I have certain ideas that don't match with the standard interpretation of some things (in particular the Wheat and Tares parable). I suspect that I could redo the translation from Greek to make the parable say what I think it should say.
Is there a version of the bible where each word has all possible translations of that word in parentheses or something?
Another method might be to look at very early sermons about this parable by Greek-speaking priests to see if any of them understood the parable the way I think it should be understood.
If we accept that the authors of the bible were inspired by God to write the texts we have in Scripture and that Scripture is an authoritative source for understanding who God is and his desires for us, then our goal is to understand what the inspired author intended to say. Drawing out the authors intended meaning is called exegesis. Taking your preconceived ideas about what the text "should" say and then trying to insert those meanings into the text of the bible is called
eisegesis and it is always wrong to approach Scripture in this way.
While legitimate variances in bible translations do exist, they are limited to only a few possibilities because they need to be supported by both the grammar and vocabulary of the original texts and the historical context in which those texts were originally received. Here are two of the tools that are used by scholars involved in bible translation.
1) Critical editions of the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts.For Hebrew, the most common critical texts used today are the BHS/BHQ. The BHS is the accepted standard today and it includes as a base text the Hebrew/Aramaic of the Leningrad Codex with an apparatus at the bottom of the page listing all of the major variances found in other Hebrew texts and in ancient translations like the Greek LXX and Aramaic Targums. The BHQ is a multi volume critical edition that is not yet complete. It includes a similar critical text when opening the volume from right to left (Hebrew direction) and a brief critical commentary when opening the volume left to right (English direction).
For Greek, the most common critical texts are the NA27 and UBS4. They both contain a composite Greek text that represents the most likely original reading of the Greek text. And like the Hebrew critical texts, they include an apparatus at the bottom of each page that lists all of the significant variant texts found in other Greek manuscripts and in ancient translations of the Greek i.e. Latin, Coptic, etc....
2) Critical commentaries (as someone else mentioned in this thread).These begin by discussing the variant readings found in different passages and the significance of each variant reading. These volumes will also spend time dealing with archeological discoveries related to the text and cultural information that comes from non-biblical writings that may impact the interpretation of the biblical text i.e. this could include historical information that may bring clarity to a text, or evidence for idioms that might otherwise not be understood, etc...
In order for a bible translator to legitimately propose a new translation for a passage in Scripture; they need to be able to show evidence for that translation. This would include demonstrating that the Hebrew, Greek, or Aramaic grammar should be understood differently, or that a variant reading of the text found in another ancient source represents a vorlage (unknown variant text in the original langauge), or that internal textual evidence suggests a vorlage. The textual evidence, both biblical and non-biblical, as well as any other evidence for these changes needs to be referenced so that other scholars can verify the variant reading as legitimate before it is adopted into a bible translation.
The requirements for accepting alternative translations on any legitimate bible translation committee, like those committees that translated the NIV, ESV, NASB, NRSV, etc... because
the goal is to produce a bible that communicates the intended meaning of the inspired author. With that goal in mind, we cannot produce a bible with any meaning we want; we are limited only to the meanings that are grammatically and culturally possible within the context of the time period, geographical location, and people group in which the author lived.
Please put your effort into finding out what the meaning of the text really is rather than trying to insert your meaning into the text. The message of the bible is life changing because it was given to us by the giver of life himself. What he said is far more important than what we think.
