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NASB | Matthew 4:4 But He answered and said, "It is written, 'MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.'" |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 4:4 But Jesus replied, "It is written and forever remains written, 'MAN SHALL NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE, BUT BY EVERY WORD THAT COMES OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.'" [Deut 8:3] |
Subject: Why a Literal Translation? |
Bible Note: Greetings Makarios! Interesting article! I wonder though if it is really possible to be as literal as the article says! There are still aspects which mitigate against it being as easy as it sounds. For instance, which English word do we use? Do we only use one word, or multiple words? How do we structure the sentence? I think that in the vast majority of verses, a literal translation would neither be difficult nor confusing. However, there are some extremely difficult passages, which translated literally would be meaningless. Consider this example that I saw in Hebrews the other day. The last clause of Heb. 4:13 in the NIV says, "...to whom we must give account." The NASB translates the last clause: "...with whom we have to do." The actual Greek says: "..., toward whom we the word." The Dynamic Equivalent translation has the apparent meaning correct. "Word" can mean an "account or reckoning". The literal translation left out 'the word' totally. The only reason I point this out is that I think that many times it is simply not possible to give a one word "literal" translation which would make any sense in English. Now, obviously there are translations which are more literal than not, like the NASB. There are also Bibles (I hesitate to call them translations) like the Living Bible which are nothing but paraphrases. But, to a certain extent, every translation practices quite a bit of Dynamic Equivalence and the average reader never knows it. :-) Thanks for the great resources my friend! Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |