So I keep hearing how Bible versions are bias. Ie...KJV is Anglican ESV is Calvin and so on. So my question is if there supposed to be accurate translations how can there be a bias?
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How can a Bible be bias?
- Thread starter shawnavery
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Translators are people and the act of translation is somewhat subjective and requires interpretation.
When people translate a work they necessarily bring a bit of their overarching philosophy into the work they are doing.
How far you can stray from the original intent of a native speaker and technically remain accurate is something you should think about when reading a translation.
The 1599 Geneva bible favored by Calvinists of the time for instance had margin notes that were often directed at the catholic church for instance.
If you read it you have to understand that it was written in the context of the wake of the protestant reformation.
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Well I can understand marginal notes. But to remain accurate there's only so much room. Wouldn't that be right?
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As I said you can remain technically accurate in translation and lose the meaning.
Even person to person there are inaccuracies in meaning when speaking the same language.
Hebrew, Greek and English are simply different languages. There is a certain amount of artistry to convey ideas written in one 2000 years ago to a native speaker today.
Meaning can be lost or even twisted in this way, and someones bias can be present in the way meaning is conveyed.
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football5680
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A single word in one language can have different meanings or connotations in another. When people translate the Bible and they are put in a position where they have to make this decision, their own personal bias will take over. This happens when the goal of the translator is to translate it word for word instead of the meaning.
Some Bibles are translated in a way to convey the overall meaning of what is being said instead of what the plain text says word for word. These translations are extremely bias because it is solely dependent on what the translators beliefs are.
For the most part I do not see major bias in the versions that are most popular. The worst case I have seen is the translation that the Jehovah's Witnesses use. Their translation is blatantly dishonest and it is clear they are simply trying to prove their own case.
Some Bibles are translated in a way to convey the overall meaning of what is being said instead of what the plain text says word for word. These translations are extremely bias because it is solely dependent on what the translators beliefs are.
For the most part I do not see major bias in the versions that are most popular. The worst case I have seen is the translation that the Jehovah's Witnesses use. Their translation is blatantly dishonest and it is clear they are simply trying to prove their own case.
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Ah, I see. (I´m not in the position to give you advice, but I´d recommend you to consider learning a second language eventually.
)As others have already explained, different languages work very differently, so that translation necessarily requires interpretation.
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Ah, I see. (I´m not in the position to give you advice, but I´d recommend you to consider learning a second language eventually.
As others have already explained, different languages work very differently, so that translation necessarily requires interpretation.
Well I'm hitting 50years old ..so I think I'll just stick with English as I almost have that down
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Chany
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Well I'm hitting 50years old ..so I think I'll just stick with English as I almost have that down
Have you've considered American? It's rather easy to get for native English speakers.
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Standing_Ultraviolet
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You're right, but I do think that it stands as a good example of how the translating process can be biased.
The first verse of John, in Koine Greek (transliterated) is:
En arche ein ho logos, kai ho logos ein pros ton theon, kai theos ein ho logos.
Because theon/theos can mean God, a god, or something with the characteristics of a god in Koine Greek, you have some options as to how to translate that into English. First, you can go the uncomfortably literal route and get the S_UV Version of the New Testament:
In first was the word and the word was toward divinity, and divinity was the word.
Obviously that's a nightmare, and no one would ever have understood the text that way. There's no indication that theon/theos is being used here to refer to a non-literal god (which was an uncommon use anyway), and the author was obviously a monotheist, so there's no justification for the ambiguous noun/adjective "divinity" instead of "God". Beyond that, there's obviously the fact that "arche" doesn't mean "first" here. It's a bit of wordplay. You would never translate as "first" in this context for the same reason that you would translate "hoy hace sol" as "it's sunny today" instead of "today makes sun".
A better translation is the one provided in the KJV:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The New World Translation, on the other hand, resolves the ambiguity in the opposite direction by saying that "the word was a god". That may be technically correct, but it's hermeneutically bankrupt. There's no justification for the addition of the indefinite article.
Less extreme examples occur in any Bible translation, though. It's just part of the business of translating. The worst example can often be the best illustration.
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