What does the bible really say

[We Never Know]

Im not a religious person but I find it interesting that in my opinion with so many different translations, versions, etc... do we even really know what the bible says or the meaning behind the passages?

John Doe says I think that it translates to mean this.
Jane Doe says no I think that it translates to mean this.

Where did the language get lost to where people have to resort to "I think this it what it means"?

If the language was lost overtime, who taught the translaters the language so they could say "we think it says/means this" .

Has the bible been translated correctly or is it still misunderstood?

 

[Brian2]

Im not a religious person but I find it interesting that in my opinion with so many different translations, versions, etc... do we even really know what the bible says or the meaning behind the passages?

John Doe says I think that it translates to mean this.
Jane Doe says no I think that it translates to mean this.

Where did the language get lost to where people have to resort to "I think this it what it means"?

If the language was lost overtime, who taught the translaters the language so they could say "we think it says/means this" .

Has the bible been translated correctly or is it still misunderstood?

The ancient languages are understood pretty well. Some passages are uncertain but I don't think that makes much difference.
Why is it then that we get so many interpretation differences and misunderstandings?
It goes deeper than just the language. I can show someone a passage that has only one possible meaning and they want to tell me they believe it but it means something else, sometimes the opposite to what the passage actually says.
Then I might get "Oh it's a matter of interpretation" as if it is legitimate to interpret passage any way we want or to twist them any way we want so that they say what we want them to say.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Im not a religious person but I find it interesting that in my opinion with so many different translations, versions, etc... do we even really know what the bible says or the meaning behind the passages?

John Doe says I think that it translates to mean this.
Jane Doe says no I think that it translates to mean this.

Where did the language get lost to where people have to resort to "I think this it what it means"?

If the language was lost overtime, who taught the translaters the language so they could say "we think it says/means this" .

Has the bible been translated correctly or is it still misunderstood?

It's just a bunch of man made up book(s).

So it's only natural that people translate something that had no meaning or definitions in the first place to fit their own particular views, claim 'divine inspiration' to make it sound profound and call it a day.

 

[Augustus]

Im not a religious person but I find it interesting that in my opinion with so many different translations, versions, etc... do we even really know what the bible says or the meaning behind the passages?

Translation of any text is not simply a matter of replacing one word with another but requires a fair degree of interpretation and is dependent on methodological priorities.

For example, think of a poem and how you would translate that? What would you prioritise?
You could focus on rhyme scheme, but this rarely works if you translate literally so you have to adapt. Metre? Same issue. Do you aim to translate metaphors to reflect the original, or to the equivalent metaphor in the target language even if it is completely different? What happens when you have double meanings/homonyms, etc. that aren't retained by translation? These are just some of the issues to be considered.

There is no 'objective' translation of any text, which is why there are many different translations. This would be expected even if there was 100% understanding of every passage in a text.

Can I read a translation without meaning being impacted by the decisions of the translator? No, it's impossible.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Who exactly does the translations?

Names? Faces of these people?

 

[sayak83]

Im not a religious person but I find it interesting that in my opinion with so many different translations, versions, etc... do we even really know what the bible says or the meaning behind the passages?

John Doe says I think that it translates to mean this.
Jane Doe says no I think that it translates to mean this.

Where did the language get lost to where people have to resort to "I think this it what it means"?

If the language was lost overtime, who taught the translaters the language so they could say "we think it says/means this" .

Has the bible been translated correctly or is it still misunderstood?

usually the meaning is quite plain. But then there are ideological reasons why a certain group will try to extract some sort very unobvious meaning out of it.
Exception: The prophesy and revelation parts do not have a plain meaning as they are intrinsically opaque in their writing styles. So there its free for all.

 

[TransmutingSoul]

Im not a religious person but I find it interesting that in my opinion with so many different translations, versions, etc... do we even really know what the bible says or the meaning behind the passages?

John Doe says I think that it translates to mean this.
Jane Doe says no I think that it translates to mean this.

Where did the language get lost to where people have to resort to "I think this it what it means"?

If the language was lost overtime, who taught the translaters the language so they could say "we think it says/means this" .

Has the bible been translated correctly or is it still misunderstood?

Only God and God's Messengers can answer those questions for each of us.

Regards Tony

 

[Augustus]

Who exactly does the translations?

Names? Faces of these people?

Young's literal translation was done by Robert Young

The King James version was done by King James.

The New International Version was done by Kenny International Version

 

[Hockeycowboy]

The account In Daniel 12 says to “make secret the words until the time of the end.....[at that time] true knowledge will become abundant”.....

Jesus highlighted the One who reveals the meaning of the Scriptures (or hides it), @ Luke 10:21.

 

[TransmutingSoul]

The account In Daniel 12 says to “make secret the words until the time of the end.....[then] true knowledge will become abundant”.....

Jesus highlighted the One who reveals the meaning of the Scriptures (or hides it), @ Luke 10:21.

Then there is a frame of reference that can be consided, that the Father has come, and that knowledge is now abundant.

Regards Tony

 

[Aupmanyav]

The King James version was done by King James.

Really? Or it was done during his regime?

 

[Augustus]

Really? Or it was done during his regime?

I was joking

He funded it.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Young's literal translation was done by Robert Young

The King James version was done by King James.

The New International Version was done by Kenny International Version

The divine ones. ;0]

 

[PureX]

Im not a religious person but I find it interesting that in my opinion with so many different translations, versions, etc... do we even really know what the bible says or the meaning behind the passages?

John Doe says I think that it translates to mean this.
Jane Doe says no I think that it translates to mean this.

Where did the language get lost to where people have to resort to "I think this it what it means"?

If the language was lost overtime, who taught the translaters the language so they could say "we think it says/means this" .

Has the bible been translated correctly or is it still misunderstood?

Why assume there was only one right way of interpreting the texts? I have known many creative people over the years, including some writers, and I don't know one that strove for a single invariable result. In fact, in most instances it was just the opposite; they strove for breadth and depth of interpretation of their writing, not a singular unquestionable message. They knew that for their writing to be valuable to a lot of readers it needed to be able to touch them in whatever ways they could identify with.

 

[Windwalker]

Why is it then that we get so many interpretation differences and misunderstandings?

One man's misunderstanding is another man's treasure of divine revelation.

The reason there are so many different interpretations, is because people are different. Each person translates everything, words from a friend, or words from the Bible, through the filter of their own mind and experiences.

It goes deeper than just the language. I can show someone a passage that has only one possible meaning and they want to tell me they believe it but it means something else, sometimes the opposite to what the passage actually says.

Only one possible interpretation? I'd be curious to see an example of this and put it to the test.

As a thought experiment we could try that and see how many different ways there are to interpret the same thing. I personally do not believe in only one way of thinking about or understanding anything. Anything can be looked at from different perspectives and come to different interpretations, Bible or otherwise..

Then I might get "Oh it's a matter of interpretation" as if it is legitimate to interpret passage any way we want or to twist them any way we want so that they say what we want them to say.

But that is what everyone does. Do you believe it is possible to not interpret something? How does that happen? By what mechanism? How do you bypass the interpretive mind?

 

[stvdv]

Im not a religious person but I find it interesting that in my opinion with so many different translations, versions, etc... do we even really know what the bible says or the meaning behind the passages?

Truth is beyond words, but words are used to inspire to find the Truth in your "heart"

So, it's no big deal to me, that all people interpret differently the Scriptures

We all gradually learn by falling down and standing up

Until ...

 

[sun rise]

Translation of any text is not simply a matter of replacing one word with another but requires a fair degree of interpretation and is dependent on methodological priorities.

For example, think of a poem and how you would translate that? What would you prioritise?
You could focus on rhyme scheme, but this rarely works if you translate literally so you have to adapt. Metre? Same issue. Do you aim to translate metaphors to reflect the original, or to the equivalent metaphor in the target language even if it is completely different? What happens when you have double meanings/homonyms, etc. that aren't retained by translation? These are just some of the issues to be considered.

There is no 'objective' translation of any text, which is why there are many different translations. This would be expected even if there was 100% understanding of every passage in a text.

Can I read a translation without meaning being impacted by the decisions of the translator? No, it's impossible.

Then there's the lack of one-to-one words. Greek has many words for 'love', we have one in English. Our word 'light' can mean both illumination and weight and could be used to suggest both so which do you use as the meaning in a translation?

I had a German course where the teacher translated gemütlichkeit as the feeling he gets while sitting with his pipe gazing at the fire with his dog at his side. English dictionaries don't have that. Wikipedia has a web page discussing that one word including Gemütlichkeit ...is a German-language word used to convey the idea of a state or feeling of warmth, friendliness,[1] and good cheer. Other qualities encompassed by the term include cosiness, peace of mind, and a sense of belonging and well-being springing from social acceptance. The adjective "gemütlich" is translated as "cozy" so "gemütlichkeit" could be simply translated as "coziness."

Note that "social acceptance" which Wikipedia uses was not in my German teacher's explanation of that word.

The same issue happens with other scriptures notably the Quran which has some passages translated very differently by different translators. So much so that I sometimes look at 6 or more translations to see the range of possible meaning.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Im not a religious person but I find it interesting that in my opinion with so many different translations, versions, etc... do we even really know what the bible says or the meaning behind the passages?

John Doe says I think that it translates to mean this.
Jane Doe says no I think that it translates to mean this.

Where did the language get lost to where people have to resort to "I think this it what it means"?

If the language was lost overtime, who taught the translaters the language so they could say "we think it says/means this" .

Has the bible been translated correctly or is it still misunderstood?

A lot of the difference are legitimate.

- What audience is the translation for? What's their reading comprehension level? How will they be using the translation?

- When you run into figures of speech in the original text, do you translate them literally (which might end up with something nonsensical in the new language) or use a different figure of speech (which gets the original point across way better)?

- How do you handle phrases that are puns or wordplay in the original language but don't work in the translation?

- When translating a poem or song, do you try to preserve the rhyming structure? The meter? The exact meaning of the text?

On all these questions, any particular approach can be legitimate. Differences between two translations don't necessarily point to disagreements between the translators.

 

[Nakosis]

Im not a religious person but I find it interesting that in my opinion with so many different translations, versions, etc... do we even really know what the bible says or the meaning behind the passages?

John Doe says I think that it translates to mean this.
Jane Doe says no I think that it translates to mean this.

Where did the language get lost to where people have to resort to "I think this it what it means"?

If the language was lost overtime, who taught the translaters the language so they could say "we think it says/means this" .

Has the bible been translated correctly or is it still misunderstood?

I don't think we have any way of knowing for certain the understanding that was intended by the original authors.
I suspect most find meaning according to their needs.
What people need from the Bible may have nothing to do with what the original author meant to say.

 

[Augustus]

I suspect most find meaning according to their needs.
What people need from the Bible may have nothing to do with what the original author meant to say.

They might even have intended that people find meaning according to their needs.

That's certainly not a modern innovation.