There are eighteen sections in the Doctrine
and Covenants wherein the Lord gives commands and specific instructions relating
to the Revision. In these passages, the Revision was generally referred to as a
“translation.” But since Joseph did not at any time use any biblical
manuscripts for his Revision, and only the English Authorized Version, the word
“translation” in this case should more appropriately be interpreted to mean “revision.”
(Reed C. Durham, “A History of Joseph Smith’s Revision of the Bible” [PhD
Thesis; BYU, August 1965], 24)
The word “translate” has other definitions
than “to turn one language into another” as it is most generally understood at
the present time. When Joseph Smith received revelations using the word “translate”
in regard to the Revision, or when he used it in his letter to John Wentworth (“We
believe the Bible . . . as far as it is “translated” correctly), he probably
understood the word to mean such things as, to express in other words, to
paraphrase, . . . to interpret, explain; to expound the significance of; also
to express (one thing) in terms of another. The Oxford English Dictionary
[Oxford, England: The Clarendon Press, 1961, reprint] XI [T-U], 265). (Ibid.,
24 n. 34)