In my last post, I alluded to a new translation comparison series that I was contemplating. Focused on “literary excellence”, my intent is look at passages where translations especially noted for their literary translation qualities seem to capture the meaning of the text with an extra dash of written flavor, at least in comparison with other English translations. I intend to focus on [1] the KJV, [2] the NEB and/or REB, and [3] the Jerusalem Bible and/or NJB; other translations will be used as a point of comparison.
I hadn’t intended to get started quite yet, but the current flurry of discussion around translating 1 Corinthians 9:26-27 has provided an opportunity to provide perhaps a preview post. I am especially tipping the hat to John Hobbins, whose inclusion of the NJB translation in his recent post provided the final push (as I am still waiting for my copy of the JB to arrive):
Do you not realize that, though all the runners in the stadium take part in the race, only one of them gets the prize? Run like that – to win. Every athlete concentrates completely on training, and this is to win a wreath that will wither, whereas ours will never wither. So that is how I run, not without a clear goal; and how I box, not wasting blows on air. I punish my body and bring it under my control, to avoid any risk that, having acted as a herald to others, I myself may be disqualified.
- 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (NJB)
Verses 24-25 are included in order to better understand the context of the final verses in this section. For comparison, here is the same passage from the REB and the KJV:
At the games, as you know, all the runners take part, though only one wins the prize. You also must run to win. Every athlete goes into strict training. They do it to win a fading garland; we, to win a garland that never fades. For my part, I am no aimless runner; I am not a boxer who beats the air. I do not spare my body, but bring it under strict control, for fear that after preaching to others I should find myself disqualified.
- 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (REB)
Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they [do it] to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring [it] into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
- 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (KJV)
The modern translation that is being most often compared is the TNIV:
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
- 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (TNIV)
In consideration of the spiritual “crown that will last forever”, we should perhaps allow ourselves to specifically refer to the Olympic Games here as the ultimate prize in physical athletic competition, and not just any race. Of the translations considered, the REB makes the clearest reference to the Olympics with the definite “the games”; the others make reference to athletic competition, though the NJB’s reference to “the stadium” elevates it slightly. Remember, Paul is writing to an audience steeped in Greek culture – we should expect internal references that sounded to their ears like the snugness of a fitted glove.
In verse 25, the KJV surpasses the TNIV in crown langauge. The alliteration of “a corruptible crown” falls far more easily on the ears than the TNIV’s attempt to explain “a crown that will not last.” Similarly, the NJB is commended for its alliterative choice of “a wreath that will wither”, as well as the stronger cultural reference to the winner’s wreath (ha!). The REB also picks up the botanical angle with “a fading garland”, which, while not alliterative, is still far more direct and colorfully descriptive than the TNIV.
Paul is demanding that his readers approach their spiritual training with the same strictness and focus that physical athletes apply in their training. I’m reading a slight air of sarcasm in Paul’s description of the prize of athletic training in comparison to that of our spiritual training. This might be underscored better with a translation like: “Every athlete goes into strict training; the runner to win a wreath that withers; we, to grasp a garland that never fades.”
I don’t think that Paul means to say that he is literally a runner or a boxer – the focus of verse 26 seems to be explained by verse 27, perhaps restated here: “I focus all my effort on pressing toward the permanent prize, so that when I have finished preaching to others, no one may be able to disqualify me on a technicality.”
With this in mind, we look back at verse 26 to find a translation that provides a fitting contrast and bridges the thought of training for the prize in verse 25. I like the REB’s directness of language. It eliminates the metaphorical “like” of the TNIV, while avoiding the negative clauses of the NJB and KJV.
To wrap this up, I present an amalgamate translation, part taken from the translations considered above, part my own effort:
At the Games, as you know, all the runners take part, though only one wins the prize. Likewise, you also must run the race to win. Every athlete goes into strict training; the runner to win a wreath that withers; we, to grasp a garland that never fades. Therefore, I am no aimless runner; I am not a boxer who beats the air. Instead, I focus all of my effort on pressing toward the permanent prize, so that when I have finished preaching to others, no one may be able to disqualify me of having run astray into a wilderness of words.
That last phrase is borrowed from Paul’s first letter to Timothy and builds on Paul’s instruction that the goal of a disciplined life in Christ is “the love which springs from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a genuine faith.” (1 Timothy 1:5-6, REB)
* * * * *
Note: In the actual “literary excellence” series, I don’t intend to so aggressively rewrite the scripture passage under consideration. However, since the focus of all the 1 Corinthians posts around blogdom has been around exploring different metaphors and translation approaches, I felt a little more freedom to explore textual combinations.
15 Comments
Cool.
This is what I’ve been looking forward to. My favorite part of the NJB was herald and I also preferred the NEB to the REB. Excellent summary though.
I’m trying to work up steam for another post on this myself, but enough people are picking up on it that for the moment I’m content to just ruminate.
Thanks for the comments, Nathan. I didn’t have my NEB with me this morning when I wrote this – I’ll take a look tonight and comment further.
I agree that I shouldn’t have let “herald” get by without a comment; maybe I need to write an alternate ending to this post that strictly focuses on the texts rather than proposing an exploratory translation… it was fun to do though!
Great thoughts for preaching on this passage. But I can’t accept “I focus all of my effort on pressing toward the permanent prize” as an adequately accurate translation of the part verse we have mainly been discussing. “I focus all of my effort” is too weak for the double verb hupopiazo … doulagogo, the mention of “body” has been completely lost, and there is nothing in this verse about “pressing toward the permanent prize”.
Thanks for the feedback, Peter. The sense that I was going for was originally along the lines of:
I’m still inserting “on winning” in there, since that seemed to be the goal of training, of making my body a slave to spiritual discipline, as suggested by v.25. Obviously I got a little off track in word play along the way, falling victim to the very disqualification that I had Paul avoiding.
To follow up on Nathan’s comment regarding the NEB’s translation:
The footnotes in the Oxford Study Edition (NEB) confirm my final comment that the body is a figurative reference to Paul’s disciplined life. Furthermore, picking up on the word “rejected”, the notes point the reader forward to 10:5-13, which describe how some of the Israelites were rejected in the wilderness as a symbolic warning to keep faith in God.
These verses may eventually come down to the literary taste of the reader. While the KJV may have a good alliteration going, the TNIV has a parallelism that I find much better:
They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.
The REB has done nothing with alla at the beginning of verse 27, and as Peter has pointed out, there’s no mention of the body, which I think is key to this metaphor.
I still like the TNIV’s rendering.
TC – thanks for stopping by. I’m a little confused by your comments on the REB though. Here’s verse 27 from the REB:
I see both “but” (alla) and “body”. Unless your critique was of my final rendering, which I’ve acknowledged is inadequate.
As for verse 25, no surprise, I prefer the NJB and REB – the TNIV sounds pedestrian to me and the parallelism you note feels wordy compared to the former two. Never mind whether “crown” is the right translation of stephanos to use for a Greek audience.
Elshaddai, sorry for the misplaced comments. You’re correct about that.
I really don’t see the TNIV as being too wordy at v. 25. Maybe my love of the TNIV is clouding my judgment…lol.
No, I’m sure the TNIV is fine, albeit for its purposes. However, one of things I’m trying to look at in this series is how these so-called “literary translations” render phrases in ways that color the English in a manner that a translation like the TNIV does not attempt.
That’s not to say that the TNIV is wrong – I’m just looking at the difference between “They do it to get a crown that will not last” and “this is to win a wreath that will wither”. Alliteration aside, the description of the drying, the fading, the withering away of the leaves that make up a champion’s wreath creates a more visually rich picture than the straightforward “crown that will not last”.
Elshaddai, forgive me, but now I see what you’ve been getting at.
I do like your amalgamation up to v.26, and I think it has satisfied my three marks of a good translation. But I still prefer the TNIV at v. 27. I really find it hard to beat.
I think there is very often a good reason not attempt to colour translations in this way. Not only does it give to the translation a literary feel which is not necessarily in the original, it can also compromise the accuracy of the translation. In the original, if there is any “description of the drying, the fading, the withering away of the leaves that make up a champion’s wreath”, it is all in one word, so to spell this out further in a translation is to risk adding to the Bible message.
Always a good point to remember, Peter. Thank you. In this particular passage, it seems that the flavor of the English word chosen as the translation of phthartos (corruptible, withered, fading) will depend in large part on how you translate stephanos (crown, wreath, garland).
All three of the options used here are listed as viable possibilities in Strongs and Vines, and I can only pass along the argument that if Paul truly meant a royal crown, he might have used diadema instead. But here, athletic competition is the context, and a woven garland of botanicals seems to be a more appropriate choice.
As such, I’m less inclined to argue with a translation of phthartos that draws out the perishable aspect of a leafy “crown”, whether that be “withering” or “fading”.
I agree that the “crown” in question is in fact a garland or wreath, which will wither or fade rather than tarnish. But it seems too much to read three actions, “the drying, the fading, the withering away of the leaves”, into one word.
That was my mind’s expansion of the translated phrase in explaining my approach to TC, not a proposed rendering. I was just literarily vamping on the NJB’s translation “A wreath that will wither”…
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