In Philippians 3:8, the apostle Paul compares his religious
credentials to knowing Jesus. The difference could hardly be more
emphatic: “knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” is of “surpassing value,” but
Paul’s past success is like σκύβαλα (skubala). σκύβαλα is commonly
translated as
rubbish,
refuse, or
garbage, but sometimes more strongly as
dung,
in both ancient and modern translations (Vulgate, Tyndale, KJV, NET).
Some have suggested another four-letter translation, stronger than dung.
While teaching Greek, I used to say that σκύβαλα is the closest
thing to a swear word you can find in the New Testament - and I was
repeating something that I had heard or read quite a few times. C.
Spicq's Greek lexicon even suggests that σκύβαλα should be rendered crap. But is it true? Is σκύβαλα a swear word, or maybe a rude word? Or is it unobjectionable?
