The

Word

of God

in English

Criteria for Excellence

in Bible Translation

Leland Ryken

CROSSWAY BOOKS

A DIVISION OF

GOOD NEWS PUBLISHERS

WHEATON, ILLINOIS

The Word of God in English

Copyright © 2002 by Leland Ryken

Published by Crossway Books

A division of Good News Publishers

1300 Crescent Street

Wheaton, Illinois

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided by USA copyright law.

Cover design: Josh Dennis

Cover photo: Getty Images

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Ryken, Leland.

   The Word of God in English : criteria for excellence in Bible

translation / Leland Ryken.

       p.   cm.

   Includes bibliographical references.

   ISBN 1-58134-464-3 (TPB : alk. paper)

   1. Bible—Translating. 2. Bible. English—Versions—History.

I. Title.

BS449 .R95      2002

220.5’2—dc21 2002013925

For

Lane and Ebeth Dennis

Contents

Preface

Introduction: The Current Debate About Bible Translation

Part One

Lessons from Overlooked Sources

1 Lessons from Literature

2 Lessons from Ordinary Discourse

3 Lessons from the History of Translation

Part Two

Common Fallacies of Translation

4 Five Fallacies About the Bible

5 Seven Fallacies About Translation

6 Eight Fallacies About Bible Readers

Part Three

Theological, Ethical, and Hermeneutical Issues

7 The Theology and Ethics of Bible Translation

8 Translation and Hermeneutics

Part Four

Modern Translations: Problems and Their Solution

9 Ignoring the Literary Qualities of the Bible

10 Obscuring the World of the Original Text

11 Destabilization of the Biblical Text

12 Reductionism

Part Five

Criteria for Excellence in an English Bible

13 Fidelity to the Words of the Original

14 Effective Diction: Clarity, Vividness, Connotation, Ambiguity

15 Respect for the Principles of Poetry

16 Effective Rhythm

17 Exaltation and Beauty

Conclusion: What Makes the Best Bible Translation?

Appendix: Without Form, You Lose Meaning

by C. John Collins

Index

Abbreviations

ASV American Standard Version

CEV Contemporary English Version

ESV English Standard Version

GNB Good News Bible

Jerusalem Jerusalem Bible

KJV King James Version

NASB New American Standard Bible

NEB New English Bible

NIV New International Version

NIVI Inclusive Language New International Version

NKJV New King James Version

NLT New Living Translation

NRSV New Revised Standard Version

REB Revised English Bible

RSV Revised Standard Version

RV Revised Version

SEB Simple English Bible

TNIV Today’s New International Version