Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Jerry Shepherd" <jerry.shepherd AT taylor-edu.ca>]

Chuck,

I believe you have a pretty sane perspective on the issue.  It is
perfectly legitimate to have translations that are targeted at specific
audiences.  This is simply following Paul's example of becoming "all
things to all people."  The problem, however, as I see it, is that in a
day where bibical literacy, as you say, is on the decline, even the
leadership of the church is uninformed with regard to the various
translations, such that they are unable to advise their congregations as
to which translations are best for study purposes.  So your "if used
appropriately" is a good qualifier; but I have less and less confidence
that in many churches the leadership is able to make the distinctions.

Jerry

Dr. Jerry E. Shepherd
Associate Professor of Old Testament
Taylor Seminary
11525 - 23 Avenue
Edmonton, AB T6J 4T3
CANADA
Office: (780)431-5250
Home: (780)434-1164
Fax: (780)436-9416
Email: Jerry.Shepherd AT taylor-edu.ca
Internet: http://www.taylor-edu.ca 
 

-----Original Message-----
From: chuckles77 AT juno.com [mailto:chuckles77 AT juno.com] 
Sent: Friday, January 07, 2005 12:54 PM
To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: [b-hebrew] Re: Usage of Various Bible Translations


My two cents on the differing Bible translations in English:

I've ministered in a full-time capacity for over ten years to college
students here in the U.S., and I can attest to the steady decline in
biblical literacy.  I see this more as a result of a cultural shift
occurring in the States  but it also has, I think, to do with some
fundamental problems in our education system.

I doubt, for example, that the average high school or college student
has enough background in either the classics or the Bible to be able to
understand such works as Dante or Milton or even parts of Chaucer or
Shakespeare on their own.  Furthermore, the "microwave-ready" mentality
prevalent in our culture (yielding passive interaction with texts vs. an
active one) has certainly produced an atrophying influence to the next
generation's ability to wrestle with a text, be it biblical, classical,
or otherwise.  

I think the flood of English translations over the last few few decades,
which tend to be more towards the DE end of the spectrum, is a signpost
for these things.  However, that should not be taken as a criticism of
DE translations in and of itself.  It's simply a fact.

I know and have befriended many students who have a minimal knowledge of
the Bible.  They are completely unfamiliar with its accounts, and are
often, to be honest, not very good readers.  For them, a translation
such as the NLT or NIV really is the best translation to start out with.

As a student develops a familiarity with the Bible, I encourage them to
be exposed to translations more on the FE side of the spectrum, such as
the NASB, the ESV, or the new HCSB.  In this way they take on more of a
responsibility to actively engage themselves with the text--and discover
much more with a translation that is more transparent to what the
original authors wrote.

My point, in echoing Comfort, is that different translations can play  a
vital role in the step-by-step process a person goes through in
developing an understanding of the biblical text.  The DE translations
make the biblical text much more accessable at the outset for our
students.  Yet my desire is for them to gradually "graduate" to FE
translations that will offer a greater challenge to strengthen their
exegetical "muscles" as well as opening their eyes to nuances of the
text that are ofttimes missing in the DE translations.

So, can we agree that all the English translations discussed can serve a
useful, and even important, role in helping people understand the Bible,
if used appropriately?

All the best,
Chuck Wynn
Campus Staff, Riverview Church
www.eriv.net
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