Month: September 2011

Bible Translations and Mistranslations

Accuracy versus Readability: another false choice in Bible translation

According to a recent report by Lifeway Research, described by David Roach in the Baptist Press, “most American Bible readers … value accuracy over readability,” which is why they “prefer word-for-word translations of the original Greek and Hebrew over thought-for-thought translations.” There is overwhelming evidence and near universal agreement among linguists that word-for-word translations are…
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September 30, 2011 17

Why Most Bible Translations are So Bad (And Why the Next Generation Should Care)

This past July I had the pleasure of presenting at a TEDx conference in East Hampton, the broad theme of which was “The Next Generation.” So I offered an 18-minute segment on Bible translation, on what so often goes wrong with translations, and on how to avoid the common mistakes. I couched these topics in…
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September 14, 2011 4

Almost Back

If I had to choose a name for an alternating series of good and bad unexpected events, I might go with “Summer 2011.” There were combined lecture/pleasure trips to London, Amsterdam, and East Hampton on one hand. And on the other hand was an earthquake (which I didn’t feel), a hurricane (which left me without…
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September 14, 2011 1