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Bible
- Thread starter serioja7
- Start date
Pegg
Jehovah our God is One
Generally no. a translation is merely a rendering of the original text into another language. So you should get the same meaning if it is translated correctly.
However, if the translator chooses to 'paraphrase' the original text rather then translate it, then it is as if the translator is giving you his opinion of what the original means, rather then what it actually says.
'the Message' , 'the living bible' & 'gods word' are examples of such a bible.
The best bibles are the literal translations which give you the equivalent sentence from the original language into your own.
Bob Dixon
>implying
Oh, but Pegg, you know that a lot of Bibles are not like that.
The first verse of John's Gospel, for example. You'll know what I'm talking about.
fallingblood
Agnostic Theist
Translating does take some sort of interpretation. I can speak more for Greek then Hebrew, but many times, the Greek word can have various meanings, and it isn't always clear. So there is some interpretation when translating. Especially since a direct translation will not always make very good sense in English.
That is also why you can find so many different translations.
fallingblood
Agnostic Theist
A literal translation doesn't always make sense though. This is especially true in Hebrew. There is a lot of debate as to what a number of passages mean, simply because the Hebrew is not very clear.
In Greek, that is true as well. If you did a literal translation, there are a number of passages that would make little sense.
Mostly yes. That is why it is pretty much good to study the Bible in its original language. Translators or the Bible should be the Jews because it is to them where the Words of God are entrusted (Romans 3:1-3, Ps. 147:19-20, Romans Chapter 2,9 and 11, Sak, 8:23)
A
angellous_evangellous
Guest
Absolutely.
jtartar
Well-Known Member
serioja7,
Your question is a very good one, one that should be contemplated on for some time. The Bible was written Mostly in Hebrew and Greek, with a few parts in Aramaic. Hebrew and Greek are languages much like others that have several words that mean the same, ot nearly the same thing. Also there are words that are spelled the same, but have an entirely different meaning.
For these reasons it is very important for a translator to, not only understand what the words mean, but also to understand the MESSAGE from God. A translator could translate a word correctly, but it might not be correct for the place in scripture.
An example is the Greek word; Proskuneo. This word can mean Worship, and it can also mean great honor, to give reverance to, to give homage to. Here is where most translators make a mistake. At Hebrews 1:6 many Bibles translate Proskuneo as worship. Here is would be worship of Jesus. This is a mistake for ONLY Jehovah God is to be WORSHIPPED. Jesus himself said this at Matt 4:10, also recorded at Luke 4:8. God makes this sure by what He said at Isa 42:8. The Bible tells us that there is only ONE God, Eph 4:4-6, Deut 6:4, Mark 12:29-32, Gal 3:20, John 8:17,18.
The fact is; Hebrew and Greek are easier than most other languages to translate, and that is why God gave the first humans the Hebrew language, and kept His chosen people speaking that language for over 4,000 years.
There are many words that can be mistranslated, so it puts upon the translator a great burden to make sure he translates the proper MESSAGE, on matter what language he is translating into.
Just as the Bible tells us that not many should be teachers, even less should be translators, James 3:1. Remember, this is actually God's words, 2Tim 3:16,17, 2Pet 1:20,21, 1Thess 2:13.
I would say yes. A lot of words will lose it's original meaning when translated to a different language.
Example: the greek word "Logos" is translated to "Word"
All but the most trivial of translation (and selection) has that potential, and most people fail to appreciate the layers of difficulty involved. The most common footnote in the JPS Torah is 'Hebrew meaning uncertain'.
Bob Dixon
>implying
What the hell am I reading?
fallingblood
Agnostic Theist
Obviously something from someone who hasn't studied Biblical Hebrew or Classical/Koine Greek.
Greek sucks. That really is all I can say about the language. It sucks. I enjoy learning how read it, but it still just sucks.
Ignorant drivel. Shamefully, some folks just make things up.
Kathryn
It was on fire when I laid down on it.
This is what cracks me up when people start hollering, "King James only - King James only!"
What are the poor Asians supposed to do?
Adamski
Member
The oldest complete bibles still in existence are
Codex sinacattuis (300ad) in Egypt
Codex vatinatus (325ad) in Rome
They both match the dead sea scroll and the jarome's Latin vulgate, the douay-Rheims 1601, 1899, original king James, and new American catholic bible
Luke 1 all generations will call her the blessed mother of the lord
Codex sinacattuis (300ad) in Egypt
Codex vatinatus (325ad) in Rome
They both match the dead sea scroll and the jarome's Latin vulgate, the douay-Rheims 1601, 1899, original king James, and new American catholic bible
Luke 1 all generations will call her the blessed mother of the lord
St Giordano Bruno
Well-Known Member
Post deleted, wrong thread by mistake:sorry1:
Last edited:
captainbryce
Active Member
I disagree with that 100%. None of them are "the best" as they are all flawed translations in some way or another. For one thing, most "word-for-word" biblical translations are not actual word-for-word translations as they claim. They are translations that compensate for differences in grammar as best they can, to formulate a translation that is as close to word-for-word as they can and still make sense in a different language. But there are things that get lost in translation! Word-for-word translations are helpful, but they are not perfect and they often lead to confusion since it's easy to misunderstand. There are certain phrases and concepts that would make sense in ancient Hebrew that would not make sense in modern English. There are also many more words in English (synonymous words) than there are in Hebrew and it's up to the translators to decide which English word fits best. But they don't always get it right.
The only true "word-for-word" translations are the "interlinear bibles" which you can look at online. They translate entire passages from Hebrew to English, and they are helpful to illustrate the difference in word construction and grammar between the different languages. But they are not very helpful when it comes to gaining any "meaning" from the scripture itself. Again, a word-for-word translation from two languages so different ends up producing a sentence that makes no grammatical sense. You'd have to be a language expert to understand it.
Thought-for-thought translations like the message and the New Living Translation are very helpful for novice readers in terms of putting what God says into context. Yes, they are not perfect by any means since it is ultimately a representation of what the translators believe makes the most sense. But they are good to use as a starting point when trying to decipher scripture. I own a New Living Translation which is a really wonderful, easy to read translation that removes a lot of errors from some of the older translations. However, as you can imagine, it does have its own errors and when you know that you can use a different (more literal) translation to contrast what is actually said, to what the translation assumes it means.
I generally use three bibles for bible study. 1) King James Version ("word-for-word" translated into Old English), 2) New International Version ("hybrid" translated into Modern English), and 3) New Living Translation ("thought-for-thought" translated into Modern English). None of them are perfect and they all have flaws and various translation errors. But when used in conjunction with each other, and contrasted against online interlinear, I find them quite helpful in deciphering the true text.
I think the most important aspect of biblical accuracy is the reader's willingness to find it.
Matthew 7:7-8 (New International Version)
7 Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
And those who are inspired by the Holy Spirit WILL find the answers they seek. They will understand God's message regardless of translation because they Holy Spirit will be guiding them.
John 14:26 (King James Version)
14 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
John 16:3 (New International Version)
3 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
1 John 2:27 (New Living Translation)
27 But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don't need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true--it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.
No, a translation is a "merely" a more or less successful attempt to render the denotation and connotation of text much of which was first transcribed at a largely unknown time by a largely unknown culture.
captainbryce
Active Member
Although I take issue with your comments of "largely unknown time and culture" (at this point in time, biblical scholars and historians actually do know quite a bit about ancient Hebrew culture), I do think there is more truth to your comments than his. The fact is, none of the "translators" of the bible were inspired by God in the same way that the original authors were. To take any translation at face value is ultimately putting your faith in MAN, not God.