TRAC Bible Matters ¢ Bishop Dr Gordon Wong was elected Bishop of The Methodist Church in Singapore in 2020. He served as President of the Trinity Annual Conference from 2013–2020. This response to the question below is in his personal capacity.
Why do Bible translations differ? Unless otherwise noted, the italics and bold font in the verses below have been added to highlight differences. Abbreviations used for the various English translations are listed at the end of this article.
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hy do Bible translations differ, and which Bible translation should I use? This article outlines several reasons contributing to differences between Bible translations.
expression considered appropriate and comprehensible to their readers (in the 20th and 17th centuries respectively). The NIV omits any interjection that might highlight the surprise element.
1. Substance and style
Similar considerations underlie the different translations of Judges 14:18.
Translators must decide how to convey the substance and style of each sentence. Compare these three translations of Judges 13:5. NIV (1984): because you will become pregnant and have a son. ISV (1995): because—surprise!—you’re going to conceive and give birth to a son! KJV (1611): For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son. The substance of the sentence is not in dispute. However, each translator’s decision on what style best conveys the substance results in observable differences. In the statement that promises the birth of a son, the ISV (“surprise!”) and KJV (“lo”) convey an element of surprise, each choosing an
NIV: If you had not plowed with my heifer, you would not have solved my riddle.
GNB: If you hadn’t been ploughing with my cow, You wouldn’t know the answer now.
The NIV rendering has provided what has been called a “formal equivalence” of the meaning of the words. The Hebrew word for “riddle” used in the second line rhymes with the Hebrew for “my heifer/cow”. GNB abandons any formal equivalent to the Hebrew words for “my riddle” and introduces instead the very different “answer now” to create a rhyme with “my cow”. (This has been called “dynamic or functional equivalence” as opposed to a word-by-word “formal equivalence”.) METHODIST MESSAGE FEBRUARY 2021
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