Browse

Translating The Bible

Translation is the process of communicating a message into a language that is different from the one in which the message was originally written. The message may be a song, a poem, a story, directions, a telephone message, or a sermon. But if a person is not able to understand that message because it is written or told in an unfamiliar language, the message must be translated in order for that person to understand it. Without the process of translation that message will never be effectively communicated to a new audience (group of hearers). The message may be heard, but it will not be understood. This is especially important when the Bible is the message to be communicated.

The Bible is made up of several individual books that were written and told long ago in various languages quite unfamiliar to us today. These books came together over a period of more than a thousand years to form what we know as the Bible. None of these books were originally written in English (or Spanish or most other languages used throughout the world today). They were written in ancient Hebrew and Aramaic (for the Hebrew Scriptures/Old Testament) and in Greek (for the New Testament). Without Bible translation, people today would have to learn these three languages in order to read and understand the words of the Bible!

The Beginnings of Bible Translation

The work of translating the Bible began around 250 B.C. when a group of Jewish scholars translated the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek because many Jewish people were living in places where Greek was the everyday language. This translation is known as the Septuagint. The purpose of the Septuagint was clear: to communicate the Hebrew Scriptures in the language familiar to most of the Jewish people in these particular places.

Since that first Bible translation, the words of both the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament have been translated into hundreds of languages. These languages include ancient languages (like Coptic, Arabic, Latin, and Syriac), as well as more recent, modern languages (like Portuguese, Russian, Navajo, Danish, Spanish, and English). The purpose behind all these Bible translations is exactly the same as that behind the Septuagint: to put the words of the Bible into a language that people will understand.

How Is Bible Translation Done?

Until recently, most Bible translations were done according to an approach called "formal equivalence" (or "word-for-word"). The goal of the formal equivalence approach is to communicate both the words and the grammatical structure (the "form") of the original language (or source language) into the other language (or receptor language). Such an approach would suggest that the translation is truly accurate and precise. What sometimes happens, however, is that the translation looks and sounds unnatural in the receptor language, because it does not follow the rules of grammar and sentence structure of that language.

In the 1960s, a new way of thinking about Bible translation developed, based on recent theories in communication that focused more on the needs of the audience than on the form of the message. The result was another approach for Bible translation. This new approach is called "functional equivalence" translation and emphasizes the need to translate the meaning of the words in whole thought units (like phrases, sentences, and paragraphs), rather than translating the individual words themselves. This approach is more concerned about the "function" of the words which carry meaning, than on their "form."

Whether using a formal equivalence approach or a functional equivalence approach, Bible translators are always concerned to use the best Hebrew and Greek manuscripts available for their work. Translators base their translations on "critical editions" (or standard editions) of the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament, which offer careful assessments of all available ancient biblical manuscripts. These critical editions ensure that the translations are based on the most accurate and reliable manuscripts available.

Translating the Bible into English

The story of the translation of the Bible into English is long and complex. The chart of the English Bible helps to sort through many of the difficulties in understanding this history. It is important to remember, though, that each of these English Bible translations set out to make versions of the Bible that were reliable and understandable to various audiences.

One of the most important Bible translators was the Englishman William Tyndale (1484-1536), often called "The Father of the English Bible." Tyndale wanted to make the Scriptures understandable to all people. But due to the political and religious tensions that existed throughout Europe during the Reformation (14th–17th centuries), he was unable to get permission to do his translation in England. So he went to Germany, where he published his New Testament in February 1526. Though he experienced a great deal of opposition, he continued his work of translating the Old Testament from Hebrew, and he published the Pentateuch (Genesis through Deuteronomy) in 1530. In 1536, Tyndale was found guilty of heresy, and in October of that same year, he was strangled and burned at the stake.

William Tyndale's English New Testament (1526) was translated directly from Greek sources and not from the Latin version that was read in the churches of his day. By the time he was burned at the stake on charges of heresy in 1536, he had also translated almost half of the Old Testament.

Tyndale's work and influence can still be seen in what is surely the most significant English Bible translation ever done, the King James Version of the Bible, published in 1611. The King James Version (also called the Authorized Version) was prepared at the request of King James I of England at a time when several sectarian versions of the English Bible were in use (most notably the Geneva Bible, favored by Puritans, and the Bishops' and Great Bibles used by the official Church of England; see the chart). Although there was resistance to the King James Version at first (since many people felt a loyalty to their own sectarian translations), it eventually won wide acceptance and became the standard English version of the Bible in the English-speaking world for three centuries. The style of the King James Version is at times unfamiliar to us today because of its very literal dependence on Hebrew and Greek sources (clearly, a "formal" equivalence approach). Still it remains one of the most widely-used English translations of the Bible today.

Why So Many English Bible Translations?

Since the publication of the King James Version, there have been dozens of English Bible translations. Many of them are based on the formal equivalence approach to Bible translation (like the New Revised Standard Version and the Tanakh), and others use the functional equivalence approach (like the Contemporary English Version and the New Living Translation). With so many different English Bible translations done over the past several hundred years, including quite a number of new ones published in the recent past, the Bible reader today must wonder why there are so many of them.

First, languages continually change over time. New words are always being added and others take on different or added meanings. For example, only recently have we begun using the word "internet" as part of everyday speech. And when we hear the word "cool" in a conversation today, it is not always referring to the weather! These two words are examples of how the English language has recently changed.

Second, Bible scholars are continually learning things about ancient Israel and the Near East that can help us better understand the historical and cultural context out of which the Bible emerged. For example, we understand much more clearly today the way the various social classes interacted in the ancient world, as well as the more intimate workings of families, clans, and tribes in ancient Israel. Such discoveries sometimes affect how we understand the words and stories of the Bible. In addition, archaeologists continue to find documents and libraries that help translators understand the ancient Hebrew and Greek languages better, and so help them translate the Bible more accurately. For example, the King James Version translates 1 Samuel 17.22 like this: "And David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage, and ran into the army." The translators had difficulty with one of the Hebrew words in the manuscripts they used, and translated "his carriage" and "keeper of the carriage" based on the context of the narrative. As translators learned more about the Hebrew language and its vocabulary, however, they understood that the verse did not talk about David's "carriage," but about the "carried things" or "baggage" that he had with him for the soldiers in the army. And so the translators of the Revised Standard Version (published in 1952) were able to translate the same verse more accurately: "And David left the things in charge of the keeper of the baggage, and ran to the ranks."

With so many translations of the Bible available today in English and other languages, it is important to remember that no matter who does a Bible translation or which basic approach is used, the purpose is to make the Bible reliable and understandable to those who want to read and hear its words of justice, hope, and love. Without the skill, sacrifice, and efforts of Bible translators, the message of the Bible might have been lost to us forever.

Among recent archaeological discoveries that help translators understand Hebrew and Greek better are the famous Dead Sea Scrolls. This very important discovery consists of a huge collection of manuscripts, including important copies of the Scriptures themselves, which shed light on ancient Israel, the Hebrew language, the beginnings of the early Church, and the way the Scriptures were organized and used by ancient communities. For more about this see the article called "Archaeology and the Bible."
Back to Top