J
James_the_Least
Guest
I’ve really enjoyed reading all your posts upo to this point, and am gratified that so many of you want to share good information about Bible translations. Although I don’t know any of you personally, I have a sense that I do. We seem to form a community within the Church, a band of those who love God’s Word and want to get all we can out of it. We also love the Church and are grateful to Almighty God for giving us so much help in reading, understanding, and applying the Word in our lives. So, brothers and sisters, I have been edified by your posts and look forward to many more.
I have many of the same translations and editions you have been speaking about, so it’s been rather easy to follow your comments.
I use a variety of translations, Catholic and other, as well as an interlinear Bible combined with Strong’s Concordance. When I really want to get into a word or phrase, I’ll check out my Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew-English Lexicon, or my Thayer’s Greek-English lexicon. I’ve learned much from these, but I wholeheartedly agree with the poster who desires knowledge of some ancient languages! It’s tough for us moderns, but the Holy Spirit provides helps.
An old, Catholic scholar of the Scriptures once told us in his Old Testament class that there is an Italian saying, which I can only share here in English, my Italian being rather weak. The saying is, “The translator is a traitor.” I’ve thought about that many times.
I’ve actually come to pity the honest and diligent translator who wishes to remain as faithful as possible to the ancient languages of Scripture, yet follow the Church’s invitation to make use of all that the sciences have to offer in the study of the Sacred Scriptures. He or she is often hampered in the faithful transmission of the words of those ancient texts, or revisions, or fragments, or redactions, or whatever there is to work with. It’s a job Id love to have, but I know that I’d not please everybody with my work. Well, I guess I’d have to “do my work as unto the Lord, rather than unto men.”
Here’s a hoot for those who have not discovered it yet. (And I won’t give it away in this post for the sake of those who like to discover cool things themselves.) In the Douay-Rheims (the edition I have is the Challoner, reprinted by TAN in 2000, and am one of those who was influenced to buy it by the Thomas Nelson booklet], go to Mt. 6:11 and read the Our Father slowly. Enjoy the surprise.
God bless you all. -James the Least
I have many of the same translations and editions you have been speaking about, so it’s been rather easy to follow your comments.
I use a variety of translations, Catholic and other, as well as an interlinear Bible combined with Strong’s Concordance. When I really want to get into a word or phrase, I’ll check out my Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew-English Lexicon, or my Thayer’s Greek-English lexicon. I’ve learned much from these, but I wholeheartedly agree with the poster who desires knowledge of some ancient languages! It’s tough for us moderns, but the Holy Spirit provides helps.
An old, Catholic scholar of the Scriptures once told us in his Old Testament class that there is an Italian saying, which I can only share here in English, my Italian being rather weak. The saying is, “The translator is a traitor.” I’ve thought about that many times.
I’ve actually come to pity the honest and diligent translator who wishes to remain as faithful as possible to the ancient languages of Scripture, yet follow the Church’s invitation to make use of all that the sciences have to offer in the study of the Sacred Scriptures. He or she is often hampered in the faithful transmission of the words of those ancient texts, or revisions, or fragments, or redactions, or whatever there is to work with. It’s a job Id love to have, but I know that I’d not please everybody with my work. Well, I guess I’d have to “do my work as unto the Lord, rather than unto men.”
Here’s a hoot for those who have not discovered it yet. (And I won’t give it away in this post for the sake of those who like to discover cool things themselves.) In the Douay-Rheims (the edition I have is the Challoner, reprinted by TAN in 2000, and am one of those who was influenced to buy it by the Thomas Nelson booklet], go to Mt. 6:11 and read the Our Father slowly. Enjoy the surprise.
God bless you all. -James the Least