BATTLE OF THE BIBLES: Introduction
A Breif Overview Of Translating The Bible: History And Challenges Of Translation
A Brief History Of Bible Translations
“One who translates a verse literally is a liar since he distorts the meaning of the text, and conversely, one who adds his own translation is tantamount to one who curses and blasphemes God” - Rabbi Yehudah1
Based on the above quote it’s clear that there’s apprehension around translating the bible due to the potential mistakes. However, over time translating the bible became necessary. The Old Testament consists of 2 very ancient languages (Biblical Hebrew and Aramaic) and if you’re a Christian wanting to fully comprehend the whole bible you’d also have to learn Koine Greek. Although during the fifth-century translations such as the Vulgate (which put the whole bible, old and New Testament, into one language, Latin) there was a gap that emerged after this period until Erasmus retranslated the Bible into Latin based on new knowledge. However to someone who couldn’t speak Latin, this was meaningless, Christians still had to rely on intermediaries2. This was changed by John Wycliffe, who translated the Bible into English for the first time. But although Wyckliffe was the first, his translation isn’t the most significant. That honour would go to William Tyndale who translated the Bible and worked on his Bible from 1525 to 1535. Tyndale's Bible would be so influential because it was a major source for the King James Version, which would be the dominant translation for a while. Since then, the number of translations has grown to over 900!2
The Challenge Of Translation
When one finds out that there are almost as many bible translations as there are chapters of the whole bible an obvious question arises. Why so many? How hard can it be to take words from Koine Greek and write down the translation? The Jewish Theologian Rav Moshe Ben Maimon comments on this idea:
“Whoever wishes to translate, and purposes to render each word literally, and at the same time adhere slavishly to the order of the words and sentences in the original, will meet with much difficulty; his rendering will be faulty and untrustworthy. This is not the right method. The translator should first try to grasp the sense of the subject thoroughly, and then state the theme with perfect clearness in the other language. This, however, cannot be done without changing the order of words, putting many words for one word, or vice versa, and adding or taking away words, so that the subject is perfectly intelligible in the language into which he translates”2
But people disagree on the sense of the subject and theme. A Christian translator will read Isaiah 53 and see it as a prophecy of Jesus. A Jewish commentator would say the theme is about Israel. They’d translate these to verses differently.
In addition to that, there’s an issue of emphasis. Does one attempt to translate literally? That risks alienating the readers and losing what a verse means within its cultural context. So then perhaps translate the Bible in a way that modern audiences will understand? But then you risk placing your own ideas into the text.
Then there’s also formality. Do you simplify the text so people can read it easily? Or do you make it intensely formal and fancy to keep the grandiose of the text?
These choices and many others lead to the 900 different versions of the text.
Which is Best
To definitively say that one translation is best is to discount the nuances of translating the bible. That being said, the question is a fun one and gives an interesting excuse to compare various Bible translations and discuss the origins of each. Over the next few weeks, I intend to analyze various translations of Genesis 1:1-5 (From In The Beginning through the first day). We’ll cover translations from various traditions such as Judaism (JPS, ArtScroll, etc), Christianity (KJV, NIV, ESV, and many more), Messianic Judaism (Tree of Life), Mormon translations (JSV/IV), and Biblical scholarship Scholarship (NRSVue). We will go over the history of each version and then analyze how it translates Genesis and why.
Footnotes
mgg (2021) Great Quotes About Bible Translation Mr. Greek Geek https://www.mrgreekgeek.com/2021/05/27/great-quotes-about-bible-translation/#easy-footnote-bottom-1-511 citing The Babylonian Talmud: Seder Nashim: Kiddushin (Daf 49a)
American Bible Society News Team (2009) NUMBER OF ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS OF THE BIBLE American Bible Society
mgg (2021) Great Quotes About Bible Translation Mr. Greek Geek https://www.mrgreekgeek.com/2021/05/27/great-quotes-about-bible-translation/#easy-footnote-bottom-1-511 citing Miscellany of Hebrew Literature Vol. 1, “Translation Of An Epistle Addressed By R Moses Maimonides To R Samuel Ibn Tibbon” (Trübner, 1872), p. 222. (H/T to William Whitt Genesis.)