A condition that is contrary to fact is false. It is not met. People sometimes talk about conditions and what would happen as a result of those conditions being met, but they know that these conditions are not met, so the results also do not happen. (The conditions are the phrase that start with "if.")
In the sentences below, the first clause with "if" is a condition that is contrary to fact. The second clause tells what the result would be if the condition were met. But since the condition is not met, the expected result does not happen.
* If he had known about the party, he would have come to it. (But he did not come.)
* If he knew about the party, he would be here. (But he is not here.)
* If he knew about the party, he would come to it. (But he probably will not come.)
Conditions that are contrary to fact can also be used to express regret about things that are not as desired.
* If only he had come.
* If only he were here.
* If only he would come.
### Reasons this is a translation issue
* Translators need to recognize conditions that are contrary to fact in the Bible.
* Translators need to know their own language's ways of expressing conditions that are contrary to fact.
>"Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! <u>If the mighty deeds had been done in Tyre and Sidon which were done in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.</u>" (Matthew 11:21 ULB)
* The people of Tyre and Sidon had not actually seen Jesus's miracles and repented. Jesus said this to rebuke the people of Chorazin and Bethsaida because they had seen his miracles yet they did not repent.
* It was only because Elisha honored the king of Judah that he would pay attention to the king of Israel. Elisha said this to tell the king of Israel that he did not respect him.
* Jesus was talking about a future time when very bad things would happen. He told what would happen if those days of trouble were to last a long time. He did this to show how bad those days will be - so bad that if they lasted a long time, no one would be saved. But then he clarified that God will shorten those days of trouble, so that the elect (those he has chosen) will be saved.
>The Israelites said to them, "<u>If only we had died by Yahweh's hand in the land of Egypt when we were sitting by the pots of meat and were eating bread to the full.</u> For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill our whole community with hunger." (Exodus 16:3 ULB)
* The Israelites were afraid they would have to suffer and die of hunger in the wilderness. So they wished that they had stayed in Egypt and died there with full stomachs. They were complaining, expressing regret that this had not happened.
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