Luke 1:15 in the ESV ?

[JimmyH]

I have been reading the AV, the NASB, the NKJV and the ESV alternately and I'm stumped at how the ESV could have interpreted the "must not" where the aforementioned translations do not state it as an imperative.

AV; 15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink;

NKJV; 15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink.

NASB: 15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor,

ESV; 15 for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink,

Can anyone with a knowledge of the original languages enlighten me on the merit of the ESV translator's choice of words in this instance ?

 

[J. Dean]

The NIV translates it "he is NEVER to take wine or strong drink," which leans toward the imperative as well.

---------- Post added at 06:09 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:08 PM ----------

One other thing: keep in mind that just because the word "shall" is used doesn't mean that the implication isn't imperative. If God or an angel told me "X shall do such and such..." I would not mince words regarding imperative or indicative; I would do it.

 

[rbcbob]

The two little words in the Greek are οὐ μὴ which might be rendered in English as “no not”. This double negative would be bad English but it is good and acceptable Greek. One Greek scholar says -

The particles οὐ μή in combination augment the force of the negation, and signify not at all, in no wise, by no means; Thayer

 

[CharlieJ]

It's because the Greek verb for drink is in the subjunctive mood, not the indicative. Beyond that, the quotation is from Numbers 6, in which God is giving instructions for how to be a Nazarite, not merely predicting how Nazarites will act.