Prior Book | Prior Chapter | Prior Verse | Next Verse | Next Chapter | Next Book | Viewing NASB and Amplified 2015 | |
NASB | Matthew 1:19 And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 1:19 And Joseph her [promised] husband, being a just and righteous man and not wanting to expose her publicly to shame, planned to send her away and divorce her quietly. |
Subject: What does "send her away" refer to? |
Bible Note: Wayne, your illustration of Matthew 1:19, the phrase "send her away secretly," is one among scores of other turns of phrase, idiomatic expressions, and single words that show up in various translations, especally those which strive for "literal accuracy," whose meanings to the contemporary reader of English so frequently are obscure. Consider the Hebrew idiom which translates literally "he slept with his fathers." Now this is more "literally accurate" I suppose than simply to say "he died," but is it none the less accurate and enormously clearer to say "he died"? I've been much a trumpeter for the more "literal" biblical translations until fairly recently when I've begun to rethink this issue and relax my views somewhat. Not only is our language an ever-changing one but so is our culture. Graduates from our schools, even the liberal arts schools, tend to be far less proficient in classical languages and literature than they were, say, a half-century or so ago. I argue neither that this trend is good or bad but merely point out that it is a fact. Times they are a changing, and if Christendom expects to reach the masses in our time, I believe it is necessary to take the message of Scripture out of the language of academia and put it into the everyday language of the people. That this can be done without essentially compromising accuracy of meaning has been demonstrated by such works as the New Living Translation and others. There are those who would argue that the use of paraphrase, even the most conservative use, constitutes an infidelity to the the biblical texts. To which various counter-arguments could be advanced. For example, is "divorced her" really a deceptive corruption of "send her away" or "died" of "slept with his fathers"? The New Testament was, by and large, written in the earthy, common language of the people, not in scholarly Greek. Is there any cogent reason why its translation into English or any other modern tongue should not be in contemporary, everyday language so that he who reads may understand? I think not. The King James Bible has been called "the noblest monument to English prose" and indeed has earned a place of primacy among the treasures of our language. For decades it was "The Bible" for millions of readers. It was, in 1611 and for many years following, a new and fresh translation that spoke to the reader in his language that he had little difficulty understanding. But how well does it serve the typical modern reader in conveying the message of God to them? I've heard great numbers of sermons by preachers who used the King James text. And almost invariably those preachers used roughly half of their pulpit time in actual exposition of the text and the other half in translation of obscure locutions of the King James Version. I've wondered on occasions when they spent so much time on explaining what the King James text meant by what it said why it would not have been better that these preachers revert to the Greek text and translate from it! I don't recall ever hearing a sermon delivered by even the most conservative preacher but what he used a generous sprinkling of paraphrase in explaining the meaning of the text. And even his most conservative listeners didn't seem to mind. Emerson observed that a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds. What then can we offer as a rationale for a dogged adherence to "literal accuracy"? Should not understanding be placed high in our pecking order? The responsible translator has helped us, he has not deceived us or been unfaithful to the text, when he translates "he died" in lieu of "he slept with his fathers." --Hank |