we make the apostle say that the consciousness of brotherly love, and of our consequent being “of the truth,” is the basis of our conviction of the sovereign greatness of God. Thus: “ Herein (in our brotherly love) do we perceive that we are of the truth, and herein we shall persuade ourselves that God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.”
The case is not improved if we render the first dre as pro- nominal, and read as follows: “ We shall persuade ourselves in whatever our heart condemn us, that God is greater than our heart.” The object of persuasion, then, is the greatness of God. The sense of condemnation is the occasion of our persuading ourselves: the foundation of our persuasion of God’s greatness is our consciousness of being of the truth.
We conclude therefore,
1. That we must reject all renderings founded on the absolute use of mre/copev. (a.) Because it leaves the mind to supply something which the text leads us to expect that it will supply. (b.) Because the conception of persuasion or assur. ance takes its character from the idea of condemning or accusing (cataywwwcry), and becomes vague if we separate it from that. 2. We must reject explanations founded on the epana- leptic use of 67. for the reasons already given.
We turn now to the rendering adopted by the New Testa- ment Revisers.
This rendering takes the first 671 with éav as relative pro- nominal, and the second as causal ; and is as follows:
“ Herein do we know (or, more properly, perceive) that we, are of the truth; and shall assure (or quiet) our heart before Him in whatsoever our heart may condemn (or accuse) us; be-' cause God is greater than our heart and knoweth all things.”
The only grammatical objection to this rendering, which is entitled to any weight, is that the exact pronominal phrase 67s 2dv does not occur elsewhere in the New Testament; but this is little better than a quibble, since we have really the same combination under another form, viz., Gal. v. 10, detus éav (sO
Lach., West. and H., Tisch., Lightfoot), and possibly in Acts