Questions tagged [translation-philosophy]
The philosophical basis that grounds the work of translators. Questions about specific translation problems should instead be tagged hebrew, aramaic, or greek as appropriate.
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(Song of Solomon 2:15) "Catch the foxes for us, The little foxes" association with false/foolish prophets based on Ezekiel 13:3-4
Song of Solomon 2:14-16 NASB 1995
14 “O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, In the secret place of the steep pathway, Let me see your form, Let me hear your voice; For your voice is sweet, And your ...
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What are the benefits and/or disadvantages of democratization of interpretative space of the scriptures? [closed]
The roles played by foremost reformers to make scriptures not only accessible but also comprehensible.
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Is this verse in Ezekiel 21:10 obscure due to difficulties in the Hebrew text? If so, how are those difficulties best explained
I have checked a variety of translations of this verse, and they all seem to have differences, indicative of unclear Hebrew language. For example (the relevant part of the verse following the ...
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And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good,
The Beginning
Genesis 1:1-5
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the
earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the
deep, and the Spirit of God was ...
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How do we know there should be commas in between the titles in Isaiah 9:6?
Isaiah 9:6 commonly reads:
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government
will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father, ...
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Isaiah 33:2 & Isaiah 33:6 deeper understanding as to why there is an strange choice when it comes to the possessive adjective & pronouns
I might be getting too nitty-gritty or nit-picky.
However, I’m trying to get a deeper understanding as to why there is an strange choice in some translations when it comes to the possessive adjective ...
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What is the earliest known textual witness of Matthew 6:27 and how does it translate directly into English?
Matthew 6:27 is translated to English along the lines of: "Which of you by worrying can say that they've added some time to their life?"
I'm wondering what is the earliest known writing of ...
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What is the difference in meaning between "The Lord" and the "Lord God?"
Context
In some parts of the Old Testament, instead of using the Tetragrammaton, the author uses the Tetragrammaton combined with "God" (e.g. ”אֲדֹנָ֣י יְהוִ֔ה“ (2 Samuel 7:19 HMT-W4)). The ...
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What did the people present, including the Pharisees, hear when they heard Jesus say the Holy Spirit in the unpardonable sin verses?
My question is on a specific portion of the unpardonable sin verses. The verses quoted below are from the NASB 1995
Matthew 12:31, 32
31 Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be ...
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Can I translate Job 6:14 as …
I see that there are different translations of this verse. All did not seem to be satisfying. So I was wondering could it be possible to translate it as:
“To the one in despair his friends [withheld] ...
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Deeper understanding of Isaiah 29:14 's use of phrases like “deal marvelously” and “wondrously marvelous”
I’m probably being annoyingly nit-picky and nitty-gritty, and/or asking the obvious but here goes.
Isaiah 29:13-16 NASB95
13 Then the Lord said, “Because this people draw near with their words And ...
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In 1 Corinthians 13:8, it says 'will pass away' in reference to spiritual gifts. Does this mean that they will pass away or that they already have?
A lot of people say that there are no prophets today and cite this verse saying 'will pass away' means it already has for us today. I believe that this verse is referring to the new earth with the ...
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Why in many cases, the translation inverts the future with the past (for example in Deuteronomy 34)?
I perceived during the reading of this week's Torah parashah (Deutornomy/Devariam 34:6) that the verb in יִּקְבֹּ֨ר is in the future:
וַיִּקְבֹּ֨ר אֹת֤וֹ בַגַּי֙ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ מוֹאָ֔ב מ֖וּל בֵּ֣ית ...
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What are some principles for translating εις in the NT? Particularly, why is εις in John 3:16 normally rendered in and εις in John 3:17 normally into?
John 3:16, 17 ESV
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to ...
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Isaiah 27:8 Use of the word "measure" in "Measure by measure, by exile you contended with them;" is missing in some bible translations
Within the larger context of the Isaiah 25-27 bible passage, the scriptures seem to declare God’s disciplinary actions against various groups of people. However, in the case of the Israelites, there ...
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Tenses in Genesis 2:4-7
There seems to be a lot of variation between the way tenses are used in this passage between translations. For example:
4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were ...
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Was Deborah a "mother in Israel" or a/the "Mother of Israel"? (Judges 5:7)
Gone was freedom beyond the walls, gone indeed from Israel. When I,
Deborah, arose, when I arose, a mother in Israel. (Judges 5:7)
This is a typical translation of the verse, but I have noticed that ...
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Interpreting Isaiah 25:5(a) & (b) use of "heat in a drought or dry place" reducing the "uproar of aliens or strangers or foreigners"
Isaiah 25:5 New American Standard Bible 1995
5 (a) Like heat in drought,
(b) You subdue the uproar of aliens;
(c) Like heat by the shadow of a cloud,
(d) the song of the ruthless
is [a]...
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How to translate and understand Song of Songs 2:7
Other questions have addressed this verse but I am particularly interested in the hermeneutics involved in arriving at a translation of it, rather than Hebrew grammar, etc. Translations are all over ...
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Is there any sense of "work" in Isaiah 45:15?
Isaiah 45:15 in the NLT says:
Truly, O God of Israel, our Savior, you work in mysterious ways.
However in more traditional translations there is no sense of "work" in the translation.
...
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What does saraph mean? "a fiery serpent" "animal" "dragon" or "seraphim (angel)"
Does anyone know what saraph שָׂרָ֥ף means? It is sometimes translated as "fiery serpent" but this word הַשְּׂרָפִ֔ים, sharing the same root is also translated as "fiery" (serpent)...
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Confusing NLT translation of Revelation 12:11
The NLT translation goes like this:
And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb
and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much
that they were afraid to die.
The NRSVUE ...
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1
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Is Proverbs 13:7a properly translated as 'pretends' or 'makes'?
I find two alternatives in English translations of Proverbs 13:7a.
New American Standard: There is one who pretends to be rich, but
has nothing
vs
King James: There is one who makes himself rich, ...
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Is Proverbs 11:7b best translated as 'unjust men,' 'strong men,' or 'wealth'?
The Masoretic text for Proverbs 11:7 is:
בְּמוֹת אָדָם רָשָׁע תֹּאבַד תִּקְוָה וְתוֹחֶלֶת אוֹנִים אָבָֽדָה׃
About half of the English translations (including King James and RSV) translate אָוֶן ('...
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What support is there for "nephilim" meaning "giants"?
People seem to have an innate bias toward the mythical, preferring it over reality. The Hebrew word "nephilim," first used in Genesis 6:4, is no exception: many questions here are asked ...
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Are the Isaiah 16:2 's "daughters of Moab" reference the same as the "outcasts" in Isaiah 16:3 & Isaiah 16:4?
Just a follow-up question spawned out of (Isa 16:4) Are the refugees Moabites Or Israelites? ( & contextual consequences of choosing each translation & conjunctional phrases involved)?
Isaiah ...
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(Isa 16:4) Are the refugees Moabites Or Israelites? ( & contextual consequences of choosing each translation & conjunctional phrases involved)?
(Remotely Related: Are the Isaiah 16:2 's "daughters of Moab" reference the same as the "outcasts" in Isaiah 16:3 & Isaiah 16:4? )
It may seem that this posting has too ...
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Would using "Nations" instead of "Gentiles" be more appropriate as a translation of "ethnos" in the New Testament as in Acts 15:17?
Ethnicity This word, ethnos, from what we get ethnic or ethnicity simply means a nation or nationality. It could refer to any people group around the world (or as far the N.T. is concerned, the ...
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Deeper contextual understanding of Isaiah 14:29b's reference to "serpent's root" , "viper" , "flying serpent"
Isaiah 14:28-30 New American Standard Bible 1995
28 In the year that
King Ahaz died this [a]oracle came:
29 “Do not rejoice, O Philistia, all of you,
Because the rod that struck you is broken; For ...
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Meaning of Psalm 139:5
Psalm 139:5
You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. (ESV)
That sounds very comforting. Other more literal translations sound different:
Thou didst press me behind and before, ...
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2
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City or prince,its end shall come like a flood in Daniel 9:26?
Daniel 9:26 KJV
And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end ...
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Why are Matthew's actual words, "the kingdom of the heavens", translated as "the kingdom of heaven"?
Why does Matthew's account of the life of Jesus use the phrase "the kingdom of the heavens". And why is this blatantly mistranslated as singular (heaven) and without the definite article (...
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Riches or Divinity? (Revelation 5:12)
Comparing some versions I have of the book of Revelation, I've come across two different words for (possibly) the same attribute: some versions (KJV, ASV, Darby etc.) say "riches" just after ...
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ἐντολή singular or plural?
ἐντολή translated commandments in 1John 2:4 "Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments "ἐντολή" is a liar, and the truth is not in him"
How do we know the ...
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KJV & NKJV translate Isaiah 9:1(b) by stating affliction/oppression becomes worse but NASB1995 & ESV translate that it becomes more glorious
Isaiah 9:1 New American Standard Bible 1995
9 [a]But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in
earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali
with contempt, but ...
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John 3:36 whoever does "not believe" or disobeys?
In the (1582) first edition of the Douay Rheims, John 3:36 appears as follows:
In 1899, the (Challoner) Douay Rheims gives for the same verse:
He that believeth in the Son, hath life everlasting; ...
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Can we know how or why the Septuagint renders "forever" in Psalm 102:28? No other translation has this
Can we know how or why the Septuagint renders "forever" in Psalm 102:28? No other translation has this.
Most render this "established." Is there an underlying semantic reason for ...
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Revelation 19:8 - who is speaking when?
In some translations, the second half of the verse is placed outside the quotation mark, while in other translations it is included inside the quotation mark.
For example:
English Standard Version
...
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Why does the King James Bible have the words "of God" in 1 John 3:16 whereas most translations do not have the words "of God" included?
1 John 3:16 KJB
Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
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Deeper Understanding of some of the professions that God wanted to end in (Isaiah 3:1-3)
Isaiah 3:1-3 New American Standard Bible 1995
For behold, the Lord
[a]God of hosts is going to remove from Jerusalem and Judah Both
[b]supply and support, the whole [c]supply of bread And the whole
[d]...
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In Revelation 15:2 why is the phrase "over his mark" missing in some translations?
The following text in the book of Revelation some translators have chosen to include this phrase whilst others have left it out
KJV Revelation 15 : 2
And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with ...
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Should John 10:33 say "because that thou, being a man, makest thyself a god"? or make thyself God? [duplicate]
I have come across a theological assertion (in conversation with a Biblical Unitarian) that John 10:33 should be understood thus:
The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but ...
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Galatians 3:23 Guarded in protective custody or held captive as prisoners under the law? Translation of ἐφρουρούμεθα συγκλειόμενοι
The old versions show a positive view of the law in Gal 3:23 showing it as guardian keeping in protective custody, but some new versions show the picture of a jailer or kidnapper by using the words ...
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Who thought Jesus was crazy? His family or the Pharisees and Scribes? Mark 3:21 [duplicate]
There are some questions posted in this SE related to Mark 3:21. But I think it's still not clear of whom thought Jesus was crazy and "out of his mind".
And when His own people heard about ...
user53371
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Are there any recognized Rules in Translation Committees that speak to whether a Greek word should be "translated" or "transliterated"?
Are there any Universal Rules for transliterating instead of translating used by translation committees? Or is this practice left up to individual committees, and their traditions, seminary emphasis, ...
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How best to understand the NLT translation of Malachi 2:16?
Malachi 2:16 NLT
"For I hate divorce!" says the Lord, the God of Israel. "It is as cruel as putting on a victim's bloodstained coat," says the Lord Almighty. "So guard ...
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Please discuss meaning of Spirit in 1 Peter 1:11
What are the possible renderings of ‘Spirit of Christ” in 1 Peter 1:11 -
(BLB) inquiring into what or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ
in them was signifying, testifying beforehand of the ...
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Why is Exodus 3:14 translated "I AM that I AM"? [duplicate]
In the imperfect indicative in Hebrew is usually translated as future tense in English, but in Exodus 3:14 it is not translated "I will be what I will be" but "I am that I am." Why ...
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How best to understand the NLT translation of νόμος in Romans 8:2?
Romans 8:2 NLT
For the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you through Christ Jesus from the power of sin that leads to death.
KJV Romans 8 : 2
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ ...
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In Romans 8:18, how is the aorist ἀποκαλυφθῆναι translated as a future tense?
ἀποκαλυφθῆναι Is the aorist and would be translated as “was revealed”
Does μέλλουσαν (present tense) “is about to be” somehow change the aorist ἀποκαλυφθῆναι to the future tense?
Can someone explain ...
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