This choice is a little on the technical side: what you want to decide here is the manner in which you bible is translated! This is known as Translation Methodology. It’s not as scary or as difficult as it sounds, but some of the pros and cons of each type of translation may surprise you. Because the consequences of each type of Translation Methodology are rarely understood, I strongly recommend that you read through the Overview below before making your choice. Please make certain that you understand the consequences of your choice before making a decision. Finally, because there are so few English bibles that include the Eastern Orthodox biblical canon, some of these choices are not available here. They may become available in the future.
| I like to do original language word studies. I feel more confident in a translation where every word is translated separately, and I’m not concerned about the potential inaccuracy or the stilted language. | |
| I want the most accurate translation that uses the best English. I’m not concerned about the potential inclusion of translator bias or over-interpretation by the translator, and I never do original language word study. | |
| I want a translation that is as accurate as possible, written in good English, and can be used occasionally for original language word study. I don’t want the translator to interpret for me unless it’s absolutely necessary, and I don’t want to see any translator bias. | |
| The most important thing is that I be able to read the bible without difficulty. I want it to be as accurate as possible, but I have to be able to understand it! | |
| Reading the bible is a pain! I want to read a bible that keeps my interest, and that’s not any harder to read than Huckleberry Finn. I don’t care if it’s not quite as accurate as it should be, because those accurate ones are just too difficult to read. |
For a better understanding, you should continue reading.
Below are:
More ahead . . .
Overview
You can think of Translation Methodology as the goal of the translators. What advantages are the translators trying to give you with their particular bible translation? I have intentionally simplified the issue, and I have formed five groups:
- Formal Equivalence — the common name for this is a word-for-word literal translation. The goal is to choose a single word or phrase for every word of the original language text. This results in a very direct translation — with some consequences that may surprise you. Please be especially aware that a very literal word-for-word translation, contrary to what most people expect, tends to produce a less accurate translation!
- Dynamic Equivalence — the common name for this is a thought-for-thought translation. The goal is to take each phrase in the original language (instead of each word as above) and to translate that phrase into an English phrase that conveys the very same meaning. This is a less rigid translation of the original languages, but has the potential to be far more accurate.
- Moderate Equivalence — think of Translation Methodology as a number line. At one end is pure Formal Equivalence. At the other end is pure Dynamic Equivalence. Nearly all bibles fit somewhere between the two extremes. Those that land more or less in the center, not very word-for-word literal and yet still retaining a large degree of Formal Equivalence, I place in the Moderate Equivalence group.
- Very Easy-to-read — the goal of this Translation Methodology speaks for itself. With these bibles, the purpose of the translators is to offer a translation that uses very simple vocabulary and short, simple sentences. Although the advantages are obvious, the disadvantages can be significant.
- Paraphrase — strictly speaking, this is not a Translation Methodology at all, and most people do not consider paraphrase bibles to be translations — not even when the paraphrase is taken directly from the original languages. The goal of a paraphraser is to provide a bible that reads like a novel. A paraphrase is like a story in which each paragraph of the paraphrase tells you what each paragraph of the bible is about. I do not recommend paraphrase bibles except in very special circumstances.
More ahead . . .
Understanding accuracy and precision
Before you look at the pros and cons of the different Translation Methodologies, it is important that you understand the difference between accuracy and precision. What is really meant by more precise? How is that different from more accurate?
First, let’s take a look at how a very literal word-for-word translation can reduce accuracy. Consider this example sentence:
“Bob is a real snake.”
Without context, the reader unfamiliar with
English might understand this to mean that the person
under discussion, Bob, is literally a
reptile.
In English, the use of the word real makes it plain
to us that this is a
metaphor — but
a literal translation of the word real would
likely not convey that same meaning in a
foreign language.
Precision has a subtly different meaning from accuracy — an important difference. Let’s pretend you went to the store last Saturday at 7 A.M. Each of the three following sentences describe this.
| I went to the store last week. |
| I went to the store last Saturday. |
|
I went to the store last Saturday at 7 A.M. |
First, understand that all of these sentences are
100% accurate.
Every one of them describes what actually happened:
the meaning of each sentence accurately describes the
event.
The first sentence is pretty vague, but you only have to
understand what is meant by the word week to
understand it.
The second sentence is more precise, but you have to
know what day Saturday was to get a full
understanding.
The third sentence is the most precise, but to
understand it you not only need to know when Saturday
was, you need to know how to tell time!
This demonstrates how using simple vocabulary
and fewer words can result in less precision.
On to the pros and cons . . .
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Methodology comparison: pros and cons
| Methodology | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Formal Equivalence (word-for-word literal) |
|
|
| Dynamic Equivalence (thought-for-thought) |
|
|
| Moderate Equivalence |
|
|
| Very Easy-to-read |
|
|
| Paraphrase |
|
|
| Methodology | Pros | Cons |
Decision ahead . . .
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Decision Time!
| I like to do original language word studies. I feel more confident in a translation where every word is translated separately, and I’m not concerned about the potential inaccuracy or the stilted language. | |
| I want the most accurate translation that uses the best English. I’m not concerned about the potential inclusion of translator bias or over-interpretation by the translator, and I never do original language word study. | |
| I want a translation that is as accurate as possible, written in good English, and can be used occasionally for original language word study. I don’t want the translator to interpret for me unless it’s absolutely necessary, and I don’t want to see any translator bias. | |
| The most important thing is that I be able to read the bible without difficulty. I want it to be as accurate as possible, but I have to be able to understand it! | |
| Reading the bible is a pain! I want to read a bible that keeps my interest, and that’s not any harder to read than Huckleberry Finn. I don’t care if it’s not quite as accurate as it should be, because those accurate ones are just too difficult to read. | |
| I want more in-depth descriptions of each Methodology, a fuller explanation of the pros and cons, and maybe even a side-by-side comparison so that I can see the differences for myself. (Coming Soon!) |
