Lesson 11 - So Many Translations - So Little Time!

• Revised Version
• American Standard Version
• Revised Standard Version
• New International Version
• How do I choose a translation?
• And that's finally that!

In the 1800's a number of English translations of the Bible were published by individuals. Though each one had its supporters and benefits, none of them caught the public's attention. Yet the public needed a new translation. Finally a formal call for a major revision of the King James came forth, not from the Crown, but from the Church.

The Revised Version (published in 1881)

In 1870 the Convocation of Bishops introduced a resolution to undertake a major revision of the King James translation. By the end of that year the translation committees had been organized and formal contacts had been established with US scholars.

• The general principles on which the translation would be made included - (Bruce, p. 137)
  
  
• To introduce as few alterations as possible into the Text of the Authorized Version consistently with faithfulness.
  
  
• To limit, as far as possible, the expression of such alterations to the language of the Authorized and earlier English versions.

and

• To revise the headings of chapters, pages, paragraphs, italics, and punctuation.

Unlike the King James version, the public eagerly awaited the Revised Version. When the New Testament was publish in 1881 it was telegraphed to Chicago and published as a supplement in the Chicago Tribune. The Old Testament appeared in 1885.

The Revised Version departed from the King James in three important ways -

1. The text was divided into paragraphs rather than verses. The verse numbers were included within the paragraphs.
   
   
2. The Psalms were formatted as poetry, not as prose.
   
   
3. The New Testament was based on the majority Greek text.

Although the Revised Version was not without its critics, it quickly became a best seller. While it provided an accurate enough rendering of the original texts, its English was more like a "schoolmaster" than a poet.

It did, however, break new ground as the first major revision of the King James Bible in over 250 years!

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The American Standard Version (published in 1901)

The original committees intended that their work would span the Atlantic and serve the needs of both the US and the UK. By this time, however, the two "Englishes" had divided so much that the US committees decided to issue their own version.

So in 1901 the American Standard Version appeared. Again, it was formally accurate but dynamically lacking. However, it introduced US readers to the concept of text in paragraphs, poetry in stanzas, and a New Testament based on the majority text.

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The Revised Standard Version (published in 1952)

In 1928 the "International Council of Religious Education" acquired the copyright of the ASV. Nine years later they authorized a major revision of this version. They aimed at a lofty goal -

Embody the best results of modern scholarship as to the meaning of the Scriptures, and express this meaning in English diction which is designed for use in public and private worship and preserves those qualities which have given to the King James Version a supreme place in English literature. Bruce, p. 185

In 1952 they published the complete Revised Standard Version.

In terms of language this version completed the transition to modern English in the language and verb endings. "Saith" was now said, etc. "Thee" and Thou" also fell by the wayside except when addressing God. As an interesting sidelight, Jesus is addressed as "you" before His resurrection, and "Thou" afterwards!

In the RSV more poetical sections were displayed in stanzas, not just in the Psalms. Not all poetical sections look like poetry, but more than in any other translation.

The translation was, as a whole, more "relaxed" than either the RV or the ASV. That is, the translators frequently used English synonyms for the same Hebrew and Greek terms like the KJV does. It attempted to reflect the original language in stylish English.

The RSV drew its fair share of criticisms, and some of it was, indeed, fair! No translation is perfect at every point. Good arguments can and were made against it in many individual places. Some felt that it stayed too close to the ASV and KJV. Others argued that it strayed too far from these versions and became more of a paraphrase than a translation in some places.

Some of the criticism, though, sounded like a replay of the cries raised against Jerome's Vulgate, Tyndale's English New Testament, and Luther's German Bible. These mostly conservative voices cried out that the RSV was the "Bible of the Antichrist," a claim Thomas More raised against Tyndale's work. Others wrote that it "read like something from a high school English book." Surely something that simple cannot be the Word of God!

The RSV, though, has had the last word. According to Ewert (p. 230), this is "the most widely used version in America." Add to this its popularity in England and we find that the RSV struck a widely acceptable blend of English style and pedantic accuracy.

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The New International Version (published in 1978)

In 1961, at the urging of the Christian Reformed Church, the National Association of Evangelicals laid the groundwork for a new translation of the Bible into contemporary English. The New York Bible Society and Zondervan Press helped underwrite the effort. In 1973 the New Testament was published and in 1978 the entire Bible was released.

The language is thoroughly modern, dispensing with Thee and Thou in all cases. The text is organized into paragraphs and poetry is formatted in stanzas. Notes are explanatory in nature and important textual variants are indicated in both Old and New Testaments. Ewert (p. 248) calls it "one of the best all-purpose Bibles available to English-speaking Christians."

Even this excellent translation is not the end, for as language evolves and knowledge increases the need for the Word of God in the language of the "common" person will always exist. And when each new translation comes out, some people will reject it, sometimes in violent terms. Others will accept it. Most will try it. Finally the translation will find its niche, settle in, and wait for the next one to come along!

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So How Do I Choose a Translation?

Actually, you'll need several. Some will be devotional, others enlightening, and a few will be your study tools.

Consider the three basic types of translations -

• Formal Equivalent translations - these strive for strict accuracy at the expense of style. Usually these are done by groups of scholars.

Examples - King James, Revised Version, American Standard Version, Revised Standard Version, New American Standard Version. Yes, there are others, but this list will do.

• Dynamic Equivalent translations - these strive for the same "impact" on today's reader that the original documents had on their readers more than formal accuracy.

Examples - The Living Bible, Good News Bible

• Paraphrases - these are done almost exclusively for the dynamic impact rather than formal accuracy.

Examples - Phillips Paraphrase, the Living Bible, the Cotton Patch New Testament.

I'll bet you can see where this is going. Yes, your serious study should be done in the Formal Equivalent translations. Compare the various versions to see how each translates a given passage, and it won't take you long to get the sense of the underling Greek, Hebrew, or Aramaic.

Your devotional reading should include these, but also read from the dynamic equivalent versions and the paraphrases. No, you won't like everything you read, but the message will come across in a different way. If you find something that strikes you as new and different, check it out in your study Bibles.

We've probably all driven south from Salem to Eugene on Interstate 5. At first it's a delightful trip as you drive through some of the most fertile parts of Oregon's Willamette Valley. After several trips, however, it starts getting boring. Finally you fight to stay awake - and your passengers hope you win!

One day you turn off at Albany and take the back roads to Corvallis and then south to Eugene on Route 99-W through Junction City. Suddenly you see things you never saw before - farms, villages, state parks, and wildlife make the trip an exciting adventure.

That is the experience of leaving behind your favorite and probably boring translation and reading through a different one. You may not like everything you read, but you'll also see things you never saw before. Go ahead - it's worth the trip!

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And That's Finally That!

Yep - you've made it! John Wycliffe started this whole thing back in the 1300's when he translated Jerome's Vulgate into English. The Vulgate, claimed the Roman Catholic Church, was the actual revelation of God and should not be translated out of its heavenly language into "heathen" English.

William Tyndale moved behind the Vulgate to the Greek and Hebrew texts of his day, seeking God's revelation in the Biblical languages. In the end he died for his work, even as his work was living and growing.

After Tyndale there was no stopping the flood of translations coming from the printing presses. Mary I tried to suppress it. Elizabeth I and James I tried to control it. Each of them failed in turn. In fact, King James who held to the divine right of kings, unwittingly lent his name to the very book that laid the foundation for the English and US democracies.

Today you and I have the current products of this amazing history - the English Bible in a wondrous array of forms, editions, versions, and translations. The next time you pick one up to read, stop and look directly at it. Then quietly whisper, "Thanks, God, for John Wycliffe and William Tyndale, and for their wonderful gift."

Trust me - you won't look at your Bible the same way again! Happy reading.

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