Category Archives: bible translation
Joseph Conrad, the NEB and a wilderness of words
Longtime readers of this blog will know of my affection for the NEB/REB line of translation and the touches of literary excellence one finds therein. One particular phrase, “a wilderness of words”, has captivated me enough to make its way into my blog tagline and spawn several posts exploring the underlying Greek word, mataiologia, that [...]
The NIV readalong: You suffered, he suffered, they suffered
Note: This is part of a semi-regular series of posts comparing the NIV translation of scriptures used in my church’s sermons with similar translations. The intent is to identify hurdles that may be encountered when reading along in the pew with a different translation and to determine if they are textually or exegetically significant.
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The Wright way of reading along with the NIV…
Note: this is a salvaged draft of something I wrote in late April, but never got around to publishing. I’m revisiting it now because a few bloggers have recently posted or commented on N.T. Wright’s criticism of the NIV as a Protestant translation in his recent book, Justification.
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I’ve mentioned several times [...]
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With all your heart, soul and strength: the world vs. God
In 1 John 2:15-17, John offers a rebuttal to the world’s version of the greatest commandment:
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. (Deuteronomy 6:5)
HCSB
REB
Do not love the world or the things that belong to the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the [...]
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Misled, duped and deceived
I was flipping through the prophets a few days ago and couldn’t resist this idiosyncratic rendering in the REB, which I offer compared to examples of traditional, median and functional translation.
Jeremiah 20:7
REB
TNIV
You have duped me, Lord,
and I have been your dupe;
you have outwitted me and prevailed.
All the day long I have been made a laughing-stock;
everyone [...]
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The TNIV, sarx and the inclinations of the human heart
The Better Bibles blog is soliciting input on what types of changes would make the TNIV a “better Bible” – specifically, textual changes that could be reviewed by the Committee on Bible Translation rather than marketing changes better suited to Zondervan. While I tend to agree with the first commenter, Rick Mansfield, that the TNIV [...]
Maybe the question is not “what versions of the Bible do you use”…
Note: the following post contains some thoughts on Wayne Leman’s recent question on BBB as to “what versions of the Bible do you use and what is the most important use you have found for each of those versions?” In that post, my two-cent answer was:
NLT’07 for everyday reading and study; HCSB or TNIV for [...]
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Contracting the negative “not”…
Every time the KJV and its lineage come up in discussion, there is invariably discussion of the placement of a simple word: “not”. Critics of traditional English Bible language, aka “Biblish”, like to point out that natural English speakers do not go around asking questions like, “Are we not going to the store today?” Instead, [...]
Also posted in literary devices Comments closed
Beyond the eyes of your heart
I was just reading with interest Robert’s recent summary of the changes between the HCSB 1st Edition and 2nd Edition in the book of Ephesians. One change in particular jumped out at me:
1st Edition
2nd Edition
1:18 [I pray] that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so you may know what is the hope of [...]
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Will Twitter save the TNIV?