By: Lino Nabong
First, let’s do a quick test to see how you fare with regard to Bible translation knowledge. Can you tell at least half of what the following acronyms stand for: NIV, KJV, NKJV, CEV, LB, MSG, NASB, JB, TEV, NAB, ASV, RSV, NRSV, GNB?
Above are just several of the many English Bible translations available. We even have the Tagalog translations like the Ang Biblia (AB), Magandang Balita Biblia (MBB), Ang Bagong Ang Biblia (ABAB). Ever wondered which one is the best? Or are you just as confused like I was before?
Let me help.
When we read 1 Samuel 24:3 from the King James Version (KJV) which says “and Saul went in to cover his feet” and then read the same verse using the Contemporary English Version (CEV) which says “went into the cave to relieve himself,” do we rightly conclude that these two versions conflict each other? Not really. You see, in the KJV, a euphemism was used by the Old Testament writer. A euphemism is a substitution of a pleasant expression for one that is offensive or unpleasant. A euphemism is something like saying “May dalaw ako” instead of directly saying “Menstruation period ko ngayon”. Filipinos will understand what “dalaw” meant. Now we can translate this “May dalaw ako” in two ways. Either we translate it in its English word-for-word equivalent like “I have a visitor” thus retaining the form. Or just translate the meaning like “It’s my monthly menstruation period.” For a non-Filipino, the meaning-based translation is more suitable for easier understanding.
With me, so far? Therefore, we can say from the above example that there are basically two types of Bible translation. These are the formal correspondence and the dynamic equivalence (meaning-based) methods.
Formal vs Dynamic
The formal correspondence translation emphasizes on the form of the source language. It’s a word-for-word and literal translation. The dynamic equivalence translation emphasizes more on the meaning and goes directly to it.
Let’s have two more examples.
Acts 1:12 in the Revised Standard Version (RSV) reads “a Sabbath day’s journey away” while Good News Bible (GNB) says “about a kilometer away from the city”. A Jew or anyone familiar with the Jewish culture will understand that a Sabbath day’s journey is not a one-day journey but only a short distance of about a kilometer. To this person, a formal correspondence translation like RSV is not hard to understand. But the person who is a new Bible reader and doesn’t even have an inkling about the Jewish culture will most likely be misled that it’s a one-day kind of journey. Therefore, for a new Bible reader, a meaning-based translation like GNB is better suited.
Another example: Genesis 4:1 in the King James Version (KJV) reads “And Adam knew Eve his wife and she conceived.” Huh? What is that supposed to mean? Did the writer leave out a few phrases between “knowing” and “conceiving”? What’s the connection? For a new Bible reader, a meaning-based version like GNB is clearer. GNB says “Then Adam had intercourse with his wife and she became pregnant.” In this particular case, the word “Yada” which was translated into English as “know” actually has several meanings and these are: to know and have knowledge of something, be acquainted with a person, to experience someone and have sexual relations. Obviously the “know” in the KJV refers to the last meaning mentioned.
Which Bible Translation Is The Best For You?
It depends - and that’s the right answer. If you’re a long-time Bible user and understand the culture behind the writings, a formal correspondence translation like King James Version (KJV) and Ang Biblia (AB) are good ones for you. If you’re a new Bible reader and has no or limited idea of the culture, a meaning-based translation like Contemporary English Version (CEV) and Magandang Balita Biblia (MBB) are a much better pick.
The ideal scenario is that you have both versions (formal and dynamic) so you can compare the wordings. The very popular New International Version (NIV) is somewhere in between of this formal-dynamic continuum. Some would say it’s leaning more towards the formal version, others would say it’s more towards the dynamic version.
Bible Accuracy
A Bible translation is very good if it’s faithful to the Hebrew and Greek texts, is easy to understand and has no doctrinal comment. Having said that, we should be careful in using Bibles that have commentaries. The Living Bible (LB), for example, was written by the author with his children in mind as the audience. While proven to be helpful, LB is considered a commentary and may not be entirely accurate. The Amplified Bible is another example. These two should never be used as primary Bibles but only as references.
Why Make New Translations?
Why do we keep on making newer translations? The answer to that is to simply make a more improved translation. Older copies of the originals are being found and these are usually better references since they are closer to the originals, which we don’t have already. An example of a recent finding are the Dead Sea scrolls. Also, languages evolve through the years and certain words that are commonplace many years ago may no longer be understood by the newer generations so these must be dropped. Another thing is that scribe replication errors are later found and eliminated. Scribal errors could be omission of words, omission of whole lines, confusion of similar letters, or additions, etc. Remember that during those times there was no printing press yet. Everything was to be done by hand. A mass production can come in the form of a Scriptorium where there was a reader who read aloud a manuscript and transcribers simultaneously wrote down what they heard to produce multiple copies. In this setting, hearing and/or writing errors would not be far-fetched.
So, the next time you buy a Bible as a gift to someone, don’t necessarily buy the one you are using now. Understand first at what level the intended Bible user is at. Remember that the first and best tool to study the Bible is the Bible itself - not a commentary, concordance or other excellent Bible study aids. So choose the one that suits you better!
(The author based this article in part on a seminar given by the Philippine Bible Society last August 14, 2004 and on the book “How To Study The Bible” by Skip Heitzig.)
