I ❤ Translators ~ Greg J

New glasses. Updated haircut. When you are fascinated with someone, you notice changes.  In December, Eric began a look at a Bible passage that has fascinated me, Ephesians 4:11-16. It begins:

“So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets,
the evangelists, the pastors and teachers,
to equip his people for works of service…”

I noticed that the February quotation was the same but different:

“And he gave the apostles, the prophets,
the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,
to equip the saints for the work of ministry…”

The December posts used the 2011 New International Version. Aha! The January-February installments used the 2001 English Standard Version. Differences:

   “Christ”          became pronoun “he”
   “pastors”       versus “shepherds”
   “his people”  versus “the saints”
   “service”        versus “ministry”
 
Does it matter that these translations differ? What’s the best translation of these verses? They seem to be saying that, Christ appoints leaders to bring about church or personal growth. To somebody. Who are “the saints”? Aren’t they, like, miracle-working Super Christians? How does one “equip” saints? Give them a gift card for Home Depot? Pass out Bibles? Doesn't the ministry require more dedication than rando works of service?

In this and subsequent articles I'll show how I resolved these questions to my satisfaction—at least until you put something in the comments. The tools I used, are online and free. You can use them too!

Years ago I would have pulled out hefty English translations of the Bible: King James Version, Revised Standard Version, my stiff New American Standard Bible, and the jolly green Living Bible. I liked the elegant line art in my 1976 Good News Translation and its translators’ likewise elegant goal “to state clearly and accurately the meaning of the original texts.”

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The New International Version of 1978 also sought “accuracy and clarity”. I bought weighty tools such as a 2000-page Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Greek New Testaments, lexicons, and other language tools.

Now it’s 2024 or later. You can access all of these Bibles and many more for free on your cell phone or computer! They have search capabilities and "display in all translations" capabilities and display multiple translations capabilities!

For example: Try a quick browser visit to BibleGateway.com. (There are also Bible.com, BibleHub.com, Biblia.com , BlueLetterBible.org, BibleArc.com, and  other Bible sites. I like the browser interface of BibleGateway. The BG app is puny, use a browser.) Type in the reference: Ephesians 4:12. You can abbreviate; for example, Eph4:12. BG will display the verse in the NIV or whatever translation you last selected.

You’ll also see a link, “Ephesians 4:12 in all English translations”. Hit that! 63 versions!  Now we meet Segal’s Law: “A man with a watch knows what time it is. A man with two watches is never sure.”

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Why are there so many translations? First, over time our language changes.  Here is Ephesians 4:12 from the 1382 Wycliffe’s Translation:

• to the ful endyng of seyntis, in to the werk of mynystrie, in to edificacioun of Cristis bodi,

 
The classic 1611 King James Version reads:

• For the perfecting of the Saints, for the worke of the ministerie, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

Still used today, the 1769 King James Version tweaked spelling:

• For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

The 1952 Revised Standard Version I received one Christmas uses “equip” and “building up”:

• to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,

In the 2019 The New Testament for Everyone, notice the switch from “saints” to “God’s people” and from “ministry” to “their work of service”:

• Their job is to give God’s people the equipment they need for their work of service, and so to build up the Messiah’s body.
  

The New Century Version of 2003 and some other translations successfully target a 3rd grade reading level:

• Christ gave those gifts to prepare God’s holy people for the work of serving, to make the body of Christ stronger.
  

Footnote: Did you notice in Ephesians 4:12 that newer English translations have a different count of commas than older versions? What's the comma count for the rather older Greek text below? Does this punctuation make a difference in meaning?

Yes, English keeps on ch-ch-changing.  

Also: Diggers keep on digging.  That is, archaeologists continue to unearth source manuscripts or find them stored in a dusty museum or monastery. The Dead Sea Scrolls include manuscripts penned around 250 BC. However, the Dead Sea Scrolls did not see the light of day until 1946. Translators first consulted the Dead Sea Scrolls for the Revised Standard Version of 1952. Get this: Without going all Indiana Jones, you can inspect important ancient source manuscripts online! For free! As of 2020, here is Ephesians 4:11-12 from part of the P46 papyrus at the University of Michigan. P46 was penned around AD 210.

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A given translation will set goals of formal accuracy versus readability. Consider the following translations of royals trash-talking in 1 Kings 20:11:

1. And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell him, Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off. (Authorized KJV  1769. Italics mark words not in source.)
2. Then the king of Israel replied, “Tell him, ‘He who straps on his weapons had better not boast like one who takes them off.’”          (New American Standard Bible 2020)
3. Ahab then answered, “Benhadad, don't brag before the fighting even begins. Wait and see if you live through it.”                            (Contemporary English Version 1995)
4. The king of Israel retorted, “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch!”      (The Living Bible 1971)

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These span the range of word-oriented “formal equivalence” (KJV, NASB) through thought-oriented “dynamic equivalence” (CEV), and impact-oriented “paraphrase” (TLB).  

Of course the question everyone asks is this:

What is the best Bible translation?

I have four great answers for this question!

1. The best Bible translation is: the one you actually read.
2. The best Bible translation is: the one that is accurate and requires the least additional explanation. Often it is quite hard to be accurate, succinct, consistent, and clear. For ratings of a translation’s accuracy, consider evidence from trusted people. Then through comparisons, testing, and source language tools, grow to become one of those trusted people.
3. The best Bible translation is: two or more differing translations that you reconcile. Consider context of a given phrase then also check out how its words are used elsewhere.
4. The best Bible version not just accurately informs you, it affects you: it hurts and helps, it challenges and inspires, it leads you to action.  “Let your steadfast love comfort me… Your promise gives me life…” (Psalm 119) “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for showing people what is wrong in their lives, for correcting faults, and for teaching how to live right. Using the Scriptures, the person who serves God will be capable, having all that is needed to do every good work.” (Hebrews 4:12, 2 Tim 3:16-17)
   

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Let’s return to the Ephesians 4:12 passage.  I identified the three phrases here. Then phrase-by-phrase I summarized the English language variations currently at BibleGateway.com. There are intriguing differences that struck me as not simply modern English synonyms: “equipping” vs “perfecting” vs “teaching”. What’s with “saints” vs “Christians” vs “God’s People”?  The definitive answer will be in understanding the source language, Bible-era Greek. I’ll continue this English-translation survey of Ephesians 4:11-16 in the next posting.  The following table shows decisions translators have made.

Ephesians 4:7	Ephesians 4:11	Ephesians 4:12a	Ephesians 4:12b
Each of us has a gift as Christ portioned it...	_____, _____, _____, _____, _____	for the _____	of _____
Each of us has a gift as Christ portioned it...	·apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers; ·apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers;	·equipping, enabling; ·perfecting, completing, repairing; ·preparing, training, teaching, helping	·the saints; ·God's holy people, the holy ones; ·God's people, his people; ·Christians, Christ's followers

Footnote: In each phrase above, the first alternative such as “equipping” or “saints” is the clear majority out of the 63 English versions now at Bible Gateway.  But majority support does not identify “best”. Here’s why. Most English versions on Bible Gateway and other such sites focused on the Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic sources. They also consulted specific previous English translations. So their prefaces say. Thus the initial 2001 English Standard Version consulted the 1952 Revised Standard Version. That 1952 Revised Standard Version consulted the 1901 American Standard Version, which consulted the 1885 English Revised Version and the 1769 King James Version. The ESV with its ancestors use “saints” wherever great-granddad KJV used “saints”!

By contrast, the committee for the first New International Version  did not adapt from previous translations. Thus the New International Version, the New Living Translation, the Contemporary English Version, and altogether 15 translations at Bible Gateway use “God’s people” where the KJV has “saints”. In a later installment, I’ll ponder which is the best translation of the underlying Greek word.

Footnote: Yes, I’m having fun with image generation via Large Language Models such as https://designer.microsoft.com/image-creator, as has Eric. I enter prompts such as “woodcut monochrome victorian woman laptop” or "monochrome woodcut victorian son father grandfather great-grandfather" and in seconds get droll illustrations such as those above. They are copyright-free! Such emerging tools as https://gemini.google.com so far impress me with Bible translation and summaries of Bible commentary. Of course these vast database summaries are exploiting online source texts. They integrate existing digital translations and commentary. I’m intrigued. Can they be corrupted by online heresies? Though they speak with the tongues of men and angels, do robots have love?

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Footnote: The above table summarizes differences among 63 English Language versions at BibleGateway.com. Among these English translations you can find the Mounce Reverse Interlinear. Mounce pairs an English New Testament with the originating Greek family of words. Also at BibleGateway.com are five sources of hardcore Biblical Greek. From the main page, search for a passage such as Ephesians 4:11-16. Where you might have selected an English translation, instead click ALL, then scroll down halfway; past English, past Español, past Français, to: Kοινὴ.

The first critical edition listed, TR1550, was used in the 1611 King James Version.  SBLGNT (2010) and THGNT (2017) consider more recent archaeology and language scholarship. The accompanying screenshot shows these five Greek critical editions, plus WLC, the primary Hebrew language source for the Old Testament. HHH is a New Testament in modern Hebrew.

Later, I aim to look at esv.org for easier free tools for thorough word study.  We have overwhelming word wealth!  Just remember: The best Bible translation is the one you actually use!

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Next: Saints