I probably shouldn't, but I often do, nonetheless...
*“Let them not drag me into court if the text does not agree with the original word for word, for, try as you may, it cannot be done.” * - Erasmus, Apologia 170:20-1
I get frustrated with bible translators! You see, over the course of my lifetime, I've learned just enough of the original bible languages (primarily Hebrew and Greek) to become dangerous, annoyed, and annoying.
Welcome to "The Curmudgeon's Bible."
This is the first in a series of occasional posts highlighting my beefs with typical translations, along with a comment or two about what particularly stuck in my craw, and why.
I didn't know that was in the bible!
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Translation is not a task for cowards.
I'll be the first to admit that. Translators are bound to run into readers (like me) who vehemently disagree with what they've done with one passage or another. For whatever reason, the choices a translator makes are bound to irritate someone.
I should probably be more compassionate and generous with the translators...
Probably! But that ship has sailed, and so here we are.
Today's target of my curmudgeonly ire comes from John chapter three:
Jesus answered, “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I told you that you must be born again. The wind blows where it pleases, and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
- John 3:5-8, Christian Standard Bible
Now, what's wrong with that translation, you might ask? On the face of it, nothing at all. It is in fact quite a reasonable rendition of the Greek text into English. And it does a fair job of conveying this part of Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus.
But wait!
Translated in this way, the unfortunate English reader will completely miss a fascinating play on words. That's my beef with the translation of this particular passage. In this introductory episode of "The Curmudgeon's Bible", I'm going to modify the translation for you, my fellow English-speaking reader, so that you can't possibly miss that play on words.
Jesus answered, “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born of water and the wind, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the wind is wind. Do not be amazed that I told you that you must be born again. The wind is windy where it pleases, and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the wind.”
- The Curmudgeon's Bible
There, that gives you a different impression, doesn't it?
Unless you already knew that the Greek word for "spirit" is the same as the word for "breath" or "wind," you would miss that play on words completely, right? Even if you do know that it's the same word Jesus is repeating, you might not be thinking about it when you read the story of his late-night conversation with this religious leader who was seeking the truth.
Had you heard of this play on words before?
I'm genuinely interested in knowing whether or not you had heard this before. Please let me know in the comments below.
FIN
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