The post then continues with some discussion and comparison of various translations, before getting around to describing the NIV as \u201ca translation that I cannot recommend weakly enough.\u201d This is because, although the author of the post praises the expressed aim of finding a balance between strict verbal equivalence and an extreme form of dynamic equivalence, the translators\u2019 \u201crigid adherence to evangelical Protestantism belies their intention to present the Bible with its \u2018original\u2019 meaning, and even draws meanings from the Bible that are patently absent in the Hebrew altogether.\u201d The example given to illustrate this point is Jonah 3:3b, where the NIV translates \u201cNow Nineveh was a very important city \u2013 a visit required three days.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Hebrew could be more literally (and more accurately) translated, as e.g. in the KJV, as \u201cNow Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days\u2019 journey.\u201d Why did the NIV opt to translate this differently? Simple: the plain, literal meaning of the text is wrong<\/em>. And so to allow readers of the NIV\u2019s English translation to persist in their mistaken belief that it is possible to believe the Bible to be completely factual when read at face value, they \u2018did what had to be done\u2019, and offered instead of a translation of what the Hebrew actually says, something else that is different from the meaning of the Hebrew but has the advantage of actually being correct.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve looked at other<\/a> examples<\/a> on this blog<\/a> before. I wonder, now that work<\/a> has<\/a> begun<\/a> on a<\/a> revision<\/a> of the<\/a> New<\/a> International<\/a> Version<\/a>, such aspects of the classic NIV will be preserved, or whether this time they will put translating what the Bible actually says above offering Biblical literalists something they can believe.<\/p>\n OK, so the title doesn\u2019t precisely reflect the contents of this post, but I couldn\u2019t think of another way to include all three of the very interesting elements in the blog post \u201cPraise the Lord (of the Rings)\u201d at Davar Akher. The post begins by highlighting something I didn\u2019t know before, namely that J. R. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/tracker\/7622297540113836091-545726842703138317?l=exploringourmatrix.blogspot.com\")