Meet Your Bible Session 1: - PowerPoint Presentation

Meet Your Bible Session 1:Bible Translations

Meet Your Bible Meet your neighborThis class is particularly designed for people who are new to studying the BibleE.g. “what does the colon stand for in Genesis 3:6?” Basic Biblical notation: Chapters added around 1000 BCE Verses added around 1400-1500 BCE [Book] [chapter]:[verse] If you knew that, great – but in this class, there are no “dumb” questions – if I assume too much at any point, ask – page numbers from the CEB Study Bible Superb book for deeper study: Hamilton, Making Sense of the Bible

Meet Your Bible We set the class up in two separate sections by design – you can get as much, or as little, as you wishWhere “Meet Your Bible” will go in the next 10 weeks:Section 1: Bible translations, the big story of the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament), followed by flyover surveys of the four major sections (6 wks ) Section 2: The big story of the New Testament, followed by flyover surveys of the letters, the gospels and the book of Revelation as the “grand finale” of the Bible’s big story (4 wks) Our purpose is not just information, but transformation My first “real” Bible John Wesley: “I am a man of one book”

Bible translation An ancient and necessary disciplineNone of the Bible was written in EnglishMost of the Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures) written in Hebrew; a few sections in Aramaic The New Testament written in Greek, the most common language across cultures in the Roman Empire (NOT Latin, until later) How did they read the Old Testament? Rabbis and other educated Jews remained fluent in Hebrew

Bible translation When Greek became the predominant language across cultures, between 300 and 200 BCE, the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek in Alexandria, Egypt – (Septuagint—abbreviated as LXX)As Rome’s political dominance went on, Latin became more and more the common language In the late 300s CE, Jerome translated the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures into Latin (updating earlier Latin versions) – by medieval times, became known as the vulgata (commonly used) In the mid-1500s, the Council of Trent made it the Roman Catholic church’s official Latin Bible

Bible translation The Council of Trent was reacting to Luther and the Protestant ReformationWycliffe and Tyndale in England, Luther in Germany, others acted on the belief that people ought to be able to hear and read the Bible in their own language Ironically, some Roman Catholic leaders argued that translation was bad, that Latin was “the holy language” – even though the Latin Vulgate was a translation! Challenged authority of clergy Translations spread fast due to moveable-type printing—c. 1300 (Orient), 1400 (Europe) All previous manuscripts were hand-copied Scribes were the anonymous, unsung heroes in the story of the Bible

Bible Translation In 1611, King James commissioned an “authorized” Bible translation in EnglishAbout the time of ShakespeareRemains a best-seller todayStarting about the 1950s, an explosion of English Bible translations One major choice modern translators have to make: stay as close as possible to the King James, or do a fresh translation in modern English?

Bible Translation Positive side:Competition and technology make a wide range of English Bible translations available to almost anyoneEven without extensive (or any) knowledge of ancient languages, Bible readers can compare renderings by many different translation teams Negative side: Bible marketers (they ARE marketers) pick subjective, emotionally-loaded, words like “trustworthy” or “accurate” to try to sell you their translation – can create distrust – confuse preference with “truth”

Language and Translation What does it mean to “translate”?Not just English “boy” = Portuguese “menino” Language is dynamic, always changing Reacting to life: The impact of changes like computing or the rise of terrorism Creativity, playfulness: New ways to say old things Language is inexact Synonyms: different words, very similar meaning Words with multiple meanings E.g. the English word “spring”

Language and Translation But we don’t use words in isolation – we put them togetherTo a great extent, the meaning of “spring” depends on what other words come with itEven more, we put words together in what we call “colloquial expressions” “The movie was a bomb” – how put that “literally” into another language? – then “The movie was the bomb” The Portuguese phrase “amigo da onca ” Word for word, it says “friend of the jaguar” But it means “a shifty, untrustworthy person” In English, we might translate it as “a backstabber”

Language and Translation The translation debate often comes out as: should we translate words, or translate meaning ? Psalm 22:1-2 in Yo ung’s Literal Translation : “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me? Far from my salvation, The words of my roaring? My God, I call by day, and Thou answerest not, And by night, and there is no silence to me.” Isaiah 53:8-9: “By restraint and by judgment he hath been taken, And of his generation who doth meditate, That he hath been cut off from the land of the living? By the transgression of My people he is plagued, And it appointeth with the wicked his grave, And with the rich [are] his high places, Because he hath done no violence, Nor [is] deceit in his mouth.” All translations seek, ultimately, to convey the meaning of the original text in a different language If meaning is lost, what’s the point of translating?

New Revised Standard Version 1989 - an updated revision of the Revised Standard Version (1942-1971), which was itself an update of the American Standard Version (1900)Translated by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches—the group included scholars representing Orthodox, Protestant, Catholic and other Christian groups – Jewish scholars in the group responsible for the Hebrew Scriptures or Old Testament The mandate given the committee was summarized in a dictum: “As literal as possible, as free as necessary.”

English Standard Version Began early ‘90s, current version from 2011 - another revision of the 1971 Revised Standard VersionThe stated intent of the translators was to follow an "essentially literal" translation philosophyUses some gender-inclusive language, but claims to not go as far as many other modern translations

New International Version Originally published in the 1970s, the NIV was updated in 1984 and 2011, and has become one of the best selling modern translationsThe goal was to produce a more modern English language text than the King James Version (rather low hurdle!) – translation involved a team of over 100 scholars from 6 different countries. The range of those participating included many different denominations such as Anglicans, Assemblies of God, Baptist, Christian Reformed, Lutheran and Presbyterian The NIV is a balance between word-for-word and thought-for-thought translation Evangelical – struggle over gender-inclusive language

Common English Bible Begun in late 2008, finished in 2011. Sponsored by an alliance of several denominational publishers in the United States: Chalice Press (Disciples of Christ), Church Publishing Inc (Episcopal Church), Westminster John Knox Press (Presbyterian Church U.S.A.), Pilgrim Press (United Church of Christ), and Abingdon Press (United Methodist Church). The CEB uses a balance of dynamic equivalence and formal equivalence translation principles. The translators' goal is to produce a rendering of the Bible at the same reading level as the USA Today newspaper. Seeks to use natural English, not theological terms. Maps by National Geographic Society.

The Message Created and translated by Eugene H. Peterson and published in segments from 1993 to 2002Peterson: “I hoped to bring the New Testament to life for two different types of people: those who hadn't read the Bible because it seemed too distant and irrelevant and those who had read the Bible so much that it had become 'old hat.’” It falls on the highly dynamic end of the dynamic and formal equivalence spectrum Some readers feel that it “doesn’t sound religious (or holy).” Others are delighted and feel that “for the first time the Bible seems to make sense.”

Bible translation Why can we trust modern translations?Almost always done by large panels of highly-trained and qualified scholarsWhen done by an individual, those that achieve wide use (e.g. The Message ) come from people whose integrity and scholarship are widely respected, and who are open to correction by others Will we have preferences? Of course! But remember: “I like it better” is not the same thing as “It’s more accurate” (or “It’s the only accurate translation”)

Bible translation Most translations, like the CEB, contain a preface that tells you how they’ve worked (first page not numbered—if it were, it would be xix)

Bible translation The value of a “home base” translationRecommend that you choose one translation as your “home base”Sooner or later, you’ll come across part(s) of the Bible that you don’t like – they challenge you or make you uncomfortable – without a home base, the temptation is to just “shop” until you find a more comfortable or less challenging rendering – taken to extremes, you might never have to “wrestle” with Scripture A “home base” Bible makes memorizing and becoming familiar easier You can “try out” multiple translations, to see which one communicates best to you, before choosing a “home base” Bible

Bible translation The value of multiple translationsIf you find a passage in your home base Bible that sounds puzzling, check two or three other reliable translations (use biblegateway.com, youversion.com or other sites) – helps you see if your translation is an outlier, or if most translators agree with the general directionIf you like an outlier translation, don’t build a whole huge structure of belief on it If you don’t like the outlier version, don’t discard and trash the whole translation because of it

Bible translation Assignment:Using biblegateway.com, youversion.com or printed Bibles, if you have them, read: Psalm 23Matthew 5:1-12John 3:1-3, 14-17 Read in at least three different translations Questions?