Working for the Word - a Bible translation podcast

Let’s begin this episode with a thought experiment. Imagine you’re a local indigenous translator working on the translation of Deuteronomy. You don’t have access to any resources besides a handful of translations in the trade language that you know. That’s because the commentaries and helps are only in English and locked up by copyrights that prohibit their translation. You also know zero Hebrew a...

Why does every single English version ignore the best solution to translating Exodus 6:3? We're going to take out the magnifying glass and try to get to the bottom of this. A big thanks to Michael Fenske for his contribution to my thinking on this, and for pointing out the following verse examples without the interrogative ה: Jonah 4:11, Lam 3:38, and 1 Sam 20:9. Correction: It was brought to my a...

What does Catholicism in Latin America have to do with Jonah’s prayer in the belly of the great fish? And what kind of derogatory language doesn’t really come through in English translations of his poetic prayer? Translation is always an artistic endeavor to capture all the flavor and nuance of the original that we can. We’re going to take a little stroll into the translation of just one verse in...

A while back, while I was checking Deuteronomy in the Mixteco language of Mexico, we came to chapter 32 which is a whole lot of difficult poetry. Verse 8 stood out as one of the most complex verses to navigate and explain, mainly because of a textual variant. The big debate is whether to read the original text as saying “sons of God” or “sons of Israel,” and getting to a solid answer isn’t simple....

“This lightly written and frequently amusing book gently hides the competent scholarship that underlies it. For those who are convinced of the superiority of the KJV, whether for stylistic, cultural, pedagogical, theological, or traditional reasons, this is the book to read. Mercifully, Dr. Ward does not pummel his readers or sneer at those who take another position. Patiently, chapter by chapter,...

The King James Bible remains the most recognizable piece of literature in the English-speaking world. It stands as a masterful example of translation for its day, involving some of history’s most remarkable scholars. For over three centuries it served as the standard English Bible and has had unparalleled influence on English and American culture in nearly every sphere—including education, law, li...

As we continue our interview with Dave Brunn, translation consultant and author of One Bible, Many Versions , we’re going to put the final nail in the coffin of the idea that translations can be literally word-for-word. We’re also going to hear how translating into languages that aren’t Indoeuropean shatters the notion of word-for-word equivalence even further, which we’ll see is something not eve...

You’re in for a treat in this episode. Author and translator Dave Brunn joins us to talk about many translation issues that you’ve probably never thought about. His book One Bible, Many Versions is now my favorite book to point people to in order to understand the true issues behind our English Bible versions. He helps cut through the marketing rhetoric and provide a view of the objective reality...

As we continue our whirlwind journey through the history of the Bible in China, we’re going to see how missionary translation efforts culminated in a successful Union Version that achieved unprecedented and unimagined impact, and lasting acceptance and use. We’re going to see more intimate descriptions of what went on behind the scenes, the good, the bad, and the ugly, and see how God made possibl...

In the history of Chinese Bible translation the name of one extraordinary man stands out: Joseph Schereschewsky. In this episode we're going to take a look at his life and hopefully learn from him and be inspired by his example of perseverance and sacrifice. Most evangelicals know about the genius of Tyndale, but Schereschewsky has been all but forgotten even though he was at least as brilliant as...

As early missionaries sought to create a Chinese translation that would suit everyone from every denomination, they needed to decide on the right language style to use, as well as overcome obstacles to getting the translation done in a reasonable amount of time. We’re going to look through some interesting windows into the work and its details, and see how the Baptists were still not happy until t...

As we continue our series on China, we’re going to look at an issue that created massive conflict when translators from different backgrounds tried to come together to create a unified translation. This issue was the word for God , and it stands as one of the monoliths of Bible translation debate history. It came to be called the Term Question , and some have said it was the greatest controversy o...

There is so much we can learn from history and the ways other people have dealt with translations. In this episode we’re going to continue our conversation with Dr. Jost Zetzsche and talk about some of the strengths of Chinese for translating the Bible, about the richness of its idioms, and more. We’re continuing to lay a foundation for some of the history of Bible translation in China. You c...

With a population of over a billion people, China is one of the world’s oldest civilizations. It’s massive, it’s diverse, and it has an incredibly rich history. And in all that history I’m interested in exploring the question of how the Bible was first translated in China. What were the different challenges people faced? What can we learn from their mistakes and triumphs? We’re going to talk about...

We’ve said before on this podcast that translating bibles can be like making sausages; a peek behind the curtain of the process can reveal some unpleasant realities. But part of my goal with this podcast is to cut through any saccharine veneer that people might have in their minds and help them understand what doesn’t always get talked about. I especially want people interested in serving in Bible...

As we continue our discussion of the Tyndale House Greek NT with Dr. Dirk Jongkind , we’re going to tackle some more in-depth questions about early translations of the NT into languages like Latin and Syriac, and how they factor into the textual criticism of the NT. We’re also going to discuss some of the ways NT and OT textual criticism differ, especially in terms of reliance on manuscripts of tr...

As we touched on last time, in Bible translation it’s important to be able to decide what text you’re going to translate before you get to the task of translation. So to do that we need to compare manuscripts and ancient versions, and weigh the evidence, which is called textual criticism. This will be the first part of a conversation with Dr. Dirk Jongkind , the editor of the Tyndale House Greek N...

In this episode we’re going to look at some concrete examples of where the knowledge and discipline of textual criticism is important to help us navigate what text we are actually going to translate. Often these are little details that make simple verses turn into more difficult challenges than one might imagine. We’ll focus on the book of 1 Samuel and see how a simple narrative on the surface can...

The Passion Translation (TPT) has sold millions of copies and is recommended by some big names in the evangelical world. I think it needs to be addressed because there are some slippery, sneaky things going on behind it that many people may not know how to deal with. This is an episode on how Bible translation can go horribly wrong and make someone a boatload of money at the same time. It’s the st...

If you go to the entry page on Wikipedia for the word 'almah you’ll find this: “despite its importance to the account of the virgin birth of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew, scholars agree that it has nothing to do with virginity.” They sound very sure of themselves, and this tide needs to be turned. Dr. Rico is helping us see how this sort of definition is completely wrong based on the evidence, u...

We’re continuing a series on the translation of Isaiah 7:14, which says: Behold, the virgin shall become pregnant and bear a son, and his name shall be called Immanuel . If you’re like me, it’s always good to review what we heard last time, so Dr. Rico’s going to recap and add some detail along the way, and then he'll get into the positive arguments for why we should translate 'alma as young virgi...

Isaiah 7:14 in the KJV reads: “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” But then the RSV came out in 1952 and translated virgin as young woman . Without a doubt more has been written on the interpretation of this term than on any other verse in the Old Testament. The majority of modern scholars for the las...

Since last time we talked about the book of Job, I wanted to touch on another translation issue in the book that many people haven’t heard of or thought about. This is found in 42:6, where Job is speaking to God after hearing his voice out of the whirlwind. If you’re reading the ESV it’ll sound like this: “therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” And then you’ll notice this littl...

When talking about Bible translation what often gets avoided or buried is all the stuff that goes on behind the scenes that isn’t ideal. Many people like to imagine that their Bible translation came to them through perfect, peaceful processes, via perfect, holy men of God without struggles or weaknesses. But that’s just not the case, and we need to be transparent and honest about these things. Chr...

When someone asks you to help check a translation, where do you start? What kinds of questions should you ask? This happened to me recently, so let’s talk about it. Also, it’s been a while since we dug deep into some actual checking issues that arise in real world situations, so let’s talk about some of the things I’ve been running into in Deuteronomy and 1 Samuel. my books | free Scripture prayer...