Jerusalem Bible and New American Bible

[Jarkoer]

Not sure if this has been asked before, but Google turned up nothing for me…

I was in Bible Study last week, and we were going over Matthew 15. Everybody brought their own Bible. Usually we go over the different versions to get a better feel of what Scripture is saying, but we ran into something that confused us.

Matthew 15:23 in virtually every translation of the Bible reads:

"So his disciples approached him and said, “Send her away: see how she is shouting after us.”

However in the Jerusalem and the New Jerusalem Bible it reads:

“And his disciples went and pleaded with him, ‘Give her what she wants,’ they said, ‘because she is shouting after us.’”

I know it’s just a minor verse, but the different versions read completely different from one another, and that had my Bible study group very curious. Does anyone know why these versions are so different? I know the Jerusalem and New Jerusalem come highly recommended, so perhaps was it the source material from which they translated from that differed?

Any explanation would be very much appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Corki]

I really love my Jerusalem Bible for devotional reading. It is a dynamic translation, however, and it is not as useful for serious Bible study. If you are going to parse individual verses, you should use a more exact translation. IMHO.

 

[DianaCC]

No, the underlying Greek is ἀπόλυσον αὐτήν, which really does mean “send her away”. But in context, of course, she is asking for something, so although it is more interpretive, “give her what she wants” is a reasonable rendition of what they mean.

 

[Jarkoer]

Thank you for that scholarly response! I looked over the Greek myself, and I agree there could be some potential for ambiguity that would allow for that interpretation found in the Jerusalem Bible. The people at Bible Study were a little upset by this last week. This should calm them. Thanks again!

 

[jcrichton]

Not sure if this has been asked before, but Google turned up nothing for me…

I was in Bible Study last week, and we were going over Matthew 15. Everybody brought their own Bible. Usually we go over the different versions to get a better feel of what Scripture is saying, but we ran into something that confused us.

Matthew 15:23 in virtually every translation of the Bible reads:

"So his disciples approached him and said, “Send her away: see how she is shouting after us.”

However in the Jerusalem and the New Jerusalem Bible it reads:

“And his disciples went and pleaded with him, ‘Give her what she wants,’ they said, ‘because she is shouting after us.’”

I know it’s just a minor verse, but the different versions read completely different from one another, and that had my Bible study group very curious. Does anyone know why these versions are so different? I know the Jerusalem and New Jerusalem come highly recommended, so perhaps was it the source material from which they translated from that differed?

Any explanation would be very much appreciated. Thanks!

…the notes on my Spanish Jerusalem Bible state:

'15:23 Lit.: “Despídela”. Los discípulos piden al Maestro que la despida concediéndole lo que pide; el mismo término griego en 18 27; 27 15.

The notation roughtly translates to: “Send her away.” The disciples ask the Master to grant her what she asks and send her away; it is the same Greek term as in 18:27; 27:15.

Maran atha!

Angel