Restitutio

Last time we looked at the King James version which is one of the strictest formal equivalence Bibles every made.  This time we are going to analyze two Bibles on the other end of the spectrum: the Message Bible and the Passion Translation.  These two versions share a number of characteristics in common.  For example both are very popular, both were done by single translators, and both employ a very free application of dynamic equivalence. —— Books —— The Message Bible by Eugene Peterson The Passion Translation by Brian Simmons The Hebrew Bible by Robert Alter The New Testament by David Bentley Hart —— 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

What do you know about the King James Version?  Is it an accurate translation?  Does it have flaws?  Should you use it as a measuring stick for other translations?  In today’s episode, we’ll cover the making of the KJV of the Bible, going back to William Tyndale’s courageous work before delving into four areas of evaluation.  We’ll examine the KJV’s manuscript base, translation accuracy, lexicography, and vocabulary in an effort to objectively decide how the KJV compares to other English versions. —— Books —— William Tyndale: A Biography by David Daniell The Complete Guide to Bible Translations by Ron Rhodes Essential Guide to Bible Versions by Philip W. Comfort The Journey from Texts to Translations by Paul D. Wegner How to Choose a Translation for All Its Worth by Gordon Fee and Mark Strauss The Art of Bible Translation by Robert Alter “History of the English Bible” by Philip W. Comfort in The Origin of the Bible: Newly Updated, ed. F. F. Bruce, J. I. Packer, Philip Comfort, Carl F. H. Henry “English Versions of the Bible” by J. H. Skilton in New Bible Dictionary, ed. D. R. W. Wood “English Versions Since 1611” by Luther Weigle in The Cambridge History of the Bible: Vol 3 The English Bible from KJV to NIV, 2nd ed. by Jack Pearl Lewis The King James Only Controversy by James White The King James Bible after Four Hundred Years by Hannibal Hamlin and Norman W. Jones —— Links —— Check out all the lectures in How We Got the Bible See what other classes are available he

Did you know that controversies surrounding how to translate gender in the Bible had a major impact on Bible translation over the last 30 years?  In this episode we’ll briefly overview various feminist movements before examining the NRSV, which proved to be a forerunner for gender inclusive Bible translations.  Next we’ll take a journey through the NIVI and TNIV controversies at the turn of the 21st century before seeing how evangelical Bible translations both reacted against (ESV, HCSB) and appropriated (NIV2011, CSB) varying degrees of gender accuracy into their Bibles. —— Books —— The Handbook of Nonsexist Writing: For Writers, Editors, and Speakers by Casey Miller and Kate Swift, 1980 “Femme Fatale” by Susan Olasky, World, March 29, 1997 Colorado Springs Guidelines “Statement by Participants in the Conference on Gender-Related Language in Scripture” May 27, 1997 “Bailing Out the Stealth Bible” by Susan Olasky, World Magazine, June 14, 1997 “Hands Off My NIV!” by Doug LeBlanc, Christianity Today, June 16, 1997 What’s Wrong with Gender-Neutral Bible Translations? by Wayne Gruden, 1997 D. A. Carson, The Inclusive Language Debate: A Plea for Realism Mark L. Strauss, Distorting Scripture? The Challenge of Bible Translation and Gender Accuracy The Gender-Neutral Bible Controversy: Muting the Masculinity of God’s Words by Wayne Gruden and Vern Polythress, 2000 Two Views on Women in Ministry by Linda L. Belleville, Craig L. Blomberg, Craig S. Keener, Thomas R. Schreiner, 2001, updated 2005 Southern Baptist Convention Resolution “On Today’s New International Version,” June 11-12, 2002 How To Choose a Translation for All It’s Worth by Gordon Fee and Mark Strauss, 2007 (see especially chapter chapter 7) “Why the English Standard Version (ESV) Should Not Become the Standard English Version” by Mark Strauss, 2008 (presented at ETS) “An Evaluation of Gender Language in the 2011 Edition of the NIV Bible,” Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, June 6, 2011 Jesus, Justice, and Gender Roles by Kathy Keller, 2012 —— 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 focused on the two main translation theories: formal and dynamic equivalence.  This time, we need to take a look at five major default decisions translation teams make at the outset. Units of Measurement and Currency Hebrew Idioms English Vocabulary Editorial Enhancements God’s Name By becoming familiar with these five topics, you’ll be able to better assess English Bible translations and less susceptible to misunderstandings. —— Books —— The Complete Guide to Bible Translations by Ron Rhodes Essential Guide to Bible Versions by Philip W. Comfort The Journey from Texts to Translations by Paul D. Wegner How to Choose a Translation for All Its Worth by Gordon Fee and Mark Strauss The Art of Bible Translation by Robert Alter How We Got the Bible by Neil Lightfoot The Theory and Practice of Translation by Eugene Nida —— Links —— “Q&A: Translation Decisions for the Christian Standard Bible” 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

Up until now we’ve focused our attention on the text of Scripture.  We took five episodes looking at the Hebrew Bible, including it’s sources, transmission, and how textual scholars go about deciding the initial text.  Then for the last seven episodes we did the same for the New Testament, examining the surviving source material and looking at the work of textual criticism.  Now, we are in a good position to shift gears and turn to the whole world of translation.  As it turns out, English Bible translators divide into two broad styles of translation: formal equivalence and dynamic equivalence.  In this episode we’ll explore these two translation philosophies and the trade offs each makes in order to produce English Bibles. —— Books —— The Complete Guide to Bible Translations by Ron Rhodes Essential Guide to Bible Versions by Philip W. Comfort The Journey from Texts to Translations by Paul D. Wegner How to Choose a Translation for All Its Worth by Gordon Fee and Mark Strauss The Art of Bible Translation by Robert Alter How We Got the Bible by Neil Lightfoot The Theory and Practice of Translation by Eugene Nida —— Links —— Andi Wu, “A Quantitative Evaluation of the Christian Standard Bible” 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 covered two corrected corruptions (1 Timothy 3.16 and 1 John 5.7).  This time we’ll consider two uncorrected corruptions, including the long ending on Mark (16.9-20) and the passage about the adulterous woman that Jesus saves (John 7.53-8.11).  Although these two texts are not found in the earliest and best manuscripts and translators have known this for decades, they continue to include them in virtually all English translations.  What’s going on here?  In this episode you’ll learn the textual basis for both passages and the reasons why textual scholars don’t accept their authenticity. —— Books —— New Testament Text and Translation Commentary by Philip W. Comfort Textual Commentary of the Greek New Testament by Bruce Metzger The NET Bible with 60,932 Translators’ Notes (online here) —— Links —— For background on textual criticism see part 10 New Testament Textual Criticism as well as 6 Greek New Testament Papyri, 7 Greek New Testament Uncials, and 8 Other New Testament Manuscripts 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

Today we move from learning about manuscripts and textual criticism to actually doing textual criticism.  I’ve chosen two well-known corruptions to illustrate the process of textual criticism: 1 Timothy 3.16 and 1 John 5.7.  In each of these cases scribes have altered the text of scripture and we have the manuscript evidence to show exactly what happened. —— Books —— New Testament Text and Translation Commentary by Philip W. Comfort Textual Commentary of the Greek New Testament by Bruce Metzger The NET Bible with 60,932 Translators’ Notes (online here) The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture by Bart Ehrman Revisiting the Corruption of the New Testament by Daniel Wallace et al. The King James Only Controversy by James White —— Links —— Read my more thorough treatment of 1 John 5.7-8: “The Story behind the Comma Johanneum“ For background on textual criticism see part 10 New Testament Textual Criticism as well as 6 Greek New Testament Papyri, 7 Greek New Testament Uncials, and 8 Other New Testament Manuscripts 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 surveyed five hundred years of New Testament textual criticism.  Today we address the process by which these scholars have done and continue to do their work.  We’ll see how they weigh internal and external evidence.  We’ll cover reasoned eclecticism, the refined documentary approach, and the computer-driven coherence based genealogical method.  (Don’t worry if these terms don’t mean much to you yet.)  Lastly, we’ll see what resources you can access to find out the inside scoop on what’s going on with a particular NT verse. —— Books —— New Testament Text and Translation Commentary by Philip W. Comfort An Introduction to the New Testament Manuscripts and their Texts by D. C. Parker The Text of the New Testament: Its Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration by Bruce M. Metzger and Bart D. Ehrman NA28: Nestle-Aland 28th Edition, aka Novum Testamentum Graece UBS5: United Bible Society 5th Edition, aka The Greek New Testament THGNT: Tyndale House Greek New Testament, aka The Greek New Testament —— Links —— Editio Critica Maior Coherence Based Genealogical Method (CBGM) tool Read Peter Gurry’s article, “How Your Greek NT Is Changing: A Simple Introduction to the Coherence-Based Genealogical Method (CBGM)” from the Journal of Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society. 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

Before we can understand how textual scholars do their work today, it’s important to understand the history of how they have endeavored to reconstruct the Greek New Testament over the years.  In this episode you’ll learn about the rich and important history of how our understanding of the Greek New Testament changed over the last five hundred years.  This history is vital for you to understand why older translations are often based on younger manuscripts–a key paradox we’ll return to in future sessions. —— Books —— An Introduction to the New Testament Manuscripts and their Texts by D. C. Parker The Text of the New Testament: Its Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration by Bruce M. Metzger and Bart D. Ehrman The Text of the Earliest New Testament Greek Manuscripts by Philip Wesley Comfort and David P. Barrett (2 volumes) The King James Only Controversy by James White NA28: Nestle-Aland 28th Edition, aka Novum Testamentum Graece UBS5: United Bible Society 5th Edition, aka The Greek New Testament THGNT: Tyndale House Greek New Testament, aka The Greek New Testament —— 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

We’ve been working our way through the various sources for our Greek New Testament.  We’ve looked at the papyri and the uncials, but there is so much more to consider.  In fact, the New Testament papyri and uncials combined make up less than 2% of our manuscripts.  Today, we’ll consider the other 98% of manuscripts including minuscules, lectionaries, quotations in the church fathers, and ancient translations. —— Books —— Constantine Tischendorf: The Life and Work of a 19th Century Bible Hunter by Stanley E. Porter An Introduction to the New Testament Manuscripts and their Texts by D. C. Parker The Text of the New Testament: Its Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration by Bruce M. Metzger and Bart D. Ehrman The Text of the Earliest New Testament Greek Manuscripts by Philip Wesley Comfort and David P. Barrett (2 volumes) Encountering the Manuscripts by Philip Comfort —— Links —— See SBL’s publications of The New Testament in the Greek Fathers Visit The Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts and look at high resolution pictures of many manuscripts. Visit the Institute for New Testament Textual Research (INTF) to see the work they are doing to compare access and analyze New Testament manuscripts 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