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By Van Sprague

Don’t stop reading just because there are grammar rules in this article. We are about to break them. On the other hand, if you are one of the few who get excited when you hear words or phrases like “parts of speech,” “participle,” or “punctuation,” you’re going to like this.

The New Testament was primarily written in Greek by the holy men of God. Greek is not English. That seems to go without saying, but it is important to keep in mind when it comes to some rules regarding grammar. Recognizing the differences can both aid your understanding of the Bible and enrich your spiritual life.

One of my favorite places where Greek breaks English rules is Hebrews 13:5.

“Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’” (Unless otherwise stated: Scripture is taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Used by permission. All rights reserved).

This promise is to those of us who are part of “the general assembly and the church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven” (Hebrews 12:23). The Hebrews writer said we can be content with such things as we have, because we have God.

And He won’t leave us.

The emphasis on how much God will not leave us is so strong that it can’t be translated into English. In our language, we have a rule about double negatives. Two negatives make a positive. Sure, a third would make a negative again, but you shouldn’t never not do that. Do you see how it would get difficult to read?

Greek, however, does not consider negatives that way. On the contrary, the more you have, the stronger the force of the “no” becomes.

When God said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you,” He used five “no’s.” Five!

Essentially, He said, “I will never not leave you not even never not forsake you.” Each “no” just stacks the emphasis. God only needs to say something once to make it true. He emphasizes it for our assurance and comfort.

In his expanded translation of the New Testament, Keneth Wuest translated Hebrews 13:5 this way:

“Let your manner of life be without love of money, being satisfied with your present circumstances. For He Himself has said, and the statement is on record, I will not, I will not cease to sustain and uphold you. I will not, I will not, I will not let you down.”

The rules of language may even change, but God will never change (Hebrews 13:8). He will never ever ever ever ever let us down.

Van Sprague is an evangelist at the Church of Christ at Houston Park. He has a wife and three children. Come Visit! Sunday morning Bible class is at 9, with worship at 10 am and 5 pm. Wednesday night Bible class is at 6.