Translating the Scripture

Artemis

People who know me and know that I use the Greek New Testament exclusively for preaching and teaching often ask me which translation is best. It’s a tough question in that translations are governed by multiple factors only one of which is accuracy and reliability.

In recent years perhaps no issue has been more of a factor in Bible translation than “gender-inclusivity.” Three recent translations, the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), Today’s New International Version (TNIV) and the English Standard Version (ESV), were all motivated by concerns (supportive or otherwise) over gender-inclusivity.

Today, feminist biblical scholarship has entered the mainstream, as has the push for gender-inclusive translations of the scriptures. For example, the revision of the Revised Standard Version along gender-inclusive lines (1991) placed a gender-inclusive translation into mainstream Protestantism. The TNIV sought to do the same for mainstream Evangelicalism. Moreover, even the ESV, a self-described “conservative” translation makes some concessions and accommodations to gender-inclusive concerns.

To what degree should a translator accommodate gender-inclusive concerns? Let me articulate three principles I employ when translating the scriptures for preaching and teaching, seeking to be inclusive of all God’s people and also faithful to the original intention of the biblical writer.

A Theology of Love

Let’s talk about love. May as well; tomorrow is Valentine’s Day and only the foolish and foolhardy among us dare forget it. Everywhere we turn (television, florists, departments stores, Hallmark) we’ll be inundated with the notion that love is defined as a romantic feeling that launches us on a quest to “acquire” someone to fulfill our personal desires. At least that’s the world’s definition of “love.”

But it’s not the Church’s.