# First Section of First Article of De Substantia



## Justified (Oct 31, 2016)

I have begun translating some of the _De Substantia_ by Caspar Olevian, primarily to work on my Latin, but secondarily for all your guys' edification. No promises on how far I will go or how much I'll post, but here is what I did in a short time this morning.

Of The Substance of the Covenant of Grace Between God and the Elect

First Part

Article One:

_Concerning the Creator and man with whom He makes his covenant_​
1. God had promised through the prophet Jeremiah that He would make a new covenant with us, not according to that covenant which he made with our fathers, when he led them out of the land of Egypt: because they made void that covenant. This will be the covenant: that He will put his law in us and write it on our hearts; and He will be unto us our God, and we ourselves will be His people; because He will forgive our iniquity and remember our sins no more (Je. 31, He. 8). This kind of covenant promises to us knowledge of the true God, which also embraces the free remission of our sins in Christ and also the renewal of man into the image of God and the covenant produces this of itself.

Edit: Improvements made at Rev. Winzer's suggestion.


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## MW (Oct 31, 2016)

Thankyou, Evan. I will try to follow through the text as you go.

Typo: "and remember or sins;" and remember our sins.


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## Justified (Oct 31, 2016)

Awesome. Feel free to correct not only how it comes out in the English, but also my translation.

I am going for mostly a literal translation, but trying to make sure it matches good English idiom and usage.


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## MW (Oct 31, 2016)

Justified said:


> I am going for mostly a literal translation, but trying to make sure it matches good English idiom and usage.



Excellent. Just the way I like it. 

Is this the text from which you are working? http://www.e-rara.ch/mhr_g/content/titleinfo/3930517


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## Justified (Oct 31, 2016)

The very same .

I am surprised this treatise hasn't been translated yet.


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## MW (Oct 31, 2016)

Evan, on the Latin, it appears that "prophet" is missing before "Jeremiah;" Jer. 31, not 32; and "in Christo" has been left untranslated.

The last part is tricky but it seems to be a reference to the knowledge of God promised in the covenant, and I would translate it as "produces of itself." So the covenant promises to us knowledge of the true God, which embraces the free remission of sins in Christ, and also produces of itself the renovation of man according to the image of God.

This is the twofold benefit of remission and renovation.


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## Justified (Nov 1, 2016)

Thanks for the helpful corrections. A couple were just typos, but some of your suggestions about translation I think are great.

I have already started translating the second section, which is a good deal longer. Early on we see the _duplex beneficium_. Next, Olevianus in brief discusses the distinction between administration and substance. Really great stuff, and entirely relevant to modern discussions (or rather confusions) about covenant theology.

Feel free also to discuss the theology being expounded as well.


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