What are the difficulties in translating the Bible?
What are the difficulties in translating the Bible?
One basic problem inherent in Bible translation is that we do not have the original manuscript of the Bible, but copies of copies of copies… and this causes many problems because translators do not know which of all these copies is correct and which is not, since none of them are identical.
Why is the Bible forbidden to translate?
It was illegal to translate the Bible into local languages. John Wycliffe was an Oxford professor who believed that the teachings of the Bible were more important than the earthly clergy and the Pope. Wycliffe translated the Bible into English, as he believed that everyone should be able to understand it directly.
Is the translation of the Bible accurate?
With this blog post, I hope to give you a leg up on some key concepts and provide some evidence that should bolster your confidence that, while none are perfect in and of themselves, the major modern Bible translations are indeed reliable and are generally faithful to the extant manuscripts.
What happened to the translators of the Bible?
In March 2016, four Bible translators working for an American evangelical organisation were killed by militants in an undisclosed location in the Middle East. Bible translations, then, may appear to be a harmless activity.
Is NLT Bible accurate?
The NLT is a good translation, faithful to the text, and not afraid to use English phrases to translate complex Hebrew and Greek words more faithfully.
Is the ESV a good translation?
The English Standard Version is the result. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that the ESV is a light revision of the RSV and that, because of the textual basis and translational errors carried over from the RSV, it is not a trustworthy translation of the Bible.
What are the most common mistakes in Bible translation?
The mistakes stem from five flawed translation techniques: etymology, internal structure, cognates, old mistranslations, and misunderstood metaphor. (Read more: “ Five Ways Your Bible Translation Distorts the Original Meaning of the Text .”)
What is the first issue to address when translating the Bible?
The first issue that has to be addressed concerns the translator or the translators. Who is going to be the person, or persons, that will actually do the translating of the biblical text? Will it be one person? Will it be a committee? Will the translators come from one denomination or from a number of denominations?
What are the biggest flaws in modern Bible translations?
This represents perhaps the trickiest flaw in modern translations: missing the important parts of metaphor and other symbolic language. Unfortunately, etymology, internal structure, and cognates are the three pillars of Bible translation.
Why don’t modern translations of the Bible work?
But they don’t work very well. Two other factors further degrade modern translations: a general desire not to change historical translations and a misunderstanding of how to translate metaphors like “God’s hand” (God doesn’t literally have a hand) or “the Lord is my shepherd.”