The Bible Translator: Volume 38, Issue 4

How OT translation problems were resolved in a project of the Indonesian Bible Society as it prepared a Bible for children. General principles guided the process of selecting passages and the material was organized by topics. How these selection principles work in the book of Genesis is the illustrating case. View Less

Translating the Bible for early youth in America involved being faithful to the meaning of the original, providing notes to promote understanding and following certain guidelines; in particular: accuracy; clarity; acceptability or style; selectivity of passages; sensitivity to moral and sexual issues; economy; and images which appeal to the imagination. View Less

The prophets present Bible translators with recurring problems, three of which are particularly important: (1) the different types of discourse or literary genre; (2) the boundaries between sections of a prophecy; (3) resolving the question about who is speaking and to whom. View Less

In cases where the NT quotes the OT, the problem is from what version of the OT the quotation comes, or perhaps from what source in cases where the source is not clearly from the OT. The task of the translator is to translate the text as it is. View Less

Hagiasmos, sanctification or holiness, occurs ten times in the NT. It is a Greek word that admits more than one meaning and in translating into other languages, Indonesian, for example, one must use words meaningful to the average modern reader. View Less

The first complete Ngaju Bible (an Indonesian language) was published in 1858. The recent expansion of anthropological knowledge has shown that modern translators need to take care in translating the word for “God.” Some of the particular problems are described. View Less

In this issue we include two separate contributions, which discuss different aspects of a recent publication in the Kriol language spoken by more than 20,000 people in the northern parts of Australia. The book, published by the Bible Society of Australia, contained books from both the Old and New Testaments, making up about 30 per cent of the Bible overall. View Less

Since John 12:17–18 are a “flashback explanation” of the events described in verses 12 and 13a, it is proper in some languages (such as Mataco of the Northern Argentine Chaco) to restructure the chronology in sequence in order to avoid misunderstanding. View Less

The possibilities are: (1) to meditate; (2) to stroll; or (3) to isolate or relieve himself. The evidence is inconclusive. View Less