How to Choose a Good Translation – Statements from the Translators

We’ve seen a couple of things in the matter of how to choose a good translation: 1) God has always intended for his written revelation to be communicated in the common language and 2) inspiration and inerrancy apply directly to the original manuscripts (autographs), therefore those translations and copies that seek to faithfully reproduce the intent of the originals can be said to be inspired and inerrant in a derivative sense. If these two truths hold, and I believe they do, then it would seem logical that one should choose a translation produced by translators committed to these two truths.

Because there are so many translations on the market today, it is helpful to look at the prefaces written by the translators or translation committees to see if said translation attempts to uphold the afore mentioned truths. Therefore, I will attempt to reproduce selections from some of the prefaces to the major English translations on the market today.

King James Version (KJV)

When attempting to communicate to their readers the need for an English translation in the common language of the masses, the translators wrote, “Indeed without translation into the vulgar [common] tongue, the unlearned are but like children at Jacob's well (which is deep) [John 4:11] without a bucket or something to draw with; or as that person mentioned by Isaiah, to whom when a sealed book was delivered, with this motion, "Read this, I pray thee," he was fain to make this answer, "I cannot, for it is sealed." [Isa 29:11]…But we desire that the Scripture may speak like itself, as in the language of Canaan, that it may be understood even of the very vulgar [common]."

With reference to alternate versions of the Bible, the translators said, “…we do not deny, nay we affirm and avow, that the very meanest translation of the Bible in English, set forth by men of our profession, (for we have seen none of theirs of the whole Bible as yet) containeth the word of God, nay, is the word of God…Therefore as S. Augustine saith, that variety of Translations is profitable for the finding out of the sense of the Scriptures: so diversity of signification and sense in the margin, where the text is not so clear, must needs do good, yea, is necessary, as we are persuaded."

With reference to the production of an inerrant, infallible translation versus the need for an accurate translation that is committed to inerrancy, they wrote, “Yet before we end, we must answer a third cavil and objection of theirs against us, for altering and amending our Translations so oft; wherein truly they deal hardly, and strangely with us. For to whomever was it imputed for a fault (by such as were wise) to go over that which he had done, and to amend it where he saw cause?...But the difference that appeareth between our Translations, and our often correcting of them, is the thing that we are specially charged with; let us see therefore whether they themselves be without fault this way, (if it be to be counted a fault, to correct) and whether they be fit men to throw stones at us: O tandem maior parcas insane minori: they that are less sound themselves, out not to object infirmities to others."

From the words of the KJV translators to the readers, it can be ascertained that these 17^th century men were committed to our two over-arching truths.

New King James Version (NKJV)

Since the NKJV is intended to be nothing more than a modern revision and update of the older KJV, it should be noted that the intent of the editors is not substantially different from those of their 17^th century predecessors, “In harmony with the purpose of the King James scholars, the translators and editors of the present work have not pursued a goal of innovation. They have perceived the Holy Bible, New King James Version, as a continuation of the labors of the earlier translators, thus unlocking for today’s readers the spiritual treasures found especially in the Authorized Version of the Holy Scriptures.”

The preface to the NKJV does add an explicit statement addressing inspiration and inerrancy that the KJV lacks, “In faithfulness to God and to our readers, it was deemed appropriate that all participating scholars sign a statement affirming their belief in the verbal and plenary inspiration of Scripture, and in the inerrancy of the original autographs.”

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

The translators of the NASB hold strongly to our two guiding truths, as evidenced in the forward to the preface. “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever. (Isaiah 40:8) The New American Standard Bible has been produced with the conviction that the words of Scripture as originally penned in the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek were inspired by God. Since they are the eternal Word of God, the Holy Scriptures speak with fresh power to each generation, to give wisdom that leads to salvation, that men may serve Christ to the glory of God. The purpose of the Editorial Board in making this translation was to adhere as closely as possible to the original languages of the Holy Scriptures, and to make the translation in a fluent and readable style according to current English usage.”

Furthermore, the fourfold aim of the Lockman Foundation is stated as, “1. These publications shall be true to the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. 2. They shall be grammatically correct. 3. They shall be understandable. [previous editions read "understandable to the masses"] 4. They shall give the Lord Jesus Christ His proper place, the place which the Word gives Him; therefore, no work will ever be personalized.”

English Standard Version (ESV)

The ESV translators are committed to our two guiding truths. This is evident throughout the preface to their work. “This Book [is] the most valuable thing that this world affords. Here is Wisdom; this is the royal Law; these are the lively Oracles of God. With these words the Moderator of the Church of Scotland hands a Bible to the new monarch in Britain’s coronation service. These words echo the King James Bible translators, who wrote in 1611: “God’s sacred Word . . . is that inestimable treasure that excelleth all the riches of the earth.” This assessment of the Bible is the motivating force behind the publication of the English Standard Version.”

They add later in the preface, “The ESV publishing team includes more than a hundred people. The fourteen-member Translation Oversight Committee has benefited from the work of more than fifty biblical experts serving as Translation Review Scholars and from the comments of the more than fifty members of the Advisory Council, all of which has been carried out under the auspices of the Crossway Board of Directors. This hundred-plus-member team shares a common commitment to the truth of God’s Word and to historic Christian orthodoxy and is international in scope, including leaders in many denominations…We know that no Bible translation is perfect or final; but we also know that God uses imperfect and inadequate things to his honor and praise. So to our triune God and to his people we offer what we have done, with our prayers that it may prove useful, with gratitude for much help given, and with ongoing wonder that our God should ever have entrusted to us so momentous a task. Soli Deo Gloria! —To God alone be the glory!”

New International Version (NIV)

The translation committee of the NIV puts their commitment to our two guiding truths succinctly in their preface, “From the beginning of the project, the Committee on Bible Translation held to certain goals for the New International Version: that it would be an accurate translation and one that would have clarity and literary quality and so prove suitable for public and private reading, teaching, preaching, memorizing and liturgical use. The Committee also sought to preserve some measure of continuity with the long tradition of translating Scriptures into English… Like all translations of the Bible, made as they are by imperfect man, this one undoubtedly falls short of its goals. Yet we are grateful to God for the extent to which he has enabled us to realize these goals and for the strength he has given us and our colleagues to complete our task. We offer this version of the Bible to him in whose name and for whose glory it has been made. We pray that it will lead many into a better understanding of the Holy Scriptures and a fuller knowledge of Jesus Christ the incarnate Word, of whom the Scriptures so faithfully testify.”

New Living Translation (NLT)

The commitment of the NLT translators to our guiding truths can be seen in statements such as, “The goal of any Bible translation is to convey the meaning of the ancient Hebrew and Greek texts as accurately as possible to the modern reader. The New Living Translation is based on the most recent scholarship in the theory of translation. The challenge for the translators was to create a text that would make the same impact in the life of modern readers that the original text had for the original readers. In the New Living Translation, this is accomplished by translating entire thoughts (rather than just words) into natural, everyday English. The end result is a translation that is easy to read and understand and that accurately communicates the meaning of the original text.”

CONCLUSION

It can be concluded, from looking at the selections drawn from these prefaces, that the major English translations seen here have been committed to the truths of producing an English translation readable and available to the common man, as God intended, and have been committed to faithfully representing the originals which they hold to be directly inspired and inerrant. It is my conclusion, that an English-speaking Christian can easily pick up any of these translations and have every confidence that he is holding a work that faithfully represents the originals, and is therefore trustworthy.

It should be noted that not all of these translations are identical, nor do they share the same translational philosophy and methodology, which is another consideration to be addressed in my next post. There are other translations on the market that would share the commitments of those represented here, but are not nearly as popular as these, so they have not been included.