In the world of medicine, getting a “Second Opinion” is commonly recommended these days. Oftentimes, as the old saying goes, “There is more than one way to skin a cat.” And going for another opinion will sometimes demonstrate to the patient or family a way that fits with their life situation better. Making decisions in life, whether issues are large or small, can be challenging. Our days are filled with having to make choices. God gave man free will, the freedom to choose, to make those choices large and small. However, since he designed the system in which we live (Gn. 2:16-17; Dt. 30:19-20; Josh. 24:15; Ps. 37:23; Ek. 18:30-32; 1Co. 10:13; Jas. 1:13-16; Re. 3:20 and many more), he knows what results come from the decisions we make. Thus the Revelation of Life that is God’s Holy Word. He has provided a Guide for us:
• John 16:13 ESV 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
Some verses dealing with this subject are:
• Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV 5 Trust in YHWH with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
• Psalm 73:23-24 ESV 23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. 24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory.
The point obviously is that we have a choice, and when we trust and choose YHWH, the guidance given results in a straighter path. How does getting “Another Opinion” apply to getting the most out of Scripture? There are two points to be made here.
- First is intimated above; if you are reading Scripture yourself, with your ear toward hearing what the Father has to say to you, and not just listening to someone else’s interpretation, the words of Scripture will indeed touch your heart in just the place you need.
- Second, in terms of tools or approaches to a better understanding of Scripture, the next step in our journey is to look at two (or more) different translations/versions of the Bible.
Let’s look at the concept of a spectrum of Bible versions, which will require a bit of explanation. Take a look at this diagram retrieved from the Internet. There are many such diagrams if you search for “diagram Bible versions.” Most of the diagrams are pretty similar in content, perhaps just laid out differently.
Before discussing different translations, we should give a little background as to why there are so many versions / translations, and therefore why it is helpful to look at more than one. Here is one more diagram from the same search:
You can see that there are different sources that may
also account for some of the differences in versions.
The Hebrew Scriptures were written mostly in Hebrew, some Aramaic (another, similar Semitic language). It was translated into a Koine Greek (“common” Greek) version referred to as the Septuagint (or LXX), beginning in the third century BC.* There are some significant “liberties” taken in the translation from Hebrew to Greek in the Septuagint. Some admixture has taken place in later translations, and more modern versions vary in the sources they use for their translations, as can be seen in the above diagram. It is not the goal here to go into great detail. Since the finding of other ancient writings, including the Dead Sea Scrolls, some vocabulary has been re-interpreted to more accurately represent more recent discoveries.
The “Greek Scriptures” that we have today are also based on Koine Greek. Many scholars believe that some or much of the Greek Scriptures were originally written in Hebrew, which was the common language of that time, in which the oral sayings of Yeshua would have been preserved until written, but no original copies are currently known in Hebrew. [The writer’s prayer is that they will surface, as did the Qumran Scrolls.] Again, the purpose here is not to resolve this issue but to give a broad overview. Each time a document is translated from one language to another, there is some loss of accuracy or fidelity. Our English versions of the Bible have at best been translated from Hebrew to English, but some from Hebrew to Greek to English or with a Latin intermediary. Whenever possible, it is obviously preferable to get as close to the language of the original author as possible. [One daughter got a Master’s degree in France, for which she had to take a statistics course in French. The writer greatly struggles with Statistics in his native language! The reader may draw the parallels.]
Translation experts vary in their approach, and some, as in the first diagram, prefer to go with more literal, word-for-word translations into English, while others prefer a “thought-for-thought” translation. The versions toward the far-right end of the scale shown are more “paraphrases” than translations. The closer to word-for-word, the less it fits the style of current English speech. The “smoother” English versions tend to be more thought-for-thought, but take a much bigger risk in losing the intent of the original author and miss the nuances of word studies, which are a powerful tool that we will spend a good bit of time on. They are ‘impressions’ from an interpreter, learned impressions, but impressions nonetheless.
paulwilkinson.wordpress.com
The “other opinion” recommended here is for the reader to use at least two versions when reading Scripture, one of which is as close as possible to word-for-word, and another which may capture a little more modern style. You will see, the more you do this, just how much variation there is in interpretation. All translation is a decision-making process. A more word-for-word translation leaves more of the decision in your hands (with the guidance of the Spirit if done in reverence); thought-for-thought has given more of the decision over to another person.
We will introduce more reasons for paying attention to translations read in later Posts. For this stage in the game, it is good to get the multiple perspectives [reflecting the multiple witnesses idea discussed before]. As you spend more time in Scripture, you will likely gravitate to more word-for-word translations. The versions quoted here tend toward the left side of the Translation Continuum diagram above. Guidance received from a private Hebrew tutor, a seminary professor [one witness], was not to go farther to the right on the scale than the NLT, New Living Translation. You will get a “feel” for it over time. To follow is a familiar passage translated in different versions, that you may see the differences.
• Psalm 23 LITV (Interlinear) 1 A Psalm of David. Yehovah is my shepherd; I shall not lack. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me to waters of rest; 3 He restores my soul; He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table for me before ones vexing me; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over. 6 Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of Yehovah for as long as my days.
• Psalms 23 DARBY 1 Yehovah is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he leadeth me beside still waters. 3 He restoreth my soul; he leadeth me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. 5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; thou hast anointed my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 6 Surely, goodness and loving-kindness shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of Yehovah for the length of the days.
• PSALM 23 NASB A Psalm of David. 1 YHWH is my shepherd, I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; It Is Written 44 He leads me beside quiet waters. 3 He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of YHWH forever.
• Psalm 23 ESV A Psalm of David. 1 YHWH is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of YHWH forever.
• Psalm 23 KJV A Psalm of David. 1 YHWH is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of YHWH for ever.
• PSALM 23 NKJV A Psalm of David. 1 YHWH is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. 3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of YHWH Forever.
• Psalm 23 NIV A psalm of David. 1 YHWH is my shepherd, I lack nothing. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3 he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of YHWH forever.
• Psalm 23 NLT A psalm of David. 1 YHWH is my shepherd; I have all that I need. 2 He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. 3 He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. 4 Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. 5 You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. 6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of YHWH forever.
• Psalm 23 MSG A David psalm 1 God, my shepherd! I don’t need a thing. 2 You have bedded me down in lush meadows, you find me quiet pools to drink from. 3 True to your word, you let me catch my breath and send me in the right direction. 4 Even when the way goes through Death Valley, I’m not afraid when you walk at my side. Your trusty shepherd’s crook makes me feel secure. 5 You serve me a six-course dinner right in front of my enemies. You revive my drooping head; my cup brims with blessing. 6 Your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life. I’m back home in the house of God for the rest of my life.
Though perhaps it challenged you to read so many versions, hopefully it has made the point. If you grew up in a church setting, this could be a passage you had memorized. When we have a very familiar verse like this, it is sometimes challenging to hear it expressed in other ways. And we are often resistant to those challenges, having built in an internal bias [assumptive reasoning]. Again, the point here is step back from staunchly defending our way, asking the Guide to show us what he wants us to hear. This example really does not present controversy in interpretation. Many, however, will. Psalm 23 variations demonstrates more a manner of style. As you read with more than one translation, you will begin to see the differences, sometimes quite striking, often quite important.
There will be a comment off and on at LogandSpeck about variations in translation among versions on certain passages. Use this, often as you read your multiple versions, as a flag to dig deeper. It may mean that the original language left things quite open to many interpretations, or it may mean that there have been “worldly influences” to translate a certain way. Translations available are done by people, or committees of people, who have spent many years of learning and research in Scripture. As this book progresses, the reader will see, as in Benner’s example in the Hebrew Thought Post about h5769. עוֹלָם ‘ôlâm, there are decisions to be made in interpreting Scripture. Many issues are “judgment calls.” How does one know which “expert” to believe?
A reminder from Scripture, Matthew 23:8: “you have one teacher, and you are all brothers.” Our One Teacher must be the Spirit of God guiding us. [We will get to the topic of gender of Hebrew words in the upcoming Post on Grammar. One point to be made here, briefly, is that God, h0430. אֱלֹהִים ’elôhîym, is a masculine noun; Spirit, h7307. רוּחַ rûaḥ, is sometimes masculine and sometimes feminine. In the occurrences of “Spirit of God” in the Hebrew Scriptures, which have an accompanying verb or adjective that can indicate the linguistic gender, 12 of 13 times the word h7307. רוּחַ rûaḥ is feminine. Therefore, this writer will tend to use feminine pronouns for the Spirit. More later.] She knows our situation. Just as the parent bringing their child for another opinion, it is helpful for us to hear different perspectives and to listen to our Guide, avoiding “making our hearts hard,” [being stubborn] for a viewpoint based upon assumptions made long ago. The Father is our Teacher. “Experts” matter, but there is One who matters more. Hear as many witnesses as possible. Know that more than one way of interpreting the passage is correct [Hebrew can be “both/and,” not just “either/ or.”]. Trust your Guide for your life direction, the Holy Spirit (God’s power within you). She knows you better than you know yourself.
Mentioned briefly before is that science slowly seems to be catching up to the wisdom of Scripture. Part of the Father’s sense of humor in my opinion, is to let us see now and then, when we think we are so smart, that it is something He knew all along. Above is a diagram from a medical article on Diffusion Tensor Imaging of Males and Females (Sex differences in the structural connectome of the human brain, PNAS 2014). On the right in red is an aggregate picture of female brain wiring, on the left, male in blue. The findings, as you can see, indicate males and females are different in their brain connections, with males connecting mostly within individual hemispheres of the brain and females mostly between hemispheres. The point made in the article, the “impression” (that is, their interpretation of the results) at the end of the abstract, is “Overall, the results suggest that male brains are structured to facilitate connectivity between perception and coordinated action, whereas female brains are designed to facilitate communication between analytical and intuitive processing modes.” Curious that the רוּחַ rûaḥ is feminine, which may allow her to serve as our guide, “facilitating communication between analytical and intuitive processing modes.” What we were suggesting in the Hebrew Thought Post was that the Greek mind was more analytical and the Hebrew more intuitive. If we allow it, perhaps the רוּחַ rûaḥ serves as our translator. Just an interesting parallel, which is only one man’s opinion.
Next we will cover a portion of Strauch’s point on Grammar, where he suggests a good study Bible with a more literal translation and a concordance.
*Mercer Dictionary of the Bible, General Editor Watson E. Mills, Mercer University Press, Macon, GA, 1990, 1991, pp 808-809.
Hebrew Gospel of Matthew, George Howard, 1995, Mercer University Press, Macon, GA;
A Hebrew Translation of the Gospel of Mark, Greek-Hebrew Diglot with English Introduction, Robert Lisle Lindsey, Foreword by David Flusser, 1973, Dugith Publishers, Baptist House, Jerusalem;
Jesus the Jewish Theologian, Brad H. Young, 1995, Baker Academic, division of Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, MI.;
The Sage from Galilee, Rediscovering Jesus’ Genius, David Flusser with R. Steven Notley, Wm B. Eerdmans Publishing Co, Grand Rapids, MI, 2007 [Brad Young and Steven Notley wrote dissertations under David Flusser.];
Gordon, N. (2005, 2010) The Hebrew Yeshua vs. the Greek Jesus, New Light on the Seat of Moses from Shem-Tov’s Hebrew Matthew. HilkiahPress.com, Atascosa, TX.
© Jan 2018 logandspeck.com please cite if copying