How to Choose a Bible Translation for You and Your Child, Final Part

How to Choose a Bible Translation for You and Your Child, Part Three
By Chris Jennings, Assistant Pastor of Children’s Ministries

Choosing a Translation …. Or Better Yet, Translations

No translation is perfect. But sadly, it takes A LOT of time and effort that you probably don’t have to get to the point where you can pick up your Hebrew or Greek Bible and read for your morning devotions. The best policy is not simply to have one Bible translation on your shelf but a few, or even many! My recommendation would be to pick at least one Bible translation that comes from each of the translation styles that I talked about in Part Two of this series (formal, functional and mediating). Before you purchase a Bible, if you are unsure of what style of translation it uses, read its preface beforehand. Here are some examples of each to give you an idea:

Formal (Often called “literal” or “word-for-word”): KJV< NKJV, NASB, NRSV, ESV
Functional (“though-for-thought”): New Living Translation, Good News Bible
Mediating: New International Version, Holman Christian Standard Bible

My Suggestions for Adult Readers

Please understand one thing before I make these suggestions. These are simply my personal favorites. There are other Bibles that are very high quality Bibles that I will not mention in this section. Do not think for a second that somehow these are the only Bibles you should choose or purchase. That said, here are my favorites among each translation style.
For a formal equivalent translation, I would choose the English Standard Version, recently published in 2001 by Crossway Bibles. The ESV stands in the King James tradition and is a revision of the Revised Standard Version (1952). The ESV was translated by over 100 translators and is a translation of the original Greek and Hebrew manuscripts (in fact, all of the Bibles listed in this article are).
For a functionally equivalent translation, I recommend the New Living Translation (2004 revision, Tyndale House Publishers). As Fee and Strauss note in their book, How to Choose a Translation for All Its Worth, “the NLT, especially in its 2004 revision, is accurate, clear, and readable … it is a committee work with a high level of scholarship behind its translation.” (157)
For a mediating translation I would choose the New International Version (1978, Zondervan). The NIV is now the best selling English translation for good reason. It matches readability with scholarly accuracy for a translation that makes a good read for daily devotions.

Two Translations for Your Children

There are two translations of the Bible that I want to recommend for your children to use: The New International Reader’s Version (NIrV) and the International Children’s Bible (ICB). The NIrV was published by Zondervan in 1996 (and revised in 1998). The NIrV advertises a 3rd grade reading level (to give some perspective, the NIV has a 7th grade reading level and the NKJV has a 9th grade reading level). Zondervan publishes “The Adventure Bible” which adds helpful Bible tools such as introductions to each book and helpful charts and maps that go along with the NIrV translation.
The International Children’s Bible was first published in 1986 by Thomas Nelson Publishers and is intended for early elementary readers. The unique feature of the ICB is how the translators chose their vocabulary for the translation. Vocabulary for the translation was based on a work entitled The Living Word Vocabulary by Dr. Edgar Dale and Dr. Joseph O’Rourke, which is the standard used by the editors of the World Book Encyclopedia, a popular encyclopedia for elementary age students. These two translations are quality translations that I would encourage your elementary age children to read.

Sources for this Article:
Burge, Gary et al. Bible Translations Comparison. Torrence, CA: Rose Publishing, Inc.

Fee, Gordon D. and Strauss, Mark L. How to Choose a Translation for All Its Worth. Zondervan, 2007.

Sheeley, Steven M. and Nash, Jr., Robert N. The Bible In English Translation: An Essential Guide. Abingdon, 1997.

How to Choose a Bible Translation for You and Your Child, Part Two

How to Choose a Bible Translation for You and Your Child
Part Two: “Como se llama?” – The Difference Between Formal and Functional Translations
By Chris Jennings, Assistant Pastor of Children’s Ministries

If you have even learned a little bit of Spanish, you have probably heard the Spanish question, “Como se llama?” [komo say yama] That is what someone would ask you if they were first meeting you and did not know your name. And you might respond back, “Me llamo Chris.” [may yamo kris] If one were to translate the phrase “Como se llama?” “formally” (or “literally”), it would be translated “What yourself call?” But no Spanish student worth his salt would ever translate it that way! He would “functionally” translate the phrase “What is your name?”

This same issue occurs when scholars translate the Bible, the divinely inspired Word of God. The Hebrew and Greek languages often have very different syntax (sentence structure) than English does. English usually uses a “Subject-Verb-Object” sentence structure (John threw the ball). Hebrew, for example, often follows a “Verb-Subject-Object” sentence structure, (Threw John the ball).

Because of these differences between Hebrew, Greek and the English language, no Biblical translation is truly “literal” or “word-for-word.” This should not cause too much concern, however. Even though “What is your name?” is not a “literal” translation of “Como se llama?”, the meaning is the same. All Bible translations make some adjustments in English to make the Hebrew and Greek clear to English readers. Translators have to make a critical decision when translating the Bible: how much of the original syntax, idioms and terminology do I keep in my English translation? Formally equivalent translations (such as the New King James Version, the English Standard Version and the New American Standard Bible) make a decision to keep as much of the original syntax and idioms as they can, but still attempt to make the English comprehensible. Functionally equivalent translations (such as the New Living Translation or the Good News Bible) have as their goal to translate the original meaning of the text without necessarily using Hebrew or Greek idioms or syntax. Mediating translation (such as the New International Version) attempt to balance using original syntax and idioms and creating a translation that sounds natural to an English reader.

Let’s look at a few translations of Romans 5:1 to make this clearer:
Greek: Dikaiothentes oun ek pisteos eirenen exomen pros tou theou dia tou kuriou emon Iesou Xpristou.
“Word-for-word”: Being justified therefore from faith peace we have to God through the Lord our Jesus Christ.

“Formally Equivalent” Translations:
King James Version (KJV):
“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
English Standard Version (ESV):
“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Notice a couple of things in these “formal” (often called “literal”!) translations – none of them are direct word for word translations, even of a simple Greek sentence. Even translations that people refer to as “literal” are not as literal as one might think. The translators all (and rightly so) made the choice to make the meaning of the Greek sentence as clear and natural as possible in English while keeping as much of the syntax as they could.

“Functionally Equivalent” Translations:
New Living Translation (NLT):
“Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.”
Contemporary English Version (CEV):
“By faith we have been made acceptable to God. And now, because of our Lord Jesus Christ, we live at peace with God.”

Functional translations try to make their translation sound as natural to the reader as the original would have to its reader. These translations also sometimes decide to change words such as “justify” into phrases that make more sense to younger readers or readers who know English as a second language. The danger that this type of translation can fall into however, is that they sometimes add words or phrases that don’t exist in the original, such as “has done for us” in the NLT. They trade readability for accuracy. The benefit of these translations is that younger readers can better understand what they are reading.

Mediating Translations:
New International Version (NIV):
Therefore since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB):
“Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Mediating translations take a middle ground between form and function. Although the NIV is not too different from the formally equivalent versions here, the HCSB made a decision to change “having been justified” to “have been declared righteous.” Theologically, both are correct. To a new Christian, “justified” might sound odd and unfamiliar, but “declared righteous” may be clearer.

As you can see, translators make tough decisions when it comes to translating the Bible, and no translation is perfect. Formally equivalent translations may be more accurate but give up readability and may be less natural and understandable to younger readers. Functionally equivalent translations may be more natural and clear, but give up accuracy at times. In my next article I will make some suggestions for how to choose a translation both for you and your children.

Sources for this Article:
Burge, Gary et al. Bible Translations Comparison. Torrence, CA: Rose Publishing, Inc.

Fee, Gordon D. and Strauss, Mark L. How to Choose a Translation for All Its Worth. Zondervan, 2007.

Sheeley, Steven M. and Nash, Jr., Robert N. The Bible in English Translation: An Essential Guide. Nashville: Abingdom Press, 1997.

KOSOVO 2010

The church will be heading to Kosovo this coming July, 2010, on it’s first ever church-wide short term Missions Trip! We will be meeting up with the Barkhouses and ministering to the local community. Click on this link to find out more information!
www.kosovo.standrewspca.net

To get more information regarding this trip – please contact:

Chris Jennings by email: csjennings@bellsouth.net