Transcript 10-The Apocryphal Books

How We Got the Bible
Lesson 12:
Recent Translations
of the English Bible
2
a study of
Neil R. Lightfoot
How We Got the
Bible, 3rd ed.
From the KJV 1611 preface
Weaknesses of the KJV
• The 1611 revisers did not have the three great uncials
• Alexandrinus (A)
• Sinaiticus (a)
• Vaticanus (B)
• “The Three Heavenly Witnesses” 1 John 5:7
• The textual variations do not materially affect the Bible
message
Archaisms in the KJV
•
•
•
•
•
“Howbeit”
“Holden”
“Peradventure”
“Because that”
“For that”
•
•
•
•
“Thee”
“Thou”
“Thy”
“Thine”
Words changed Meaning - KJV
• “Allege” was used
for “prove”
• “Communicate” for
“share”
• “Suffer” for “allow”
• “Allow” for
“approve”
• “Let” for “hinder”
• “Prevent” for “precede”
• “Conversation” for
“conduct”
• “Peculiar” for “God’s
own”
Distinctions in the KJV?
• Jeremiah (Matt. 27:9)
• Jeremias (Matt. 16:14)
• Jeremy (Matt. 2:14)
Distinctions in the KJV?
• “Hell”
“Hell”
• Hades
Gehenna
• the place of the…
• dead
eternal fire
Religious words retained - KJV
•
•
•
•
•
•
“baptize” instead of “immerse”
“church” instead of “congregation”
“bishop” instead of “guardian”
“deacon” instead of “servant”
“presbyter” instead of “older man”
However, most translations repeat
this mistake
KJV – A Good Translation
Been read by many people
400 Years of age
Teaches the truth
Revised & American Standard Versions
• Completed
– (English) Revised Version 1885 — ERV
– American Standard or American Revised
Version released 1901 — ASV or ARV
• Scholars working
– English: B.F. Westcott, F.J.A. Hort,
J.B. Lightfoot, R.C. Trench, A.B. Davidson
– American: Philip Schaff, J.H. Thayer,
William Henry Green
Advancements for ERV & ASV
• NT translated from a Westcott-Hort
Greek text, virtually the same text used
today
• Knowledge of the original languages
superior to the KJV translators
J.W. McGarvey on the ERV
• “…the life-long labors of Tischendorf and Tregelles on
the Greek text have been completed, as well as those
of Westcott and Hort which were then but fairly begun,
and we now have for the first time since the early
centuries of our era a corrected text in which to read
these invaluable writings. The Revised Version has
also come to my relief, saving me the necessity of
correcting my own revision of the Authorized Version
which was the basis of my former work.”
– New Commentary on Acts of Apostles, vol. 1, 1892, iv-v
ASV removed KJV archaisms
ASV
KJV
“Spoke first to him”
“prevented him”
(Matt. 17:25)
“Baggage”
“carriages”
(Acts 21:15)
“Made a circuit”
“fetched a compass” (Acts 28:13)
“Hinder”
“let”
(Rom. 1:13)
“In nothing be anxious”
“be careful for
nothing”
(Phil. 4:6)
“Grandchildren”
“nephews”
(1 Tim. 5:4)
ASV retained KJV archaisms
ASV & KJV
better
“Glory”
“praise”
(Matt. 6:2)
“Dispute”
“discuss”
(Mark 9:34)
“Doctor”
“teacher”
(Luke 5:17)
“Allege”
“prove”
(Acts 17:3)
ASV created “biblical” flavor
“aforetime”
“would fain”
“howbeit”
“lest haply”
“us-ward”
“you-ward”
Characterization of the ASV
• What it gained in accuracy, it lost in the
beauty of the English language
• Thus, Charles H. Spurgeon:
“Strong in Greek, weak in English”
ASV
Mark 1; from
the American
Standard
Version
(1901)
Revised Standard Version
• Started in 1929
– delayed by the Great Depression and
restrictions of World War II
• Completed
– NT (1946)
– OT (1952)
– 2nd ed. of NT (1971)
• Scholars working
– Edgar Goodspeed and James Moffatt
Reasons for revising the ASV
• Inadequacies of the KJV
• Failure of the ERV and ASV to correct
those inadequacies
• Discovery of new information on the text
and languages of the Bible
– e.g., the papyri discoveries revealing that
the Greek of the New Testament was the
common Greek of Jesus’ day instead of
invented by the Holy Spirit
Improvements: accuracy
RSV
“After the sabbath”
“Until an opportune
time”
“Only”
ASV
“late on the sabbath”
“for a season”
“All of them”
“God’s field”
“Peddlers of God’s
word”
“In idleness”
“both of them”
“God’s husbandry”
“corrupting the word
of God”
“disorderly”
“only begotten”
(Matt. 28:1)
(Luke 4:13)
(John 1:14, 18;
3:16, 18; 1 John
4:9)
(Acts 19:16)
(1 Cor. 3:9)
(2 Cor. 2:17)
(2 Thess. 3:6)
Improvements: readability
RSV
ASV
“He will put those “he will miserably
wretches to a
destroy those
miserable death” miserable men”
“Therefore I did
not presume to
come to you”
(Matt. 21:41)
“wherefore neither
(Luke 7:7)
thought I myself
worthy to come unto
thee”
Problems in translation
Better translation
RSV
“Desert”
“wilderness”
(Matt. 3:3)
“Sea monster”
“whale”
(Matt. 12:40)
“Convict”
“convince”
(John 16:8)
“Decided”
“determined”
(Acts 11:29)
“And then fell away” “if they then commit (Heb. 6:6)
apostasy”
“Guaranteed”
“interposed”
(Heb. 6:17)
“Virgin” or “young woman”?
“Therefore the Lord himself will
give you a sign. Behold, a
young woman shall conceive
and bear a son, and shall call
his name Immanuel.”
Isa. 7:14;
from the
Revised
Standard
Version
(1952)
New Revised Standard Version
• New committee formed in 1974
– Bruce M. Metzger leading 30 members
• Published (1990)
– A revision of the RSV, not a new translation,
in the line of the ASV, the KJV and the
Tyndale’s Bible
– Translation style as a revision: to be a wordfor-word translation except where such
literalism does not convey the meaning of
the Greek or Hebrew
Task to improve the RSV
• By altering some of its paragraph structure
and punctuation
• By reducing archaisms that had not been
entirely removed
• By striving for greater accuracy and clarity
• By eliminating all masculine-oriented
language when references are made to
both men and women
Changes over the RSV
• Removal of outdated words such as “thee”
and “thou,” e.g., “Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name”(Matt. 6:9)
• Removal of male-oriented language used
of men and women, e.g., “One does not
live by bread alone” (Matt. 4:4)
Improvements (e.g., 1 Tim.)
NRSV
“instruct”
“innocent”
“slave traders”
“decently in suitable
clothing”
“old wives tales”
“exhorting”
“put on the list”
“their sinful desires
alienate them from Christ”
“manage their households”
“ordain”
“trapped”
RSV
“charge”
“just”
“kidnappers”
“sensible in seemly
apparel”
“silly myths”
“preaching”
“enrolled”
“they grow wanton against
Christ”
“rule their households”
“laying on of hands”
“fall into a snare”
(1:3)
(1:9)
(1:10)
(2:9)
(4:7)
(4:13)
(5:9)
(5:11)
(5:14)
(5:22)
(6:9)
Weaknesses (e.g., 1 Tim.)
NRSV
RSV
“married only
once”
“the husband of one (3:2, 12; cf.
wife”
5:9)
“the council of the
elders”
“the elders”
(4:14)
New English Bible
• Publication coincided with the 350th
anniversary of the KJV
– Produced by a group of Protestant
scholars
• Translation philosophy
– Departed from the Tyndale-KJV tradition
– Not scrupulously literal, or word-for-word,
– A sense-for-sense translation, using
contemporary English idiom for Greek
expressions
The NEB on John 1:1
NEB:
When all things began,
the Word already was.
The Word dwelt with
God,
and what God was, the
Word was.
ASV:
In the beginning
was the Word,
and the Word was with
God,
and the Word was God.
New American Standard
• Released
– NT (1963)
– OT (1971)
– Revision (1995)
• Translation philosophy
– Follow the literalism in translating of the ASV
N.A.S.B.
1971 revised the A.S.V.
called New American Standard Version
Bible (often referred to as the N.A.S.V. or
N.A.S.B. or N.A.S.).
considered to be the most accurate
word-for-word translation of the original
Greek and Hebrew scriptures into the
modern English language that has ever
been produced.
N.A.S.B.
It remains the most popular version
among theologians, professors,
scholars, and seminary students today.
Problem:
issue of direct and literal a translation
(focused on accuracy)
It does not flow as easily in
conversational English.
Improvements in the NAS
• Remove archaic language of ASV
• Maintain respect for deity by capitalizing
pronouns referring to God, Jesus or the
Holy Spirit
Problems with the NAS
• Returned to verse paragraph form
– Thus, makes context more difficult to
recognize by isolating verses as units
• Minute distinctions inconsistently
applied
• Readability tends to be stilted because
of word-for-word character
N.I.V.
1973, produced NIV
“dynamic equivalent” translation
into modern English.
Not for “word-for-word” accuracy
For “phrase-for-phrase” accuracy
Ease of reading even at a Junior
High-School reading level.
N.I.V.
It was meant to appeal to a broader
(and in some instances lesseducated) cross-section of the
general public.
Critics of the N.I.V. often jokingly
refer to it as the “Nearly Inspired
Version”, but that has not stopped it
from becoming the best-selling
modern-English translation of the
Bible ever published.
New International Version
• Released
– NT (1973)
– OT (1978)
– Revision (1984)
– New International Reader’s Version
– Today’s New International Version (2002)
• Reason for translation
– dissatisfaction with liberal bias of RSV
Improvements ( In Acts)
NIV
“place of leadership”
“converts to Judaism”
“all people”
“corrupt”
“Solomon’s Colonnade”
“from the Lord”
“miraculous signs”
“murderous threats”
“prayed regularly”
Older translations
“office”
“proselytes”
“all flesh”
“crooked”
“Solomon’s portico”
“from the presence of the
Lord”
“signs”
“threats and murder”
“prayed constantly”
(1:20)
(2:10)
(2:17)
(2:40)
(3:11)
(3:19)
(5:12)
(9:1)
(10:1)
Difficult vocabulary of the NIV
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
“conspire” (4:27)
“dispersed” (5:36)
“shrieks” (8:7)
“baffled” (9:22)
“clutches” (12:11)
“abusively” (13:45)
“appease” (16:39)
“defying” (17:7)
“sneered” (17:32)
• “misdemeanor” (18:
14)
• “obstinate” (19:9)
• “publicly maligned”
(19:9)
• “venture” (19: 31)
• “dissuaded” (21:14)
• “pretext” (23:15)
• “desecrate” (24:6)
• “obsession” (26:11)
“Sinful nature” and NIV
• The Greek word, sarx, literally means “flesh”
– Oftentimes used literally
– Though Paul frequently uses the word to
describe a person’s disposition to sin
• “Sinful nature” is a Calvinistic translation
– “When Calvinists speak of man as being totally
depraved, they mean that man’s nature is
corrupt, perverse, and sinful throughout.”
David N. Steele and Curtis C. Thomas, The Five Points of Calvinism: Defined, Defended,
Documented (Philadelphia: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co., 1963), 25
N.K.J.V.
1982 New King James Version
produced
Produced by Thomas Nelson Publishers
produced
Their original intent was to keep the
basic wording of the King James to
appeal to King James Version loyalists,
while only changing the most obscure
words and the Elizabethan “thee, thy,
thou” pronouns.
N.K.J.V.
This was an interesting marketing ploy,
however, upon discovering that this was not
enough of a change for them to be able to
legally copyright the result, they had to make
more significant revisions, which defeated
their purpose in the first place.
It was never taken seriously by scholars, but it
has enjoyed some degree of public
acceptance, simply because of its clever “New
King James Version” marketing name.
E.S.V.
2002 English Standard Version was
produced
Major attempt was made to bridge the gap
between the simple readability of the N.I.V.,
and the extremely precise accuracy of the
N.A.S.B.
Gaining popularity for its readability and
accuracy.
The 21st Century will certainly continue to
bring new translations of God’s Word in the
modern English language.
Paraphrases
• The Living Bible [Paraphrased] (1971)
• The Message NT (1993)
• The New Living Translation (1996)
– a revision of the Living Bible Paraphrased
Translations by brethren
• Alexander Campbell’s The Sacred Writings of the
Apostles and Evangelists of Jesus Christ
commonly styled The New Testament (1826;
a.k.a. The Living Oracles)
• Hugo McCord’s New Testament Translation of
the Everlasting Gospel (1988)
Summary
• No one translation is infallible
• Revisions need to be made
– just as the KJV and ASV are revisions
• Modern translations good for Bible study
– RSV
– NIV
– NRSV
NAS
ESV
An eight translation NT
Translation Philosophy
More than Word to Word
Vocabulary
Grammar
Acts 20:7 - example
Free Translation - not the best
Balance
Isaiah 7:14 “Virgin”
RSV “young woman”
“Therefore the Lord himself
shall give you a sign;
Behold, a virgin shall
conceive, and bear a son,
and shall call his name
Immanuel.”
Ps. 51:5 - KJV & NIV
“Behold, I was shapen in
iniquity; and in sin did my
mother conceive me.”
“Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my
mother conceived me.”
Rom. 10:10 KJV & NIV
“For with the heart man
believeth unto
righteousness; and with the
mouth confession is made
unto salvation.”
“For it is with your heart that
you believe and are
justified, and it is with your
mouth that you confess and
are saved.
Matt. 19:9 KJV & NIV
“except it be for fornication”
“except for marital
unfaithfulness”
Eph. 5:19 KJV & Amplified
“singing and making melody
“offering praise with voice
(and instruments),…”
Rom. 1:17 KJV & TEV
“For therein is the
righteousness of God
revealed from faith to faith:
as it is written, The just shall
live by faith.”
“For the gospel reveals how
God puts men right with
himself: it is through faith
alone, from beginning to
end. As the scripture says,
He who is put right with God
shall live.”
Acts 20:7 KJV & TEV
“And upon the first day of
the week, when the
disciples came together to
break bread, Paul preached
unto them, ready to depart
on the morrow; and
continued his speech until
midnight.”
“On Saturday evening we
gathered together for the
fellowship meal”
Jack P. Lewis on the translations
• “Translation is a human—not a divinely
inspired process. It is thereby subject to
all the faults man is heir to. The perfect
translation does not exist.”
– The English Bible: KJV to NIV (Grand
Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1982), p. 10
Jack P. Lewis on the translations
• “It is my conviction that the basic duties to
man and God can be learned from any
translation that men read prayerfully.
However, in some versions the Word of
God may be more easily grasped than in
others.”
– The English Bible: KJV to NIV (Grand Rapids,
MI: Baker Book House, 1982), p. 10
Questions for review
• Why revise the King James Version?
• What brought about the English
Revised Version and the American
Standard Version?
• How is the American Standard Version
characterized?
• What is the advantage of the Revised
Standard Version?
Next week
Lesson 13:
“My Words Will Not Pass
Away”