Restitutio

Today, we've got three more texts to look at in our selection of unitarian Bible translations. Unlike last time where we focused on Christologically interesting passages, today, we'll examine Luke 23.43, John 7.53-8.11, and 1 Thessalonians 1.3 to look at a punctuation issue, a textual issue, and a grammatical issue. By the end of this episode we hope you'll have a firmer grasp on the differences between these translations. Of course, we could go on to compare many more verses, but we're going to draw this to an end here and this episode will round out this series on unitarian Bible translations. —— Links —— Read Wierwille's research paper on John 7.53-8.11, "My Favorite Fake Bible Passage"354 Unitarian Bible Translations 1 (Jerry Wierwille)355 Unitarian Bible Translations 2 (Jerry Wierwille)Check out these other episodes with Jerry WierwilleFor my class on How We Got the Bible, half of which covered translation issues, follow this link.If you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here.Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library

Last time we reviewed six unitarian Bible translations, covering some basic information about where each came from and their overall strategy for translation. Today, we're going to analyze how they translate three key texts, including Philippians 2.6, John 1.1-3, and John 8.58. Our goal is to measure these translations against what the Greek says as well as noting significant variations from mainstream translations and each other. —— Links —— Check out these other episodes with Jerry WierwilleFor previous episodes that cover these verses in greater detail see God’s Form or God’s Nature (Translating Philippians 2.6-7) and Did Jesus Claim to Be the I AM? (Translating John 8.58)For John 1, see Dale Tuggy's "Trinities" podcast episode 290: Is the “Socinian” interpretation of John 1 correct?For my class on How We Got the Bible, half of which covered translation issues, follow this link.If you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here.Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library

In our last episode, I recommended some mainstream Christian Bible translations, but I would remiss if I didn’t also review some important unitarian Bible translations.  Although often overlooked, these versions are important because they have the opposite bias when it comes to passages commonly offered as proof texts for the Trinity.  Also, I asked Dr. Jerry Wierwille to join me today, since he is Bible translator, currently working on a unitarian bible translation.  In today’s episode we’ll review the following: Emphatic Diaglott by Benjamin Wilson (1864) New European Version by Duncan Heaster (2013) New World Translation by Jehovah’s Witnesses (2013) Kingdom of God Version by Raymond Faircloth (2018) The One God, the Father, One Man Messiah Translation by Anthony Buzzard (2020) The Revised English Version by Spirit and Truth (ongoing) In this episode, we’ll offer some background on each of these versions and in our next episode we’ll compare them and see how they handle a number of interesting texts. —— Links —— Check out these other episodes with Jerry Wierwille Episodes mentioned in this podcast: Evaluating the Message Bible and the Passion Translation, Evaluating the King James Version, Reconstructing the New Testament, and New Testament Textual Criticism If you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here. Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library

This is now our last episode in this 24 part class on How We Got the Bible.  Today after a quick review and an appeal to learn the biblical languages, I’ll recommend a number of Bible translations.  Although I’m hesitant to do this, so many have written in asking for it that I would be negligent to avoid making some recommendations in this last episode.  Additionally, we’ll cover a list of 7 verses you can use to check translations accuracy (see below). —— Verses to Check for Translation Accuracy —— Genesis 4.8 Cain says “Let’s go into the field” (SP, LXX, Syriac, Vulgate) Isaiah 53.11 “he shall see light” not “he shall see it” (DSS, LXX) 1 Samuel 14.41 does it say “Urim?” (LXX) Psalm 145.13 is it 2 sentences or just 1? (DSS, LXX, Syriac) Honesty about Mark 16.9-20 and John 7.53-8.11 Revelation 22.19 “tree of life” not “book of life” Matthew 2.2 “pay homage” not “worship” —— Recommended Translations —— Jewish Publication Society Tanakh (JPS): dynamic equivalence from Jewish perspective English Standard Version (ESV): formal equivalence from evangelical perspective New English Translation (NET): dynamic equivalence from evangelical perspective New American Bible (NAB): dynamic equivalence from Roman Catholic perspective New Revised Standard Version (NRSV): formal equivalence from a mainline/liberal perspective —— Biased Translations to Avoid —— Message Bible (MSG): extreme dynamic equivalence Passion Translation (PT): extreme dynamic equivalence New Living Translation (NLT): dynamic equivalence —— Outdated Translations —— 1769 King James Version (KJV): formal equivalence 1982 New King James Version (NKJV): formal equivalence 1995 New American Standard Bible (NASB): formal equivalence any versions not taking into account the Dead Sea Scrolls (see verses above to check) —— Links —— Check out all the lectures in How We Got the Bible See what other classes are available here or on the Restitutio Classes podcast (subscribe in Apple, Spotify, RSS feed) If you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here. Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library

This is our fifth and final example of bias in translation. After this episode, we’ll have one more to conclude our class on How We Got the Bible.  Today our focus is God’s spirit.  Should it have an uppercase ‘S’ or a lowercase ‘s?’  Should pronouns referring back to spirit be masculine (like “he”) or neuter (like “it”)?  Is the spirit a “who” or a “which?”  In this episode we’ll get into the grammar of holy spirit in an attempt to show how translation bias steers unsuspecting readers in the direction of the traditional teaching about the personality of the spirit. —— Books & Papers —— Truth in Translation by Jason David BeDuhn Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics by Daniel Wallace “Greek Grammar and the Personality of the Holy Spirit” by Daniel Wallace “The Holy Spirit and Translation Bias: A Smoking Gun of Trinity Mischief (1)” by Sean Finnegan “The Holy Spirit and Translation Bias: A Smoking Gun of Trinity Mischief (2)” by Sean Finnegan —— Links —— Watch “The Holy Spirit” video by the Bible Project (note the lack of personhood) Listen to podcast Theology 14 — The Holy Spirit to hear a biblical theology of the spirit and five biblical reasons why the spirit is not a person apart from either the Father or Jesus Listen to podcast Theology 15 — Challenging the Holy Spirit to hear sound biblical explanations of misunderstood verses that defenders of the spirit’s personality point to as evidence of their position More posts and podcasts about the holy spirit Check out all the lectures in How We Got the Bible See what other classes are available here or on the Restitutio Classes podcast (subscribe in Apple, Spotify, RSS feed) If you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here. Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library

Did Jesus claim to be “The Great I AM” in John 8.58?  If not, what was he saying?  In this episode we examine the alleged parallel passage in Exodus where God reveals his name to Moses at the burning bush.  Next, we’ll explore texts with the same Greek construction that Jesus used in an effort to sniff out bias.  In the end we’ll see there are three viable possibilities for translating John 8.58, the least likely of which is what we find in most translations. —— Books —— The First Testament by John Goldingay The Hebrew Bible by Robert Alter The Schocken Bible by Everett Fox A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd Edition (BDAG) Greek Grammar by Herbert Weir Smyth (see rule 1885) A Greek Grammar of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature by F. Blass, A. Debrunner, and Robert Funk (see rule 322, note the typo John 5.58 should be John 8.58) Truth in Translation by Jason David BeDuhn —— Links —— Did Jesus Claim to be the “I Am” in John 8.58? by Victor Gluckin (audio sermon) Explanation of John 8.58 by John Schoenheit (from One God & One Lord) John 8.58 by Steve Katsaras (audio sermon) Debate: Patrick Navas vs. James White on Chris Date’s Theopologetics Podcast (part 2 addresses the “I am” statements in John) Check out all the lectures in How We Got the Bible See what other classes are available here or on the Restitutio Classes podcast (subscribe in Apple, Spotify, RSS feed) If you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here. Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library

Colossians 1.15 presents an interesting test case to examine translation bias.  Well-meaning Bible students have taken this text in at least three different ways.  However, some translators, motivated by a fear that readers might see Christ as a member of creation, have increasingly pushed for translating this text so that it says Christ is superior to all creation and thus on the creator side of the creator-creature divide.  In what follows I examine several popular translations and discuss the two main issues in this verse. —— Books —— A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd Edition (BDAG) Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics by Daniel Wallace Truth in Translation by Jason David BeDuhn —— Links —— Colossians 1.15-20: Preexistence or Preeminence by William Wachtel (paper) Christ the Firstborn Head of the Universe by Nathan Crowder (paper) Explanation of Colossians 1.15 -20 by John Schoenheit (from One God & One Lord) Resurrection Impact by Sean Finnegan (audio sermon on Colossians 1.15-20 as ascension theology) Debate: Patrick Navas vs. James White on Chris Date’s Theopologetics Podcast (part 2 addresses Colossians 1) Check out all the lectures in How We Got the Bible See what other classes are available here or on the Restitutio Classes podcast (subscribe in Apple, Spotify, RSS feed) If you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here. Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library

How should translators render the word προκσυνέω (proskuneo) into English?  Since this word has a range of meanings from bowing as a sign of respect to worshiping God, translators sometimes decide what English words to use based more on their theological presuppositions than the grammar or textual context.  For example, some translations (mostly those done by evangelicals) employ the language of worship when proskuneo is done to Jesus but then interpret the term as a respectful gesture when done to others.  This, I suggest, is another smoking gun of translation bias. —— Books —— A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd Edition (BDAG) The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (HAOT) Truth in Translation by Jason David BeDuhn Did the First Christians Worship Jesus?: The New Testament Evidence by James Dunn —— Links —— Who Should Christians Worship? by Dale Tuggy Podcast 21: Should We Worship Jesus? by Sean Finnegan Pliny the Younger’s statement about Christians singing hymns to Christ as if to a god Check out all the lectures in How We Got the Bible See what other classes are available here or on the Restitutio Classes podcast (subscribe in Apple, Spotify, RSS feed) If you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here. Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library

This is our first of five examples of bias in translation. Today we’ll examine Philippians 2.6-7, specifically focusing on how translators render two important words (ἁρπαγμός harpagmon and μορφή morphe). We’ll see how a couple of the most popular evangelical versions break free from the underlying Greek syntax in order to inject their own doctrinal bias into scripture. Regardless of your own interpretation of this passage, can we all agree that translators should not read their beliefs into scripture? —— Books —— A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd Edition (BDAG) New American Bible (NAB) The New Oxford Annotated Bible (NRSV) Truth in Translation by Jason David BeDuhn —— Links —— Check out all the lectures in How We Got the Bible See what other classes are available here or on the Restitutio Classes podcast (subscribe in Apple, Spotify, RSS feed) If you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here. Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library

Last time we evaluated two popular single-translator Bibles: the Message and the Passion Translation.  This time, we’re switching gears to consider committee-based versions.  I want to shine a spotlight on the whole subject of bias in translation in an effort to point out what often goes unnoticed.  We’ll consider both the committee effect that tends to eliminate non-traditional renderings as well as how the concept of sola scriptura exerts immense pressure on evangelicals to nudge their translations in the direction of their doctrinal commitments. —— Books —— The Art of Bible Translation by Robert Alter The New Testament by David Bentley Hart Truth in Translation by Jason David BeDuhn —— Links —— Check out all the lectures in How We Got the Bible See what other classes are available here or on the Restitutio Classes podcast (subscribe in Apple, Spotify, RSS feed) If you’d like to support Restitutio, you can donate here. Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library