Road Trippin With Rachael

Have you ever been in a Bible study or in a church service, and heard the pastor read from a passage or project it onto a big screen and think to yourself, “That looks different from mine”? You wouldn’t be alone. Likely, there are two possible reasons for that. One, you opened your Bible to the wrong passage – I do that all the time. Or, two, you are using a different version. 

Let’s take a moment and clear up a misunderstanding with the difference between a translation and a version before we tackle a translation theory. 

Translation means that you are taking something from one language to another. Since the Bible was originally written in Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic that is translated into English. A Version refers to the vernacular that is being used in the translation. For example, the Christian Standard Bible uses contractions (don’t, didn’t, can’t, …) while the King James Version does not. They are single translations (Hebrew/Greek/Aramaic to English) but they are written with different word choices from the English language. An easy way to remember is – 

Language to Language = Translation

Word Choice vs. Word Choice in the same Language = Version

This now brings up the topic of Translation Theory (Abridged)! When going from language to language there is a philosophy of translating “Word for Word” or “Thought for Thought” and “Somewhere In-Between.”

1. Word for Word is exactly what it sounds like. A = B. An example of this would be “Tabernacle”. The Hebrew meaning of the word is to dwell in and amongst, but rather than give an explanation of the word when it was translated, we kept the same word and all that it implies. A literal translation. Another example would be a name. A name, is a name, is a name whatever the language. My name is Rachael no matter what language I’m addressed in, it just might sound different when it is pronounced. 
2. Thought for Though deals with what is implied by the original language. A ≈ B. A Biblical example would be the word love. We have one word in English, but in Greek there are different words for different kinds of love, and we don’t have a direct translation for the different kinds. When it is translated, we include descriptions with it, i.e. phileo is brotherly love. 
3. Somewhere In-Between is how I like to describe taking a more balanced approach. Although primarily word for word, it deploys though for thought theory in order to communicate specific terms of phrases in a way that is understandable for the reader in their appropriate, cultural context. 

Now that you know the differences, it will help making your Bible selection all the easier. Happy Reading!