The Lord

[Grablevskij]

Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of Jehovah come. And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers; lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. (the Holy Bible, Malachi 4).

I'd like to use some of this as an allusion in my composition. I'll change it a little, but the Bible will be recognizable, I suppose. I'd like to ask you whether I can change that I into he? Or maybe with a capital letter He. Or it is impossible and I should use the Lord?

Michael

 

[Amigos4]

Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of Jehovah come. And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers; lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. (the Holy Bible, Malachi 4).

I'd like to use some of this as an allusion in my composition. I'll change it a little, but the Bible will be recognizable, I suppose. I'd like to ask you whether I can change that I into he? Or maybe with a capital letter He. Or it is impossible and I should use the Lord?

Michael

Hi, Grablevskij!

I'm not an expert on the Bible, but according to all of my Google searches for Malachi 4, what you have written is accurate. Why do you want to change anything from the way it was written in the Bible?

Cheers,
Amigo

 

[David L.]

Yes. You can use 'He' in place of I. Problem is, soon after you have a 'he' referring to Elijah - you may have to substitute Elijah for 'he'.
Why not use plain "God" ?

 

[Amigos4]

Yes. You can use 'He' in place of I. Problem is, soon after you have a 'he' referring to Elijah - you may have to substitute Elijah for 'he'.
Why not use plain "God" ?

David, I don't see how 'He' can be substituted for 'I' in this passage.

Behold, I (God) will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of Jehovah come. And he (Elijah) shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers; lest I (God) come and smite the earth with a curse.

Do I have it correct?

Cheers,
Amigo

 

[Anglika]

Since all English language bibles are translations, there is no reason why you cannot use your own phrasing - provided you do not change the meaning of the extract.

However, since this extract is God speaking, I would be reluctant to say you can change "I" to "he", unless you turn it into reported narrative.