TRANSLATION ISSUES AND PROBLEMS

Dr. Neil R. Lightfoot has observed that in the making of translations “We are dealing with matters of considerable difficulty.”

Dr. C. H. Dodd commented regarding translation that “the first qualification of a translator is that he should know that he practices an impossible art”!

A major difficulty encountered in making Bible translations is that of determining the reading ability or educational level of the intended reader.

C. H. Dodd observed that the translators’ problem is “to find language which will in some measure evoke in the reader a response corresponding to that which was evoked in the minds of the first readers by the original.”

We should note that no translation will suit all readers!

1. Some are looking for a simple devotional reading of the Bible.
2. Some are concerned for accurate doctrinal reading.
3. Some are looking for a translation useful in teaching children.
4. Some are looking for critical, scholarly reading for personal study and research.
5. Some are looking for a translation suitable for preaching to a mixed range of reading ability and education in a congregation.

The following are points vital in evaluating or considering a translation:

1. What basic text (Hebrew or Greek) was the basis for the translation.  The accuracy of a translation is fundamentally dependent on the reliability of the text used in the translation.
   1. The KJV translators used a text basically developed by Desidarius Erasmus of Rotterdam in 1516 (more will be said of Erasmus’ great contribution to the Greek text of the NT at a later point in this study).  Erasmus’ text was the basis for the Textus Receptus (we will also examine this text later in this study).
   2. The English Revised Version of  1881/85 and the ASV of 1881/1901 were based on the Textus Receptus, Constantine Tischendorf’s text, and the three great manuscripts, The Vaticanus, The Siniaticus, and the Alexandranian, which were not available to Erasmus and the KJV.  The great text of Westcott and Hort was not yet published and fully available to the translators of these versions.
   3. The RSV translators were able to use Westcott and Hort, the 17th edition of the Nestle text, and the vast range of Papyri discovered since the work of Westcott and Hort.
   4. The NIV used the latest Nestle and Alan (Bible Society text) and the vast array of manuscripts, papyri, and other resources in an eclectic manner.
2. The preparation, depth, and breadth of the translation committee is an important factor.  A broad committee safeguards against personal and denominational persuasions and prejudices.  A translation committee is more reliable than an independent single translator.
3. The committee must determine how to handle the textual variants that will be encountered in the Greek text base adopted. Will the majority reading be adopted as is the case in the NKJV, or will some other form of decision relating to text family be adopted.  (More will be said on this later in the study.)
4. The range of reading ability of those for whom the translation is intended must be considered.
5. The committee must determine how best to address sociological, ethnic, and language understanding and idioms of the readers.  Should one use a literal translation, a dynamic equivalent translation, or a combination of such.  How should the committee strike a balance in addressing the peculiar idiom of the reader?  People from different parts of the English speaking globe speak with different kinds of English (British, American, African, African American, Indian, etc.)
6. The translators must seek for some form of consistency in translating words or expressions in different parts of the Bible, yet context must sometimes challenge consistency.  For instance, how should one translate the Greek word pneuma which can mean wind, breath, or spirit?
7. The literary style should be determined by use: devotional, liturgical (worship), teaching, research.

We should always remember that not translation is ever perfect, for the translators are after all human.  The original autographs were written under the guidance of Holy Spirit inspiration, but the translators and Greek scholars, although extremely well educated in the science of textual criticism and translation, are human and fallible.

We should also remember that no translation is ever final, for the English language is constantly in a state of flux and development, and English is read by a wide range of readers, demographically, geographically, sociologically, and with a wide range of educational level and skill.