The Historic Present
It is amazing to me that people will pay $100.00 or more for a Bible and not read the Forward or Introduction. After reading the forward you will understand how the translators interpreted the original languages for your particular version of the scriptures.
The New American Standard Bible Forward describes the historic present. Most English versions do not recognize the historic present, but the NASB does. “An asterisk (*) is used to mark verbs that are historical presents in the Greek which have been translated with an English past tense in order to conform to modern usage” (1995 Forward vii).
The “historic present” in Greek is the use of a present tense verb to describe an action that occurred in the past, making a past event more vivid and immediate for the reader or listener. This technique is used to emphasize important moments, introduce new elements in a narrative, and create a sense of drama, as if the events are unfolding right before the reader’s eyes. The historic present makes the past event feel as though it is happening in the present moment.
In the Temptation narrative of Matthew 4:5-11 the historic present is used nine times in five verses (vs. 5,6,8,10,11). Matthew 4:5 – “the devil took Him,” but since this is a historic present, Greek readers would have translated this phrase “the devil takes him.”
Matthew 4:5–11 is a good example of the historic present: “Then the devil takes Him into the holy city; and sets Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and says to Him, ‘If you are Son of God throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will give His angels charge concerning You’; and ‘On their hands they will bear You up, Lest You strike Your foot against a stone.’’ Jesus was saying to him, ‘On the other hand, it is written, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.”’ Again the devil takes Him to a very high mountain, and shows Him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory; and he says to Him, ‘All these things will I give You, if You fall down and worship me.’ Then Jesus says to him, ‘Begone Satan! For it is written, “You shall worship the Lord Your God, and serve Him only.”’ Then the devil leaves Him; and behold angels came and ministered to Him.”
Good examples of the historic present are found in the following verses:
- John 1:29: “The next day, John sees Jesus coming to him and says, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God!’” (uses “sees” instead of “saw”).
- Mark 6:30-44: The feeding of the 5,000 uses present tense narrative: “He takes the five loaves and two fish, and looks up to heaven, and blesses the food.”
- John 13:26-27: Identifying the betrayer: “He gives the piece of bread to Judas Iscariot, and then Jesus tells him, ‘What you are going to do, do quickly.’”
- Matthew 28:8: After finding the tomb empty, the women “run to tell his disciples” (emphasizes urgency).
The historic present is a common literary device found in ancient and modern narratives. It draws the reader into the story, making it feel as if they are experiencing the events in real-time.
Marshall Swindall