp Greek/Hebrew scholar. She said that the only people who really KNOW what the bible says are the ones who have a strong understanding of the language of the original texts.
For the rest of us, we must depend on the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Agreed. I’m not a scholar, but I rely on those who are, and those for whom it was their native language.
This is why tradition is so important, and everyone relies on tradition for interpretation in one way or another. The argument isn’t so much between scripture and tradition, but between tradition and tradition.
She is absolutely right, and that is an excellent point.
On that basis, then, who would know this verse better...people who speak Greek or people who don't? People like your friend who study NT Greek as an academic subject in the 20th century, or the people who spoke it natively in the 1st and 2nd centuries?
I submit if we want to understand this verse, we need to go back and find out how the people it was addressed to understood it.