Translating John 3:16

Gary Manning has a good discussion here concerning whether one should translate John 3:16 as “God so loved” or “God loved in this way.” I like his 'have your cake and eat it too" conclusion but not sure if it works.

Translations and Treaties

Here is an interesting article highlighting the problems inherent in translation, in this case, treaties between two nations. But this text does illustrate some of the challenges also inherent in Bible translation.

Raiders of the Lost Ark and the Headpiece of the Staff of Ra

This is a delightfully nerdy post about translating the headpiece of the staff of Ra in the Raiders of the Lost Ark film.

HT: Elijah Hixson

Word Meanings Change

Here are eleven English words that used to mean something significantly different. This is one reason that translations are important and why new translations are needed.

Translating Genesis 1:1

Although this article does not really raise any new issues regarding the best way to render Genesis 1:1, it may be a good read for some who are less acquainted with the different approaches to the verse. For me, Victor Hamilton's discussion in his commentary on Genesis 1-17 does a better job of laying out the issues but this article does present some of the discussion from a Jewish perspective. 

Free Logos "Book" for July: Mobile Ed: NT308 The Reliability of New Testament Manuscripts Course

The free Logos "Book" for the Month for May is Craig Evans' The Reliability of New Testament Manuscripts course. You can also purchase Mark Strauss' Introducing Bible Translations course for $9.99 and/or Craig Keener's Critical issues in the Synoptic Gospels course for $19.99 and register to win the four-course Text of the Bible bundle. For all these offers, go to the Logos' Free Book of Month page here.

Translating New Testament Slavery Texts

Philip Jenkins discusses the challenges related to translating slavery texts in the New Testament here.

The Complexity of Translation

The New Yorker has an interesting article here related to the recent translation of a Korean novel into English. This is a great illustration of the complexity of the process of translation, whether it relates to the Bible or a novel.

The Temptation to Retranslate the Lord's Prayer

Many of you have probably already heard about the Pope's call for a "better translation” of one of the verses in the Lord’s Prayer (Matt 6:13). But Anthony Esolen argues here, and rightly in my opinion, that this suggestion is misguided at best.

Reading 4Q124

This article explains how one of the Dead Sea Scrolls, 4Q124, was deciphered.

Repetition in Genesis

Sam Bray notes here the importance of noting and translating repetitions in the Bible, notably in this case Genesis.

Emoji Translation of the Bible

This is not a translation I would recommend but you can read about a new emoji translation of the KJV here. Or you can visit the website here. "For God so loved the world" is rendered as, "4 😇 so 😍 the 🌎".

The Klingon Version of the Psalms

Amazon offers a Kindle version of the Psalms in Klingon here. Apparently, this "translation" is based on the World English Bible. I would not recommend purchasing it and make sure you read the customer reviews. I only mention it here for two reasons. First, it serves to highlight the challenges of translation in general. Second, there might serve as a useful sermon illustration.

Dan Wallace on Lexical Fallacies by Linguists

See this post by Dan Wallace on lexical fallacies by linguists here.

The 50th Anniversary of the Commissioning of the NIV

Three parts of the recent 50th anniversary dinner and program celebrating the commissioning of the NIV at the Evangelical Theological Society meeting in San Diego are worth noting. First, there was a paper presented by Doug Moo. His paper was printed and distributed by Zondervan as a free booklet but you access the free PDF here. Second, there was a lively and interesting panel discussion involving Moo, Richard Hess, Karen Jobes, Bill Mounce, Jeannine Brown, and Mark Strauss. See this live blog for a transcript of the questions and answers. And third there was a surprise presentation of a festschrift for Doug Moo. I will talk about this book in a future post.

You can read a story about the meeting here.

Hurtado on the Septuagint

Larry Hurtado has a brief primer on the Septuagint and some suggestions on related helpful resources here.

The Number of Languages in the World

See this interesting blog post at Lingua Franca on the challenges and politics of delineating and counting the languages of the world. The work of the Summer Institute of Linguistics receives special notice.

A New Interpretation of a Phrase from the Psalm Scroll

Haaretz has an interesting article on a new interpretation of a phrase from the Dead Sea Scrolls' Psalm Scroll in a poem called the “Apostrophe to Zion.” You can read the article here.

Challenges of Translation

Although this article in the Economist is not specifically about Bible translation, it does illustrate issues that also occur in Bible translation.
 

Access to the Bible Translator

  
I recently received an email from Sage Publications which noted that they are now publishing The Bible Translator from 2013 on behalf of United Bible Societies. Sage is offering free access to the journal until the end of June. The email highlighted the following articles.

Translation, Exegesis, and 1 Thessalonians 2.14–15: Could a Comma Have Changed the Course of History?
Stanley E. Porter (April 2013)

Looking in the Old Testament for the Epic Genre
Roger Bullard (April 2013)

Hearing the Voice of the Other: Engaging Poets and Writers as Bible Translators, with a Case Study on Isaiah 7.14
Hans-Olav Mørk (July 2012)

A Feminist Approach to Bible Translation: Translating John 4.7b-26 into Korean Addressee Honorifics
Ji Youn Cho (October 2011)

Ethical Concerns and Worldview Perspectives in Bible Translation: An Inquiry into the Ethics of Bible Translation
Krijn Van Der Jagt (July 2010)