Lost In The Translation

This article at the Better Bibles Blog shows why a literal word-for-word translation can actually be worse than a paraphrase.

Date:   10/18/2006 8:27:25 AM   ( 18 y ) ... viewed 3448 times

Better Bibles Blog: What's the joke?

My comment:

As a veteran of many message board wars, I concur that communication, especially in writing, is very much fraught with obstacles. Any time someone tries to use the multitude of Bible translations as 'proof' that the Bible is whatever we want it to mean, I point out that in that very message board we can find numerous examples of people failing to communicate-- even when they all speak the same language, in the same culture, at the same time in history.

Science and art must work together. We need experts to investigate ancient cultures and languages, to make those interlinears, to have discussions among themselves as to what the words **can** mean. But we also need people from all walks of life to read the work of the experts and say, "But could it not also mean such-and-such"--- which may have escaped the notice of the experts as they concentrated on the mechanics of translation. Only by the two working together can we find out what the words likely **do** mean.

I think a good parallel would be that of doctor and patient. It used to be that the patient had nothing at all to say to the doctor, that the doctor was above reproach and not to be questioned. This resulted in many people getting worse or dying because they didn't speak up about something the almighty physician didn't see or know. Now, we have people working with their doctors (ideally anyway), taking a more active role in their own health care. We have to trust the doctor to know the technical means of carrying out a particular treatment, but we are responsible for questioning whether that treatment or another one might be preferable.

Now here I am trying to communicate something, but did I succeed? I won't know until others read it and express either understanding or confusion. And as we can see here already, there will likely be both. It appears that communication is theoretically impossible! Take the bumblebee's theoretical inability to fly for example. The experts say they shouldn't be able to fly, yet they do. And by the same miracle, we somehow manage to communicate on occasion even thought the odds against it are so high.

So this matter of Bible translation is not some cut-and-dried laboratory formula, but more like a multi-faceted gem whose appearance changes with the lighting and angle of view. As long as both the experts and the laymen keep this in mind, I think we have a better picture of the whole issue.

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