#biblical translations

[gladstones-corner]

I usually avoid YouTube these days for a multitude of reasons, but recently I discovered a channel called ReligionForBreakfast. The host, Dr. Andrew Mark Henry, is a Ph.D. of Religious Studies from Boston University. He covers a wide range of topics on his channel, but I'm going to focus on just one today: "What is the Best Bible Translation?"

I won't give you a play by play; that would be redundant at best and insulting to his work at worst. Please just give the video a watch--it's about an hour but it's worth it.

Let's lay some groundwork: Dr. Henry focuses primarily on the Protestant Christian Bible, given that there are a proliferation of English translations. By contrast, the Roman Catholic Bible contains one official English translation. He also mentions the major English translation of the Hebrew Bible, the JPS Tanakh.

I was raised in a Protestant Christian family. Therefore, my comments here will mostly reflect my opinions on the Protestant Christian translations. I lack the proper context for the Roman Catholic and Hebrew Bibles, so I won't be commenting on them here.

Okay, with the preliminaries out of the way, let's get started.

It's extremely interesting that Dr. Henry doesn't discredit any of the major translations. Instead, he makes a distinction between translations designed for critical, scholarly Bible analysis and translations designed to impart doctrinal teachings. I'll call these translation camps "critical" and "denominational" here.

No, Dr. Henry remains mostly neutral on the subject of critical and denominational translations. He points out clearly that--except for the KJV--the big modern translations, regardless of camp, were written by biblical scholars using wide-ranging critical techniques.

While Dr. Henry's neutrality is admirable (and definitely from a more experienced place than my own), I elect to be a bit biased on this topic.

Let me be clear: I think that any translation whose authors willingly sacrifice critical, ecumenical interpretation in favor of one or a few denominations' doctrinal teachings is invalid. This includes, but is certainly not limited to, the ESV and NIV.

And now we reach the KJV. Dr. Henry points out in his video that this translation is based on a much older set of scriptures--primarily the Bishop's Bible--and was revised based on the commonly accepted scholarly standards of the day.

While Dr. Henry essentially defends the KJV's existence as "doing the best with what you have", he does point out that it is one of the weakest in terms of accuracy. Again, his choice to remain neutral is admirable--and likely more correct--but I will not do the same.

The KJV is my least favorite translation of the Christian Bible by--at the very least--a country mile. I could devote an entire post to how disastrous the KJV and its consequences have been to global society. However, I'll constrain myself to the following comments: not only was the translation itself politically motivated, but it was based on translations that were also politically motivated. Further, in the last 400 years, our understanding of--and access to--biblical texts has greatly increased, such that the KJV is now an outdated relic.

So, what does Dr. Henry recommend as far as scholarly analysis goes? The NRSV. This is the preferred translation among biblical scholars of the Christian Tradition, whether Protestant or Catholic (the NRSV has editions with the deuterocanon).

The NRSV was translated by a diverse committee of different faiths--even including Harry Orlinski, who was the editor-in-chief of the NJPS Torah. The committee strove for an academic translation that was faithful to the meaning of the text as it existed within historical context while retaining modern scholarly discussion and consensus.

This is my favorite translation of the Christian Bible as well. However, it's not without its own quirks. For example, the move to use gender inclusive language wherever inferred is admirable--for example, when using language for God, or when Paul writes to the members of various churches. But, in some cases the translators erred a bit, obscuring what would normally be a clearer turn of phrase in ancient Hebrew or Koine Greek. But in all honesty, I'd take a translation that erred on the side of inclusivity than exclusivity any day.

At the end of the day, translations of the Christian Bible necessarily must take into account a polyglot's view. Finding the most ancient sources of a biblical text is critical, but most of our contextualization and explanation of these texts happen after the fact, usually through the study of major thinkers.

In the Christian world, that would be people like Augustine, Aquinas, and others; though I would argue that Christians should also read Maimonides and Spinoza, among others, as the Jewish context cannot be lost when reading these texts or else the whole exercise becomes moot.

All of that is to say, I'm cranky over how the Hebrew Bible has been bastardized over the years. To a lesser extent I'm cranky over how the Christian Bible--namely the Christian New Testament--has also been shredded and bastardized to fit narrow, bigoted viewpoints.

But as an armchair scholar, I'm so glad there are people out there like Dr. Henry who make centuries of biblical analysis and teaching easier to digest. They help me overcome several hurdles that I would have absolutely tripped over in my research--even to the point of wanting to give up (trust me, I've been there once or twice with Augustine).

Thank you for reading. As always, stay safe and stay tuned. Blessings to you and yours~

[sepulchrally-handsome]

Yo, this is fascinating.

Therefore, the use of epiousios seems indeed to occur nowhere else in ancient Greek literature besides Matthew, Luke, and The Didachē.

she tower on my babel till I ἐπιούσιον

[garyconkling]

Public Schools and Sunday Schools

Oklahoma State School Superintendent Ryan Walters has ordered public schools to teach the Bible, including the Ten Commandments. His order reflects a national push by conservative Catholics and evangelicals who believe American democracy is – or should be – rooted in Christian values. They see schools as the foundry to shape the views of the next generation. The Christian nationalism movement is…

[adventism-atheism-orthodoxy-me]

I remember a group Bible study once where I pretty much stopped the study with a question about "and" (και).

My question was over how well we could be sure of our Bible Studies in English if we couldn't understand the nuances and technical usages behind the original Greek Translations. In effect, my question was, when is "and" just an "and", and when is it something else? Needless to say this line of questioning aggravated my Pastor to no end as I persisted in this line of thought.

An "and" is never more than just an "and".

Nevertheless, I have always felt I was being left out of half the conversation when I read my Bible. Protestations otherwise haven't allayed my suspicions at all, rather, they've always made me wonder what chicanery the linguistic traffic controllers are up to with their "faithful translations". This feeling of being left with half a puzzle only intensified as I pursued Orthodox theology and discovered that the "faithful translation" had a particular axe to grind.

All that said. I don't think I'd do well trying to learn Greek. I failed at French, and they at least use the same alphabet we do, and since we borrow a huge number of loanwords from the Normans I figured it would be a cinch. No. So, I've come to the sorry conclusion that I'm not necessarily a linguist. The biggest thing it has done is to prove to me that my suspicions towards a doctrinaire understanding of a particular text (i.e. proof texts) should be taken with a healthy dose of skepticism. It also means that I lean into Orthodox study materials a lot.

[miiishha]

heart eyes

[thebellekeys]

Recommendations for media about translation, interpreting, and foreign languages

Movies and TV

Quo Vadis, Aida? (2020) The Interpreter (2005) The Last Stage (1948)

Books

Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang The Centre by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi Translating Myself and Others by Jhumpa Lahiri The Interpreter by Suki Kim Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok Translation Nation by Héctor Tobar Alphabet of Thorn by Patricia A. McKillip Translation State by Ann Leckie

Other Important Topics and Subjects

La Malinche The Rosetta Stone The Tower of Babel The Adamic Language Esperanto Philology Goethean World Literature

Documentaries and History

The Interpreters: A Historical Perspective The Nuremberg Trials Biblical Translation St. Jerome - patron saint of translators Shu-ilishu's Seal (first depiction of an interpreter)

[reality-detective]

I'll leave this 👆 here... You Decide 🤔

[la-galaxie-langblr]

today on random languages my brain is going 👀 at is biblical hebrew and biblical greek

[atariaaren]

MORE ARTFIGHT ATTACKS >:D

Showtime / @evisceratred Rings / @/V2 Cloudy Chat / @diamxndsdroog Anatomical / @cookiemasterson Poco Uomo / @/Rejer

[bandi-off]

If youre not doing academic research for a fanfiction then where's the joy in it

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Seek the Lord and Live

4 The Lord says this to the family of Israel:

“Seek me so you can live! 5 Do not seek Bethel. Do not visit Gilgal. Do not journey down to Beer Sheba. For the people of Gilgal will certainly be carried into exile, and Bethel will become a place where disaster abounds.” — Amos 5:4-5 | New English Translation (NET Bible) NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved Cross References: Genesis 21:31; 1 Samuel 7:16; 1 Samuel 8:2; 1 Kings 12:28; Deuteronomy 4:29; Deuteronomy 32:46-47; Isaiah 31:1; Jeremiah 29:13; Amos 3:14

Read full chapter

What does God mean when He says, “Seek me and live?”

[urdeepestdesire]

“Oh, crimson Sun— so bloody that I believed it came out of my veins.”

An interpretation of Nashwa Amr’s text

[rhubarbed-triangle]

Thank you Jorge.

Secretary of Public Security City of Valigma Police Report

Responsible Officer: Jorge Book: 24 - 12a Classification: Exile

Report of Sequence of Events

The citizen Bia Raux was exiled from the community after repeated transgressions to the city's regulations and the current government laws. Her conduct was meticulously investigated by competent authorities, revealing practices and behaviors that put the public order and city security at risk. Bia Raux's actions were considered incompatible with the established standards of coexistence, justifying the use of exile as a form of preserving the collective's well-being.

The exile procedure was executed in strict conformity with the legal protocols, assuring that the defendant's rights were fully respected during the judicial process. Witnesses were summoned and statements taken, evidence was presented and examined minutely, culminating in a verdict that determined the imperative need for exile.

After Bia Raux's exile, additional measures were implemented to prevent similar infractions occurring in the future. The authorities reinforced the monitoring of laws and promoted educational campaigns in order to bring awareness to citizens about their obligations and responsibilities. In the present moment, Bia Raux is outside the city limits, subject to rigorous conditions for whatever possibility of reintegration, conditioned to substantial changes in her behavior and demonstration of conformity with the established legal and social standards.

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Jorge N. A. B. F. Q. N. M. Official Sheriff

[livethrushit]

was talking to my friend about how i feel silly calling myself a bby linguist when it's "just a special interest" and not something i'll ever be professionally. they pointed out: a special interest i've spent years learning in various ways outside of academia. through multiple ongoing study groups with friends i've made bc they also love learning these languages, countless books and hyper niche journals, videos, and lotsssssss of study practice.

i learn languages very slowly and grammar fucks me up which gives way to imposter syndrome & being bad at my passion. but id rather spend my days buried in ancient languages and painstakingly learning the philosophies, histories, and methodologies of translation and linguistics than study anything else this in depth more easily.

i've done presentations for study groups on translations of specific words and how vast the interpretations could be as a result. like did you know the whale (it's actually a giant fish) in the biblical story of jonah is a masculine noun in the beginning of the story and changes to a feminine noun later on? and how much that confused the fuck out of early commentators? JUST ONE WORD!! it's beautiful.

i know grammar structures of multiple germanic languages & semitic languages. that's not nothing!! that is COOL actually.

academics are people who are *mostly* able to afford to study their special interests is the way i'm choosing to look at it. barriers don't mean my studies are less important.

[blackhholes]

Biblical Imagery in Teen Wolf

genesis 4:8 / genesis 6:7 / 2nd kings 4:30 / psalms 51:5 / luke 23:34 / john 11:44 / john 13:33-34 / john 20:11 / galatians 6:17 / revelations 19:20