the Week of Proper 26 / Ordinary 31
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Bible Encyclopedias
Sure; Surely
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Surely in English Versions of the Bible is used almost always to qualify an entire phrase, as in Genesis 28:16 , "Surely Yahweh is in this place." In modern English "surely" used in this way suggests that the statement is being argued and is therefore slightly doubtful, but in Elizabethan English the purpose is to exclude all doubt ("beyond question"). With this force the King James Version uses "surely" to translate almost any emphatic form, and the Revised Version (British and American) has conformed to AV's use, and such changes as have been made by the Revised Version (British and American) (Matthew 26:73; Luke 4:23; Revelation 22:20 , etc.) are merely to preserve uniformity of rendition. The most common use of "surely" in this sense is to translate a verb when emphasized by its own part. (absolute inf. in Hebrew), as "Thou shalt, surely die" (Genesis 2:17 ) for "dying thou shalt die" (compare Genesis 22:17 for the Hebrew construction). In this sense "surely" is sometimes varied by "of a surety" ( Genesis 15:13 , etc.) without the slightest difference in meaning (compare Genesis 9:5 and Genesis 26:9 ). In addition "surely" is used occasionally as a simple adverb where modern English would prefer "securely" or "certainly" (compare Proverbs 10:9 and the King James Version Luke 1:1 , "surely believed," the Revised Version (British and American) "fulfilled," the Revised Version margin "fully established").
Surety , besides its use in "of a surety" appears, in the Old Testament to translate ערב ,
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Orr, James, M.A., D.D. General Editor. Entry for 'Sure; Surely'. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. https://www.studylight.org/​encyclopedias/​eng/​isb/​s/sure-surely.html. 1915.