As with words, it makes intuitive sense that a translation should convey the grammar of the original. “Translating the words and grammar separately doesn’t work. They have to be translated together.” But, again, our intuition leads us astray. Here’s an example of what can go wrong if we try to mimic the grammar of one…
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The importance of word order in Biblical Hebrew recently came up regarding Genesis 1:1, and in particular how we know that that verse answers the question “when?” Here’s some more information and some additional examples. An English Diversion In English, stressing different words changes the implications of a sentence. For example: Example 1. This is…
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Mark 15:9 demonstrates how translation can make people forget their own grammar. A curiosity of English generally prevents anything from appearing between a verb an its object. This is why “I saw yesterday Bill” is such an awkward sentence in English. (It’s fine in French, Modern and Biblical Hebrew, Greek, and many other languages.) Yet…
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It seems that people who frequently read a particular Bible translation generally come to expect a certain “Bible style” that often includes an oddness of vocabulary and syntax. They then associate that oddness with the Bible itself. And because they think that the Bible is odd in the ways that their translation suggests, they refuse…
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