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Bible translations are extremely difficult at best. It's a monumental task in my view. Consider this...[/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS, cursive]1. The NT writers thought in Aramaic and also Hebrew. But the Bible was written in Greek. So it was already translated once even before it was retranslated into our English. Translating it into Greek kind of stripped off a lot of the “Jewishness†of the Bible. But a few have tried to restore this “Jewishness†back again to the text. (See Davis Stern's translation Jewish New Testament. [/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS, cursive]2. Words change meaning over the years. Example in our culture. Consider the Gay 90's of the 1800's. What did gay 90's mean in the 1900's. Big difference. This problem is usually solved by looking at the use of the same Greek words used in other passages and also works outside of the Bible that were written in the same time frame as the Bible books that are being translated. Book: Kittles Theological Dictionary. Some Greek words are only used once in the Bible so they are hard to translate with full certainly. Example: The word Authentein" (To dominate or rule over.) This is a key word in understanding Paul's controversial passages on women. It is found in the NT only once and has changed meaning over time.[/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS, cursive]3. Greek words change in meaning as stated above, but so do the English words that the Greek is translated into. The classic King James for example - its language is out of vogue today, so translations become obsolete in their ability to convey the message of the Bible into the common language of the day. My wife got a Phillips translation years ago and she said it was like a completely different Bible to her after the King James.[/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS, cursive][FONT=Comic Sans MS, cursive]4. The source of the translation is important. Example: Jay Green's interlinear OT is based on the Masoretic Text[/FONT]. When you read Genesis it says that Potipher was a eunuch and the chief executioner – much different than most translations. This seemingly little tidbit sure explains why his wife was after Joseph so intently - doesn't it? I'd like to know why so many translations have left this out? [/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS, cursive]5. Chapters and verses were added late to the scriptures and they are not always placed correctly. Neither are the chapter labels added by the publisher or translator always accurate. Also, the vowels were added to the OT at a late date, so a lot of Hebrew words are but guesswork as different words that could be used. There are a lot of translation decisions to be made in the Hebrew, Example: the word Almah, which means unmarried maiden. In those times in Ancient Israel a maiden was a virgin in their culture, but not in ours today. [FONT=Comic Sans MS, cursive]A[/FONT][FONT=Comic Sans MS, cursive]lmah[/FONT] is typically translated as virgin, maiden, young woman, damsel or girl.But relative to Isaiah 7:14 it only makes sense to translate it virgin - in our culture.[/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS, cursive]6. Hebrew began as a picture language - in other words a letter of the alphabet was a symbol of an object or idea. For example: Shalom means peace – right? In the Hebrew picture language it actually means “destroy the authority that causes chaos.†Another: The Hebrew word for humble is shach – it means to “destroy the wall†(of self protection) Repent - shoov - means to “destroy the house†(leave nothing to go back for) Last: Mother is the Hebrew "em" which means "the strong water" (water that never fails - life giver - around her grows an oasis of life) [/FONT][FONT=Comic Sans MS, cursive]The Hebrew to me is difficult to translate and has the most variables in it. That is why it is often good to look at different translations to try to get a feel for what is being said. But, I'm back into my terrible old habit of preaching to the choir again. Book: Hebrew Word Pictures by Frank Seekins[/FONT]
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Different translations serve different purposes. For study the NASB is considered more accurate technically, but doesn't read very well. The newer versions are better reading translations. Translators are supposed to just translate and leave the interpretation to others, but I don't see how this is possible as I think they have to translate certain words based on an interpretation of the context.[/FONT]
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I guess the worst translation is better than nothing, therefore the best version is of course the one we pick up and read. Its nice to have a choice these days because in my day there was only one that was recommended and that of course was the King James – you guys are so fortunate to be flooded with translations. I wrote all of this, which is very incomplete to show how complicated translating is and why there is so much variation in different translations.[/FONT]
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Lauren[/FONT]