Bible
Translations, Which Translation is Best?
“We
believe the Bible to be the divinely inspired, infallible,
inerrant,
supreme and final authoritative Word of God the Father for faith
and life.”
Choosing
a Bible is hard. There are so many different translations and study
helps available. The following information provides an overview
of the two basic types of translations. A comparison of the text
of John 1:12-13 provides examples of the end products that result
from the various theories of translation.
Each
type of translation has its value. The dynamic equivalence translations
often provide wording that we can relate to on an emotional level
more easily than the word for word translations do. However,
one
needs to check any dynamic equivalence translation against a word-for-word
one in order to be sure of the exact meaning intended by the
original
authors.
The introduction
or preface to a Bible will tell you what type of translation it
is.
I. Word-for-Word
translations seek to maintain the 1/1 relationship between the words
of the original languages to their meanings in English. The following
are the best known of this type. Note the close similarities of
the translations in these word-for-word translations of John 1:12-13.
A.
The New American Standard Bible: “But as many as received
Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even
to those who believe in His name, who were born not of blood,
nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of
God.”
B.
King James Version: “But as many as received him, to
them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them
that believe
on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of
the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
C.
New King James Version: “But as many as received Him,
to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those
who
believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the
will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
II. Thought-For-Thought Translations or Dynamic Equivalency Translations
seek to communicate the thoughts of the original writer. This process
often requires more interpretation of meaning than the straightforward,
word-for-word approach. The following are some quotes of John 1:12-13
some popular thought-for-thought translations. Note the wide variation
in wording.
A.
New International Version.”[The translators] have striven
for more than a word-for-word translation. Because through
patterns
and syntax differ from language to language, faithful communication
of the meaning of the writers of the Bible demands frequent
modifications
in sentence structure and constant regard for the contextual
meanings of words.”
John
1:12-13. “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed
in his name, he gave the right to become children of God--Children
born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s
will, but born of God.”
B. The New Living Translation: “In making a thought-for-thought
translation, the translators must do their best to enter into
the thought patterns of the ancient authors and to present the
same ideas, connotations, and effects in the receptor language.
In order to guard against personal biases and to ensure the accuracy
of the message, a thought-for-thought translation should be created
by a group of scholars who employ the best exegetical tools and
who also understand the receptor language very well. . . The
translators have made a conscious effort to provide a text that can be easily
understood by the average reader of modern English. The result
is a translation . . . written generally at the reading level
of a junior high school student.”
John
1:12-13. “But to all who believed him and accepted him,
he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn!
This is not a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan—this
rebirth comes from God.”
C.
The Message: (Translated by Eugene Peterson) “If there is
anything distinctive about The Message, perhaps it is because
the text is shaped by the hand of a working pastor. . . Out of
necessity, I became a “translator”, daily standing
on the border between two worlds, getting the language of the
Bible . . . into the Language of Today that we use to gossip
and
tell stories. . .”
“But
whoever did want him, who believed he was who he claimed and
would
do what he said, He made to be their true selves, their child-of-God
selves. These are the God-begotten, not blood-begotten, not
flesh-begotten,
not sex-begotten.”
III. Concluding Observations:
A.
Since the very words of the original text of the Bible are
declared
to have been “God-breathed,” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
we need to consider the exact wording of Scripture to be extremely
important.
B.
Any translation of material from one language to another will
result in some changes in meaning because language is a mirror
of our belief systems and of our environment.
C.
With these facts in mind, it is essential that meaningful Bible
study be based on the most accurate texts available. All of the
word-for-word translations were done by groups of scholars and
checked by other scholars for accuracy in communicating the message
of the original texts.
D.
The better thought-for-thought translations were submitted to
the same editorial scrutiny as the word-for-word translations.
These are quite trustworthy.
E.
Those that are the work of a single person or members of a single
denomination should be carefully checked against a word-for-word
translation.
F.
Simplifying vocabulary may water down the message of Scripture.
Good writers carefully choose the exact words necessary to precisely
communicate an idea or image. A student of Scripture would do
well to expand his vocabulary in order understand the best translation
possible.
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