doppleganger said:Thanks for the expanded list of English translations.
I quoted some of these translations above. The issue, I think, is the contention that the only proper English translation would be something like the NIV alternate translation that I also include above: "I will be what I will be." That could be true. I don't know. Though in English, that doesn't necessarily change the meaning expressed by "I am who I am."
the doppleganger
When viewed side by side, translation 'difficulties' like this are usually fairly easy to comprehend and in most cases dismiss. What I see is an overwhelming consensus there. Also, the Bible translates itself referentially. For example the verse in question might be considered with the following:
John 8:58: "Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am."
Is 44:6: "Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel,
And his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts:
'I am the First and I am the Last;
Besides Me there is no God."
Rev 1:17 "And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:"
Rev 1:8 "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty."