Local professor helps to take mystery out of Bible translations

Though it is a good discipline to daily read the Bible, people often can feel overwhelmed, not knowing which Bible translation to use, especially with difficult passages. Recently, as part of a special series "Meet the Authors" at Bethel Seminary, Mark Strauss, professor of New Testament at Bethel and Gordon Fee, professor emeritus at Regents College in Vancouver, talked about that in a seminar called "How to Choose a Bible Translation."

Fee and Strauss have co-authored the book, How to Choose a Translation for All Its Worth: A Guide to Understanding and Using the Bible, making Bible study less of a chore and more of a pleasure. The book is at once a scholarly work and a fascinating read.

Zondervan Publishing House had approached Fee, requesting him to write the book. "They said 'we know what's next for you in your life,'" said Fee, laughing. "So I promptly asked Strauss to join me."

"I was flattered because this issue is a passion of mine," said Strauss. "One of the greatest joys in my life was when I was asked to join in on this venture."

It used to be very simple, in terms of Bible translation,≤ he said. ≥The King James Version was always the one we memorized, and it was considered the only real Bible. But of course today is much more complicated with all the choices.≤

On the day of the seminar, Strauss and Fee addressed the issues of how to know what the differences are between all the translations, concentrating on 25 of them. They also talked about what makes a translation accurate.

≥At the heart is the question of whether a literal version is more reliable than an idiomatic version,≤ explained Strauss. ≥Most of the problems people run across as they try to discern the meaning of a verse lies in this very issue.≤

First of all, no translation is perfect, so it is recommended to use more than one version. The ultimate goal of any translation is to reproduce the meaning of the text, from one language to another. The source language has to impart meaning through the receptor language.

≥Because languages differ, an idiomatic translation is more accurate than a literal one,≤ said Strauss. ≥So our approach is meaning-based, which is more accurate than a word-by-word approach. All good translations are meaning-based.≤

To illustrate the point, Strauss told the story of how the Voterπs Guide in Spanish had to be recalled for errors that were obvious to native speakers, but unaware to the translators. Because words donπt have literal meaning, it is impossible to translate them exactly from one language to another.

≥Take the word åkeyπ in Spanish,≤ he said. ≥What is its literal meaning?≤

Hands went up and different people answered llave, which means an object to open the door; clave, meaning an answer key to a test, or tono, which refers to musical tone, or even tecla, which means button.

Furthermore, when people ask åwhat is your nameπ in Spanish, the word-by-word meaning is åhow you call yourself.

≥You see? The same kind of translating problem happens with biblical language,≤ said Strauss.

For instance, the word charis is Greek for the word grace, which first-year Greek students are often told means ≥undeserved favor.≤ But further research shows that within some contexts, the word grace will mean goodwill or even deserved favor, as in the case of Joseph earning the favor (charis) of Pharaoh.

≥So it is unreliable to translate literally. All languages are idiomatic. Look at the English phrases in this sentence: åBy the way, Iπm hitting the road at the crack of dawn.π Does that translate to mean åAlong the path, Iπm punching the street at the fissure of sunrise?≤ asked Strauss and everyone laughed.

≥That is a perfect example of how the translation gets lost when you try to translate word-by-word from one language to another,≤ he said.

Translating the biblical idioms literally distorts the meaning of the text. Translation must be in a constant mode of interpretation. I canπt insist on my meaning of a word if no one else grasps that meaning. That is what has happened to the word ågay,π for example.

Fee and Strauss answered questions from the seminar attendees. Someone asked about how choosing a translation affects the actual meaning of the original Scriptures. ≥Greek or Hebrew is the inspired text, so if youπre not reading the original text in those languages, youπre already reading a second form.    

Strauss agreed: ≥Godπs Word is the message of the text, not the actual words. Itπs about communication of a message.≤

The question was raised of Eugene Petersonπs Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language. ≥Weπve created a new type of translation concerning Message,≤ said Fee. ≥Peterson wrote the Message originally for his Presbyterian church in Bel Air, Maryland. And I must say he did it quite well, for he took into consideration all the cultural context of the original writings and adapted it into the contemporary cultural context.≤

And how do differing translations affect the inspiration of Scripture? The answer came again from Fee: ≥The original writings themselves were intended to have meaning, so a translation will do exactly the same thing. Whether first written in Greek or Hebrew, it still was an inspired text. So if weπre not reading the original text, weπre already reading a second form.

Another student asked if there were ways to help people break out of believing that the King James Version was the only real option.

≥I have to admit that the King James Version is the greatest expression of English in history, but that translation no longer communicates to a 15-year-old,≤ said Fee.

However, the King James Version can by no means be considered original. It is just one link in a long line of translations; everyday students of the Bible are recommended, therefore, to read other translations. In fact, the real reason that the King James Version needs not to be given so much attention these days is that nobody speaks that language anymore.

But that doesnπt mean that people will be left floundering in a sea of translations. Both Fee and Strauss can recommend Todayπs New International Version for general Bible reading and study. ≥It has the best English translation of the original meaning carried in the words,≤ said Strauss.

 ≥And remember that there is absolutely something good gained in translation. Otherwise, weπd all have to learn to read Greek,≤ said Fee.

For more information, go to http://seminary.bethel.edu/sandiego/events.