insipid

The Gospel According to Matthew 5:13 (NABRE) offers a difficult issue for translators. The tricky part falls in the section I think is best translated as “If salt becomes insipid, in what respect will it be salted?” The word I translated as insipid is from the Greek verb μωραίνω (moraino). This word is from a root that is connected to the idea of foolishness. Clearly, though, there is a contextual problem with this root meaning. Salt doesn’t act foolishly.

It’s certainly possible that there are other similar uses of this word in ancient literature, but I couldn’t find any. It’s equally possible that the word had another use that was not preserved in extant literature. Either way, we’re left having to guess.

After looking and thinking about options, I chose insipid because it likewise has a double meaning in English (“lacking flavor” and “lacking vigor”)—though lacking in vigor is not exactly consistent with the meaning of foolishness suggested by this Greek verb.

related topic: parables

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