The latest incarnation of the NIV (“NIV2011,” released on-line in 2010) sometimes translates ioudaioi (“Jews”) as “Jewish leaders” because “the negative statements made about groups of Jews in the New Testament were clearly never intended to refer to every living Jew at that time….” (translators’ notes, available on-line as a PDF — emphasis from the…
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I’m in Houston, my first stop on a four-city, two-week book tour about And God Said. (Read more.) Sponsored by the JBC, the tour brings me to Houston, San Diego, Milwaukee, and Boulder this month, in addition to Queens (last month) and Wilmette, IL (in March). Those who are so inclined can follow along from…
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I think it can helpful to look at familiar English words as a way of understanding ancient words and how best to translate them. In this case, we’ll look at one way words can mean more than one thing. “Cash” in English One meaning of the English word “cash” is actual physical money — dollar…
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According to the translators’ notes for the updated (“2011”) NIV, “every single change introduced into the committee’s last major revision (the TNIV) relating to inclusive language for humanity was reconsidered.” This is in keeping with an announcement the translators made in 2009. Some people were concerned about this, because they were afraid the translation committee…
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The updated NIV has been released on-line. According both to an interview with Douglas Moo and to the translators’ notes (available in PDF format), one goal of the NIV is “hearing the Word the way it was written,” which, Dr. Moo explains, means “trying to reflect in English something of the form of the original…
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As expected, the much-anticipated updated NIV went on-line today at Bible Gateway. The new translation doesn’t seem to have a name that distinguishes it from older translations of the same name. It’s just called the “NIV.” Unfortunately, the previous two NIV translations — the TNIV and what I guess we’ll have to call the “old…
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Bible Gateway’s new Perspectives in Translation blog, a joint project with The Gospel Coalition, went live last week with the question “What Makes a Translation Accurate?” So far, six answers to the question appear on the blog. Unfortunately, reading the posts feels — at least to me — like joining a debate in the middle.…
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From the About page comes this follow-up question from a presentation I recently gave: Thanks for your presentation for the ARC — You mentioned the use of achoti in Song of Songs meaning more than “my sister,” but better translated as “my equal.” How do you understand Abraham’s turning to Sarah and telling her to…
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Bible Gateway is one of the top destinations for different translations of the Bible. It has also announced that the widely-anticipated updated NIV translation (the so-called “2011” edition) will first be available on its website. So its new Perspectives in Translation blog, a joint project with The Gospel Coalition, is sure to receive attention. The…
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From the About page comes this great question: This may be more of a philosophical/historical question than a linguistic one, but how would you render the word usually given as “vanity” in Ecclesiastes? Abstract nouns are notoriously difficult to track even within a language — “nobility” now is not what it was — but how…
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Recent posts from my Ancient Wisdom, Modern Lives:
