Thursday, August 8, 2019

Anthony Sweat on the Need to Study Good Modern Translations of the Bible



As Latter-day Saints, we need to collectively warm up to other translations of the Bible, If you don’t believe me, just ask if you felt your King James fists fly up when reading that previous sentence. The KJV is currently the English standard for the restored Church, perhaps because it is the intertextual language of Restoration scripture. That said, much is to be gained from reading other faithful Bible translations. Brigham Young once suggested that if someone “understood Greek and Hebrew,” that person “was under obligation” to render a better translation of the Bible if he or she saw shortcomings in the KJV (Journal of Discourses, 14:226-27). At times, King James expressions can be awkward, generally when its translators chose not to use Tyndale’s original phraseology. For example, look at Matthew 6:34, about why Jesus said we should take no thought of tomorrow:

King James
Tyndale
“Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”
“The day present hath ever enough of his own trouble.”

To me, Tyndale’s translation offers more clarity than the King James Version.

Aside from King James, the two other most popular English Bibles are the New International Version (NIV) and the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV). There are many others, each with its strengths and weaknesses. See, for example, Matthew 6:16-17 rendered in some of these popular Bibles, and note the insight gained from looking at multiple translations:

King James
NIV
NRSV
NLT
“Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.”
“When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.”
“And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces to as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.”
“And when you fast, don’t make it obvious as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and dishevelled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get.”
(Anthony Sweat, Seekers Wanted: The Skills You Need For the Faith You Want [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2019], 67)