What's in a Version?. Henry E Neufeld

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СКАЧАТЬ fact is that the site of Nineveh is about 1800 acres, or 2.8 square miles. The problem for the translator is that it is difficult to determine what a city “of three days journey” actually is. Since we know the approximate size of Nineveh, it’s hard to fit in. Before we knew, for example when the King James Version was translated, it was assumed it would take three days to travel across the city. The NRSV has chosen to continue following that tradition, even though it contradicts the known size of the city. One possibility here is storyteller’s license—making a somewhat exaggerated statement to get the audience’s attention. The first edition of the NIV Old Testament (1978) solved the problem by assuming that the three days journey would be to go all around in the city. The 1984 edition alters that to “visit” but also changes the translation of the Hebrew word “GeDOLAH”, which can mean “great, large or important” so that the verse no longer refers to the size of the city at all.

      A translator’s concern will show through here. Does the translator wish to leave open the possibility of an error in scripture? Even though there may be perfectly good explanations for the expression as it is written, will these be understood by the readers?

      Further study: Read the following text as Jonah starts his preaching after going a day’s journey into the city. Does that suggest anything about how verse three should be translated?

      Controlled by the Spirit?

Romans 8:6

TO GAR PHRONĒMA TES SARKOS THANATOS The for mindset of the flesh death TO DE PHRONĒMA TOU PNEUMATOS ZÔE KAI EIRĒNĒ the but mindset of the spirit life and peace

To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. (NRSV)

The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; (NIV)

If our minds are ruled by our desires, we will die. But if our minds are ruled by the Spirit, we will have life and peace. (CEV)

      The concern in these verses is to whether we understand the mind of the Christian to be controlled by the Holy Spirit, or whether the reference is to us setting our minds on the Spirit. Those who emphasize free will tend to prefer the translation of the NRSV, while those for whom free will is less important will often prefer the NIV.

      2: Creating and Preserving the Bible

      What is the Bible?

      I can't go into great detail in discussing the nature of the Bible in this book. That is a subject in itself. But there are some important basics we need to examine. We don’t have to agree on all of these issues, but it will help us understand translations, if we are aware of them.

      The Bible is the fundamental document of the Christian faith. It is our main resource when we discuss issues between various denominations. We may differ on how we approach it, we may question one aspect or another. Some of us see it as historically and scientifically inerrant, some do not. Some see it as an absolute compendium of doctrine; others as a book of experience from which we can get doctrine. But in spite of the differences, when we begin to argue or discuss amongst ourselves, someone will surely start to quote the Bible.

      It is because all of us take the Bible so seriously that we consider it important that it be translated accurately. If we didn't care so much, we wouldn't spend so much effort, either in translating or in discussing. Christians with different views generally can agree on the need for accurate Bible translation.

      Let me present a few things which I think Christians can agree on in general about the Bible and which will form a basis for discussing translation.

       The Bible is a collection of books, written over a long period of time. The languages in which they were written were Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. The accompanying chart shows the languages in which the books of the Bible were written.

Section	Original Language
Ezra 4:8 - 6:18; 7:12-26; Daniel 2:4-7:28; Jeremiah 10:11; Genesis 31:47 (two words)	Aramaic
Rest of Old Testament	Hebrew
New Testament	Greek

       While the words of much of the scripture are very well preserved we do not have the exact words of the autographs - the original manuscripts which the authors themselves wrote - so we do not have the exact original words.

       The Bible should be made available to Christians everywhere in language they can understand.

      In addition, while some might disagree, I think it is of critical importance that we understand that it is the message which will be preserved over time and not the individual words. I will present many examples of the difficulty of expressing a thought clearly in a new language. The message, however, is preserved.

      Study or Read?

      Many people approach the Bible as a book to be studied slowly, sort of like a physics text. You don't read it for pleasure; you work it through line by line. But the Bible contains much that was written for enjoyment, such as poetry and stories. Among the possibilities in selecting a Bible translation is to find one which you can read rapidly as you would read a novel.

      This is not to say that study is not important. Reading rapidly gives one an overview of the topic. Reading particular passages in detail, looking at notes, at other translations and at commentaries can be helpful. But understanding is important in all cases.

      The books of the Bible were originally written, or spoken, in the language of the common people. Hebrew is not a specialized religious language. It was the common language of daily life and commerce among the Israelites. It is closely related to other languages spoken in the area, such as Moabite or Phoenician. The Greek of the New Testament is not the dialect of Plato and Aristotle, but that of the common people of the first century CE, the language they would use in their letters and common documents. In just this way, the language of a modern translation should be that which is commonly understood by its intended readers.

      I will examine each of these areas in the chapters that follow, but the key question I want to answer is: How can you select the best version to use? In other words, how does all this affect me?

      Authoring the Bible

      Sometimes when asked who is the author of the Bible, Christians say “God.” And there is certainly some truth in that. After all, we have the familiar text:

       ¹⁶ Everything in the Scriptures is God ’s Word. All of it is useful for teaching and helping people and for correcting them and showing them how to live. ¹⁷ The Scriptures train God’s servants to do all kinds of good deeds. – 2 Timothy 3:16 (CEV)

      We accept that as true, but we also can observe the scriptures as they are, and they don’t look like they were written by a single author (see Appendix E). This is because God uses spokesmen, the prophets and apostles, СКАЧАТЬ