A Philosophy o f Translation . . . II. HAS THE PURPOSE OF THE TRANSLATION BEEN ATTAINED?
corporates the latest information in the meanings which are attached to the Greek words. III. IS THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE TRANSLATION VALID? The value of a free translation such as has now been placed into the hands of the public is obvious. It is the opinion of the writer, however, that there are also some basic problems which are involved in the work as we have now received it. For the most part, these stem from the philosophy which forms the basis for a non-literal translation. (1) The first disadvantage might be termed a theo logical one. The reader of The New English Bible is at the mercy of the theological prejudices of the translators. The testimony of the translators is that they have in terpreted and therefore accept the responsibility for the finished product. The writer is glad to state his own opinion that the great majority of the “ interpretations” are correct, but there remain those other instances where the reader may be misled. A case in point is the parable of Luke 19:11-27. In this parable the Greek noun basileia occurs three times, and in each case is rendered so as to conform to the position of covenant theology as it is manifest in amil- lennialism and non-dispensational premillennialism. The word is rendered reign in v. 11, and paraphrased in w . 12 and 15 so that one cannot discern that such a word is present. The same word is given a similar treatment in Acts 1:6 where the question of the restoration of the kingdom to Israel is interpreted by the words “ the sov ereignty of Israel.” The word in question is normally translated kingdom, but the theological prejudices of a non-dispensational approach requires its adherent to ex clude from the term any reference to a realm or a people who constitute a part of the kingdom. By this means he escapes the obvious references to a literal, earthly king dom by the Lord at His first advent. In order to escape these implications it is convenient to render the word in the above passages in some other way than by the English word kingdom. The theological disadvantage of such a free translation as this presents problems not only to dispensationalism, but also to the system of covenant theology. The adher ents of the latter position will be hard pressed on the basis of the new version’s rendering of Ephesians 3:5 to refute the truth that the church, composed of Jew and Gentile, was not a subject of revelation in the Old Testa ment. The standard dispensational position that the church is unrevealed until New Testament times is staunchly upheld by the interpretation placed upon this verse by the translators: “ In former generations this was not disclosed to the human race; but now it has been revealed by inspiration to his dedicated apostles and prophets.” ' (2) A second disadvantage in this philosophy might be termed an exegetical one. For example, in I Corin thians 15 the new Bible obscures the Greek term glossa, meaning tongue. In the new translation a different ren dering is given the word in almost every occurrence: “ language of ecstasy,” “ ecstatic utterance,” “ tongues of ecstacy,” “ ecstatic speech,” “ ecstatic language,” and “ strange tongues of ecstasy.” These are all translations of one Greek word within one chapter. Not only is this
In adopting a certain philosophy of translation one commits himself in his purpose to attain certain ends. In the case of the latest version the purpose in view was the production of a piece of literature which would be understandable to the ordinary reader, proper in its literary style, and faithful to the Greek original in its meaning. In the estimation of the writer these goals have been attained in the major part of the New Testa ment translation. The accomplishment of these ends is not difficult to understand when one remembers the high caliber of scholarship which is represented on the com mittees. The merits of this translation could be illustrated abundantly. Perhaps the following selected passages will prove the high quality of the product: (1) In the King James Version of Matthew 20:5 the householder is said to have gone out “ about the sixth and ninth hour.” Realizing that these time designations which represent a literal translation would mean little or nothing to the average English reader, the translators of the new version have rendered the same verse, “ At noon he went out, and at three in the afternoon . . .” (2) The understandability and beauty of style of the translation is well seen in the rendering of the great love chapter: “ Love is patient; love is kind and envies no one. Love is never boastful, nor conceited, nor rude; never selfish, not quick to take offence. Love keeps no score of wrongs, does not gloat over men’s sins, but delights in the truth. There is nothing love cannot face; there is no limit to its faith, its hope, and its endurance” (I Cor. 13:4-7). (3) The appeal which this version will have for young and old alike may be predicted on the basis of a number of passages which at first glance are shocking to the reader. For example, in the King James Version Hebrews 5:12 is rendered, “ For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.” In the new Bible the translation is as follows: “ For indeed, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the ABC of God’s oracles over again; it has come to this, that you need milk instead of solid food.” The letters “ ABC” appearing in the text of Scripture are startling to the reader, but as he medi tates upon the point, he can see how the author’s meaning is conveyed. Other illustrations of this point are “ the tiptoe of expectation” (Luke 3:15) and “ taking to their heels” (Luke 8:34). In considering the success of the translation one other matter which does not relate directly to the philosophy of translation should be introduced. This has to do with the meanings of the words which go together to make up the Greek New Testament. Discoveries of many thou sands of papyri documents in the last eighty years have greatly increased the understanding of the shades of meaning of words and of the Greek idiom. For example, in Matthew 25:15 the word talents on the basis of recent discoveries has been changed to bags of gold, which ex pression is much more intelligible to the English mind. Thus, there is this added value to the work, that it in
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THE KING 'S BUSINESS
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