2 Cor. 4:6

This is one of the most difficult verses in the New Testament to translate in a way in which the long string of "prepositional phrases" from the Greek will make sense in English. The verse ends with an uninterrupted string of (count them!) 8 "prepositional phrases", which are case-marked nouns or pronouns with or without explicit prepositions in Greek which, formally, can translate to prepositional phrases in English. Normal English does not tolerate such a long string of prepositional phrases. Ideally, a translator of this Greek verse should examine each prepositional phrase to discover the semantic relationships among the objects, then translate these relationships into English forms which more naturally encode these relationships. Greek prepositional phrases do not need to be translated only into English prepositional phrases. Sometimes the Greek meaning is better translated with some other English form, which has the same semantic relationships as did the Greek. Compare the Greek with the translations in various English versions:

Greek: o}ti oJ qeoV" oJ eivpwvn, evk skovtou" fw'" lavmpsei, o}" e{lamyen ejn tai'" kardivai" hJmw'n proV" fwtismoVn th'" gnwvsew" th'" dovxh" tou' qeou' ejn proswvpw/ (ijhsou') cristou'.

Transliterated: hoti ho theos ho eipwn, ek skotous phws lampsei, hos helampsen en tais kardiais he:mwn pros phwtismon te:s gnwsews te:s dokse:s tou theou en proswpw (ie:sou) xristou.

Interlinear: because the God the one having spoken out of darkness light will shine (is) he who shone in the hearts of us for illumination of the knowledge of the glory of the God in face of [Jesus] Christ.

Greek phrase alignment with transliteration and interlinear:

1. o}ti oJ qeoV" oJ eivpwvn,
1. hoti ho theos ho eipwn,
1. because the God the one having spoken

2. evk skovtou"
2. ek skotous
2. out of darkness

3. fw'" lavmpsei,
3. phws lampsei,
3. will shine

4. o}" e{lamyen
4. hos helampsen
4. (is) he who shone

5. ejn tai'" kardivai"
5. en tais kardiais
5. in the hearts

6. hJmw'n
6. he:mwn
6. of us

7. proV" fwtismoVn
7. pros phwtismon
7. for illumination

8. th'" gnwvsew"
8. te:s gnwsews
8. of the knowledge

9. th'" dovxh"
9. te:s dokse:s
9. of the glory

10. tou' qeou'
10. tou theou
10. of the God

11. ejn proswvpw/
11. en proswpw
11. in face

12. (ijhsou') cristou'.
12. (ie:sou) xristou.
12. of (Jesus) Christ.

KJV: For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

NKJV: For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

NRSV: For it is the God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

YLT: because [it is] God who said, Out of darkness light [is] to shine, who did shine in our hearts, for the enlightening of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Darby: Because [it is] the God who spoke that out of darkness light should shine who has shone in our hearts for the shining forth of the knowledge of the glory of God in [the] face of [Jesus] Christ.

Far: When God spoke, from darkness light shone; which has shone in our hearts, to enlighten the knowledge of the rectification from God, face to face with Christ.

Wms: For God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in my heart, to give me the light of the knowledge of God's glory, reflected on the face of Christ.

K-L: The God who said, "Let light shine from the midst of darkness," has shone in our hearts, to give enlightenment through the knowledge of God's glory, glowing in the face of Christ.

Bar: It is the God who said: 'Light will shine out of darkness,' who has made his light shine in our hearts to illumine them with the knowledge of the glory of God, seen in the face of Jesus Christ.

Beck: God, who said: "Let light shine out of the dark," has shone in our hearts to bring you the light of knowing God's glory in the face of Jesus Christ.

Cas: And indeed, it is the God who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness', who has shone into our hearts for the spreading abroad of the light sent forth by the revelation of God's glory, even as it is seen upon the face of Christ.

MLB: because God, who commanded that light should shine out of darkness, has made it shine in our hearts so as to show forth the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ".

NASB: For God, who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

NIV: For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

NAB: For God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to bring to light the knowledge of the glory of God on the face of [Jesus] Christ.

NJB: It is God who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' that has shone into our hearts to enlighten them with the knowledge of God's glory, the glory on the face of Christ.

NEB: For the same God who said, 'Out of darkness let light shine', has caused his light to shine within us, to give the light of revelation--the revelation of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

REV: For the God who said, ‘Out of darkness light shall shine,’ has caused his light to shine in our hearts, the light which is knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

ISV: For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God's glory in the face of Jesus Christ.

(Note: ISV translated Greek genitive "glory of God" to the best English structural equivalent, the English possessive phrase, "God's glory.")

LB: For God, who said, "Let there be light in the darkness," has made us understand that it is the brightness of his glory that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.

NLT: For God, who said, "Let there be light in the darkness," has made us understand that this light is the brightness of the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.

(Note: LB and NLT regard "shone in our hearts" to be an idiom, which means "to make someone understand.")

NET: For God, who said "Let light shine out of darkness," is the one who shined in our hearts to give us the light of the glorious knowledge of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

(NET fn: Grk "the light of the knowledge of the glory"; dokse:s is translated as an attributive genitive.)

JBP: God, who first ordered light to shine in darkness, has flooded our hearts with his light. We now can enlighten men only because we can give them knowledge of the glory of God, as we see it in the face of Jesus Christ.

TEV: The God who said, "Out of darkness the light shall shine!" is the same God who made his light shine in our hearts, to bring us the knowledge of God's glory shining in the face of Christ.

CEV: The Scriptures say, "God commanded light to shine in the dark." Now God is shining in our hearts to let you know that his glory is seen in Jesus Christ.

(Note: The CEV is the only translation which recognizes the synecdoche of the original "face of Christ" (his face represents all of Christ) and translates it to the best form-meaning equivalent in English.)

NCV: God once said, "Let the light shine out of the darkness!" This is the same God who made his light shine in our hearts by letting us know the glory of God that is in the face of Christ.

GW: ...the same God who said that light should shine out of darkness has given us light. For that reason we bring to light the knowledge about God's glory which shines from Christ's face.

(Note: GW nicely translates the original "face of Christ" to the best form equivalent in English, the possessive phrase, "Christ's face.")

TM: It started when God said, "Light up the darkness!" and our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful.