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Μὴ δύναται, ἀδελφοί μου, συκῆ ἐλαίας ποιῆσαι, ἢ ἄμπελος σῦκα; Οὕτως οὐδεμία πηγὴ ἁλυκὸν καὶ γλυκὺ ποιῆσαι ὕδωρ.
RBT Greek Interlinear:
Strongs 3361  [list]
Λογεῖον
Perseus

μὴ
not
Adv
Strongs 1410  [list]
Λογεῖον
Perseus
dynatai
δύναται
has power
V-PIM/P-3S
Strongs 80  [list]
Λογεῖον
Perseus
adelphoi
ἀδελφοί
brothers
N-VMP
Strongs 1473  [list]
Λογεῖον
Perseus
mou
μου
of myself
PPro-G1S
Strongs 4808  [list]
Λογεῖον
Perseus
sykē
συκῆ
a fig tree
N-NFS
Strongs 1636  [list]
Λογεῖον
Perseus
elaias
ἐλαίας
olives
N-AFP
Strongs 4160  [list]
Λογεῖον
Perseus
poiēsai
ποιῆσαι
to make
V-ANA
Strongs 2228  [list]
Λογεῖον
Perseus
ē

or
Conj
Strongs 288  [list]
Λογεῖον
Perseus
ampelos
ἄμπελος
a vine
N-NFS
Strongs 4810  [list]
Λογεῖον
Perseus
syka
σῦκα
figs
N-ANP
Strongs 3777  [list]
Λογεῖον
Perseus
oute
οὔτε
nor
Conj
Strongs 252  [list]
Λογεῖον
Perseus
halykon
ἁλυκὸν
a salt [spring]
Adj-NNS
Strongs 1099  [list]
Λογεῖον
Perseus
glyky
γλυκὺ
sweet
Adj-ANS
Strongs 4160  [list]
Λογεῖον
Perseus
poiēsai
ποιῆσαι
to make
V-ANA
Strongs 5204  [list]
Λογεῖον
Perseus
hydōr
ὕδωρ
water
N-ANS
RBT Translation:
A fig tree has no power, brothers of myself, to make olive trees, or vines, neither to make salty water sweet!4
Julia Smith Literal 1876 Translation:
The fig tree, my brethren, cannot make olives, or the vine, figs: so no fountain can make salt and sweet water.
LITV Translation:
My brothers, a fig tree is not able to produce olives, or a vine figs. So neither can a fountain produce both salt and sweet water.

Footnotes

4

 

When in Doubt, Change it!

When The earliest Greek witnesses (Nestle 1904, WH 1881, Tischendorf 8th) clearly have:

οὔτε ἁλυκὸν γλυκὺ ποιῆσαι ὕδωρ

while later or Byzantine-influenced forms (RP, Textus Receptus, GOC editions) modify it into:

οὐδεμία πηγὴ ἁλυκὸν καὶ γλυκὺ ποιῆσαι ὕδωρ
(no spring can produce both salty and sweet water).

That means modern translations (based mostly on the Byzantine majority or TR tradition until recently) rendered the modified versions rather than the original compressed Greek of the earliest witnesses.

ποιῆσαι is an aorist active infinitive (“to make, to do”), not passive.

Thus the sense is:

“Nor to make salty water sweet.”

The difficulty is that Greek here uses accusative + predicate accusative with an infinitive, without an explicit subject. Translators of the Byzantine/TR form supplied πηγή (“spring”) as subject: “No spring can make both salty and sweet water.”

But in the earliest authoritative texts, we should understand an implied subject from the preceding clause (συκῆ … ἄμπελος …), so that the construction is elliptical:

  • “A fig tree cannot make olives, nor vines, nor to make salty water sweet.”

The difficulty in understanding the awkwardness of this compressed accusative-infinitive is probably why later scribes changed it into “no spring can …” phrasing.