Showing posts with label Comparisons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Comparisons. Show all posts

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Sirach 1:27,28

For the fear of the Lord is wisdom and instruction,
and fidelity and meekness are his delight.
Do not disobey the fear of the Lord;
do not approach him with a divided heart. 
English Standard Version

For the fear of the Lord is wisdom and discipline,
fidelity and humility are his delight.

Do not disobey the fear of the Lord;
do not approach him with a divided mind.

New Revised Standard Version


For the fear of the Lord is wisdom and instruction, 
and what pleases him is faithfulness and gentleness.
Do not stand out against fear of the Lord, 
do not practice it with a double heart.
New Jerusalem Bible

For wisdom and instruction mean the fear of the Lord,
and what pleases him is faithfulness and gentleness.
Do not be unsubmissive to the fear of the Lord,
do not practice it with a double heart.
Jerusalem Bible

The fear of the Lord is wisdom and instruction,
fidelity and gentleness are his delight.
Do not disregard the fear of the Lord,
or approach him without sincerity.
Revised English Bible

For fear of the LORD is wisdom and culture; 
loyal humility is his delight. 
Be not faithless to the fear of the LORD, 
nor approach it with duplicity of heart.
New American Bible, 1970

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Quick Translation Check

These are the verses I check to quickly assess the accuracy and reliability of a bible translation.

Genesis 1:1 The Creation
Every word and nuance is important for setting the themes of the whole Bible; especially ruah, Spirit or wind

Genesis 1:26-27 The Image of God
How is the gender issue handled in this important passage

Psalm 1 The Blessed Man
Gender issues which can make it difficult to see the Christological connections of this passage
Walk, stand, sit – does the translation “get” Hebrew poetry?

Isaiah 7: 14 The Virgin Shall Conceive
Does this passage accord with the New Testament quotations

Isaiah 9:6 His Name Shall be Called
How well is the poetry and the prophecy of this passage preserved? Does it use non-standard translations such as “hero” to deflect the real punch of this passage

Galatians 4:1-7 The Heir
A real bear of a passage to translate into gender-inclusive-English. If the translators are over the top with their gender issues it will almost certainly show here

Revelation 3:20 The Door
Another difficult passage to translate into gender-inclusive English 

Saturday, April 30, 2011

Comparison: James 1:8

  • Greek 
    μὴ γὰροἰέσθω ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐκεῖνος ὅτι λήμψεταί τιπαρὰ τοῦ κυρίου, ἀνὴρ δίψυχος,ἀκατάστατος ἐν πάσαις ταῖς ὁδοῖς αὐτοῦ
  • ESV (English Standard Version)
    For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
  • OSB (Orthodox Study Bible)
    For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
  • REB (Revised English Bible)
    A man like that should not think he will receive anything from the Lord. He is always in two minds and unstable in all he does.
  • NABRE (New American Bible Revised Edition)
    For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord, since he is a man of two minds, unstable in all his ways.
  • NJB (New Jerusalem Bible)
    That sort of person, in two minds, inconsistent in every activity, must not expect to receive anything from the Lord.
  • NRSV-CE
    for the doubter, being double-minded and unstable in every way, must not expect to receive anything from the Lord.
  • RSV-CE & 2CE (Revised Standard Version - Catholic Editions)
    For that person must not suppose that a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways, will receive anything from the Lord. 
  • (Update) Douay-Rhiems
  • Therefore let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is inconstant in all his ways.
My Opinion: The ESV is best at intelligible accuracy and transparency to the original language, closely followed by the OSB which loses a point for the archaic sentence structure. Next is the NABRE, which is my least favorite translation yet, here, gets it right. The REB provides a nice alternative which is accurate and yet subtly different to the standard reading. The NJB seems to be a fair and accurate dynamic translation of the meaning of the original. The NRSV-CE, for this verse, offers a dynamic translation for the purpose of rendering a gender neutral reading. In this case, I think it is a decent translation, sort of. At least I don't hate it. SURPRISE! The RSV-CE and 2CE, my Catholic translations of choice, offer defensible translations but loose serious points for an unnecessarily garbled rendering.