How Do various versions handle word 'Flesh"?

The Greek word transliterated "sarx" literally means soft tissue, and is often used in the saying "flesh (sarx) and blood" or flesh (sarx) and bone.

Where we run into difficulty is when the word appears to be used metaphorically for unholy desire, i.e. fleshly desire, or unholy thoughts or attitudes, i.e setting our mind on flesh.

In Matthew 26:41 we see flesh contrasted with spirit, with the flesh said to be weak in the area of avoiding temptation.

In John, we see Jesus use flesh metaphorically for Christ's sacrificial death and whoever partakes of that provision, metaphorically eats His flesh, has eternal life. See John 6:51-56

Many times flesh is used to refer generally to all mankind, i.e by the works of the Law no flesh shall be justified.

Another contrast is between flesh and spirit, contrasting fleshly unholiness with spiritual holiness. Thus we are told to walk after the spirit and not after the flesh. Thus to walk after the flesh is to be fleshly minded, whereas to walk after the spirit is to be spiritually minded. Therefore "in the flesh" refers not to our fallen condition, but to the focus of our mind, i.e. when we are walking after the flesh, we are fleshly minded and "in the flesh."

We come now to our controversial verse, Romans 8:9. Calvinists point to this verse as teaching "in the flesh" equates with being unregenerate, because it is contrasted here with being "in the Spirit" not referring to the focus of our mind, but because we are regenerated and indwelt with the Holy Spirit. What Paul is saying is that being in the flesh leads to death in the unregenerate, but once saved, we are always in the spirit in that nothing we do leads to death.

 

Of the 130 times the Greek word occurs, the NKJV translates it once as "carnally minded", once as "bodies", once as "physical" and once as "human". The remaining 126 times it is translated as "flesh" (or similar, like "fleshly").

 

As you know, all modern translations give lip service to concordance, translating the same word meaning into the same English word, so the various modern translations translate sarx willy nilly.

Here are the NASB choices: bodily 1, bodily condition 1, body 2, earth 1, earthly 1, fellow countrymen 1, flesh 129, fleshly 4, life 3, man 1, mankind 1, nation 1, personally 1

The NIV throws sinful nature, sinful man, corrupted flesh and a host of other words, obliterating sarx with over 40 different translations, when just a few would do.

And let us not forget about the ten or so other Greek words also at times translated flesh. It is almost as if they were intentionally trying to obscure God's inspired word.

Do versions translate flesh same word in English, regardless IF different meanings were meant in the Greek text?

Yes, they use the same English word for different Greek word meanings (and even different Greek words) and they use different English words for the same Greek word meaning.

 

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