Making My Own Bible Translation

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alcuin18

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Hello. I have been thinking about doing something which might seem silly or even implausible for someone like myself who is not a professional linguist or theologian, but I would like everyone’s opinion on it, both the efficacy of doing it in general and how I could go about doing it and getting it out to the public when or if I actually do it.

My idea is to make a new Bible translation myself, using certain philosophical guidelines, such as making it in accordance with Catholic teaching, making it as literal as possible, using the Vulgate as a guideline for the original languages, and using modern English derivatives from the original language words in the text rather than choosing interpretative or archaic words (like the common translation of 1 Corinthians 1:23 as ‘stumbling block’ rather than ‘scandal’, which is an English word derived from the original Greek ‘skandalon’).

As I said, I’m not a professional in any sense. I simply want a Bible which actually reflects both the original languages and Catholic teaching in a way which fits modern English. I’ve never found a translation, particularly a Catholic one, which I really like or which fits my criteria.

Is this a silly idea? If I did this, would it be possible to publish it, perhaps as an e-book? Any opinions or help would be greatly appreciated. God bless! 🙂

PS: I should have specified, my main intention at this point is to translate the New Testament, not the entire Bible - maybe someday!
 
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It strikes me as an enormous amount of unneeded work.

We already have excellent translations available - prepared by accomplished scholars.

Can you read Hebrew and Koine Greek?

Deacon Christopher
 
No; as I said Deacon, I’m not a professional linguist. My intention is just to make a translation (primarily a New Testament; as you say, the Old Testament is probably far beyond my capacities) which actually fits the criteria I mentioned. I haven’t seen one that does, which frequently disappoints me whenever I’m looking for a translation to read. I planned to use Greek lexicons and other resources, as well as cross-referencing the Vulgate as I said, while also using other English versions for reference.
 
When you make the point about “stumbling block” and “scandal,” I think you’ve put your finger on the nub of the translation question. How does a translator reconcile the need to sound natural in present-day English with the need to be faithful to the text in the original language?

Here’s a practical suggestion, a good place to start your translation. It’s a notoriously tough challenge to a translator’s skills. It’s just two words in Greek (and also, since you mention it, just two words in Jerome’s Latin). It’s Jesus’ reply to John the Baptist in Matt 3:15, “Sine modo” in Latin or “Αφες αρτι” in Greek. “Sine” is the imperative of the verb sino, sivi, situm, meaning “let” or “leave”, and “modo” means “now.” If you look at the parallel translations of the verse on the Bible Hub website (link below), you’ll see the extraordinarily wide variety of English expressions that different Bible translators have opted for. How would you translate those two words?

Matthew 3:15 "Let it be so now," Jesus replied. "It is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness in this way." Then John permitted Him.
 
The Knox Bible was the last Bible translated by one person. He started in 1936, and his New Testament was published in 1945. It wasn’t meant to replace the Rheims, but it was meant to be used alongside it. His Old Testament came out in 1950.

However, it never quite caught on, because about that same time, in 1943, they stopped using Vulgate-based translations, and started emphasizing Hebrew and Greek-based translations.

It’s good because it’s very idiomatic-English. So, for example, the first thing that really stood out was how Knox handled placenames. So whereas in my usual Bibles, I see things like “Migdal Eder”, and I’m like, “Huh, okay, it’s a place, and they’re trying to ground this story in time and space by referring to it.” But in my Knox Bible, I see–
So Rachel died, and was buried on the way that leads to Ephrata (the same as Bethlehem). Over her tomb, Jacob raised a monument; it is called, to this day, the Pillar of Rachel’s Tomb. And he went on from there, and pitched his tent on the further side of the Sheep-Tower.
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And all of a sudden, I’m like, “Ohhh! So there’s a place, on the way to Bethlehem, that’s called the Sheep-Tower… that sounds like it’s got some symbolism going on!” And I do a little looking around, and find out that it’s connected to the place where the sacrificial Temple sheep are kept, etc, etc, etc… so we’ve got all this foreshadowing happening a thousand years before we get to the Nativity. But you totally miss it with “Migdal Eder”, because it’s just a name that has no meaning.

So— you might go ahead and find a Knox Bible, and see how he handled his translations, and if it strikes a chord with what you’re wanting to accomplish. He was someone who did a translation very, very well— if he doesn’t give you what you’re looking for, translate a key chapter of your own, and compare your translation to two or three others, including his, and you’ll see your strengths and weaknesses. Also, keep an eye on how he handles his page layout/typesetting, and see how that makes a difference in the flow of the narrative, in comparison to your usual two-or-three-columns-per-page layout.

Good luck!
 
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BartholomewB:

I can definitely see the difficulty, as with the verse you specify. Based on the various English versions referenced in the link you gave, I personally prefer the Douay use of ‘suffer’, which according to Church teaching means to allow something we dislike for the sake of God, as Christ did at His Passion.

However, ‘suffer’ in modern times is usually treated as a synonym for ‘pain’, and so could give the reader the impression that John didn’t actually want to do what Jesus commanded but was perhaps even being forced to. Simply translating it as ‘permit’ or ‘allow’, though, could give a similar connotation as ‘suffer’, or imply that Jesus is somehow beholden to John.

I would translate this verse as ‘Trust me now’, because that, it seems to me, is the meaning of Christ’s command - to trust Him against John’s ignorance of Jesus’ purposes. While this would probably be considered more of a non-literal interpretation, to me it fits more with the actual meaning of the words which can be lost on the reader if the words are just translated word-for-word literally.

Dlee:

That is a danger for all translations, but I wouldn’t purport to replace the original texts, and the authority of interpretation is with the Church, not me, so all translations should be checked against Church teaching.
 
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midori:

Knox is actually my main inspiration for my idea. I greatly appreciate his ideas about translation and he was far superior to me in all types of scholarships. I hope to get a copy of his Bible someday - it could make my own endeavor a bit unnecessary! 🙂
 
If you haven’t already, I’d start with learning Greek grammar. Greek words are one thing but Greek grammar is a whole nother ballgame!

Good luck. It would be a great learning opportunity whether you succeed or not!
 
The ISBN of the Baronius Press edition is 9781905574599.

You can find a copy for about $55 + shipping, which is the same as the price for the original print run.

Haven’t checked into the prices on the 1945 and 1950 editions yet.
 
No reason you can’t do it for yourself but nobody is going to buy or read a translation (as you mention selling it on e-book) from someone with no theological or linguistic background. What authority do you have that would give me reason to trust your interpretation? Anyone can make a translation they like, who is to say you did a good job
 
Seems a little unneeded.

What if you translate it wrong and lead people into false translations of the Word of God? Are you ready for that?

I would never read a translation that some rando guy made and I’d be leary of anyone that wanted to
 
If you don’t know Koine Greek, then don’t even try to translate the NT. I am learning Greek and the grammar is just horrible. I repeat “Horrible!”.

A translation done in 2019 can never be as good as the original written in the first century. We will never be able to completely understand everything written in the NT in a first century context. Those who translate, have to set aside some 10-15 years for just translating the NT. And there are several working at the same time with the translation.

If you speak two languages really well, the harder you find it to translate from one language to another. And languages change as people use them. New words have to be invented for new actions or items. When people don’t know the older meaning for a word they will use the word but the meaning change. Temptation has changed meaning in the past 10 years in my language and is now commonly used in the following context: “May I tempt you with another cookie?”.
 
My favorite example of words changing meanings is Middle English “silly”. It used to mean blessed. Imagine coming across silly Mary, mother of God! It now has a completely different meaning but linguists can trace the change in meaning over time. Imagine if you couldn’t? You’d have to change your impression of Mary if you didn’t know silly meant blessed!
 
It took the brilliant, multilingual Monsignor Ronald A. Knox 13 years in seclusion to translate the scriptures. It took the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine several years to produce their 1941 New Testament Translation, and until 1969 to complete the Psalms and Old Testament. Both of these bibles serve extremely well, being up dates of the Challoner-Rheims version of the scriptures.

IMO, such academic, delicate and nuanced work is not for do-it-yourselfers.
 
I’d spend time reading and studying the Bible. No need to reinvent the wheel.
 
I think he should attempt it. He may have no ability to ever sell it but it is a worthy project that would enhance his understanding of the process of translation and of the Bible itself! Even if he gives up or spectacularly fails, he will have learned a great deal in the attempt.

Go for it!
 
A couple of major concerns here. First, you are undertaking a task to “make your own Bible translation” while fully acknowledging your lack of education, training, and credentials to do so. This seems extraordinarily dangerous to do so in my opinion. If you do not know the linguistic or textual reasons why a passage reads as it does, by what authority would you render it to say something different? Second, your second premise is that you want a translation that is in accordance with Catholic teaching. Translations should not seek to be faithful to a doctrine, they should be faithful to the text. Otherwise you venture into places such as the New World Translation does in rendering a perversion of the text, not a translation of the text. Doctrine should always be derived from the text, because supposedly the text is the written record of the teaching of the Church. If you are altering the text to suit doctrine, then you need to ask yourself if your doctrine is correct. This way of thinking approaches the task of translation in the exact opposite manner in which it should be done. Third, there are lots of faithful English translations of the Bible that use a formal equivalence model of translation. Again, though, your second premise seems to indicate that you are less interested in formal equivalency than you may think you are.

That being said, I think learning the language so that you can better understand why your translation of choice renders the text as it does is a fruitful exercise useful for exegetical interpretation of the text.
 
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alcuin18 said:
I hope to get a copy of his Bible someday
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If price is an issue then you should look on eBay. I bought an old student edition from the 60’s for about $25. The only downside is that the print is in two columns.
 
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