I barely slept last night, and I don’t think I can put two sentences together. Here are some extracts from an essay I worked on.
Biased Translations:
The first of these questions is a troubling possibility. As mentioned, theology does influence translations, such as the translation of the Gospel of John presented by those who would deny Christās full divinity which states that the word was a god, not the God. In another instance, I remember a Catholic podcaster comparing the official Catholic translation of Numbers 5 with a certain translation which I can no longer recall. According to this fellow, a Mr. Knowles, what should be the word miscarriage was translated as abortion. Now, whether or not this account is true, the point remains that among Christians, Christian cults, and non-Christians, issues of politics, intentionally or otherwise, seep into the translation.
Here, I think, is the rub: The existence of a partisan translation need not subsequently discredit all other translations. In our modern age, we have the luxury of websites such as Bible Hub or BibleGateway. Assuming there is no cabal of Bible translators overriding the system with agreeing partisan translations, one merely has to click a few buttons to have multiple translations of any verse paired side by side to see how independent translators perceive the text. Whereas there are some bad translations, there is a veritable overabundance of good translations to correct the record.
Value of Translations:
Now, regarding the meritorious nature of the original text compared to a translation, the answer is yes and no. Yes, a translation is in a sense a layer between the reader and the author; but no, a translation is not significantly worth less than the original. If an analogy will suffice, Newtonian physics can fly a man to the moon even though the theory of Relativity provides the more accurate representation of the material world. Newtonian physics can solve many problems; in the areas where it fails, Einstein is invoked. Likewise, a translation of the Bible is extremely useful and is all that is needed for general problems; there are specialized instances where translations might not work, instances where looking at the original languages proves useful. In general, though, these specialized issues have little or no bearing on the day to day life of either a Christian or someone wanting to learn about Christianity. Like Newtonian thought getting man to the Moon without the need of Einstein, so a Christian can be a Christian without needing to learn Greek.
Best Translations:
As regards finding the right translation, there are primarily two extremes between which translations fall, literal or idiomatic. I often find I do not like the highly idiomatic versions primarily due to what I would call a dead voice. This is not an intrinsic quality of this theory of translation, but often those attempting to grasp the meaning of the text over the literal words of the text treat poetics or ambiguity (what I often find as beautiful) as inferior language needing to be ironed out. However, any overly literal translation is far worse, for it fails to really be English, to even be a translation. The best translations avoid either extreme. I lean towards the literal when picking a translation (my mother raised me on King James), but there is definitely room for different tastes and personalities to find translations which communicate the equivalent ideas in a way more conducive to that personās understanding the text. The best translation, I find, is generally one the individual can read and understand.
Tale Told 