Lost In Translation

“Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth. Genesis 11:7-9

Hopefully you know the story of the Tower of Babel. Humankind was getting a bit too ambitious, so God brought confusion to them by changing their languages. I wonder how many languages he split them into at that point? There are over 7,000 languages today, but new languages can emerge, old ones can die out, and all languages evolve and change over the course of time.

It’s amazing how well we humans, broadly speaking, have overcome the language barrier, even to the point of having Google Translate. Yet language differences will always cause problems, one of them being, yep, you guessed it— Google Translate.

The Bible is the most translated book in the world with about 100 versions just in English! I grew up on the King James version, almost exclusively. When I went to college, that church was using the New King James and I switched to that. This is the version our congregation gives out to people who request a Bible. But sometimes at the jail we will be asked for a simpler version, even a kids’ version, because even the New King James can be difficult for some.

I’ve struggled with this because on the one hand, I know that simpler modern versions like the CEV or the NLT are not direct translations. They are more of a paraphrase, and sometimes the nuance of the original meaning is lost or even changed.

But on the other hand, if someone is given a Bible they cannot comprehend, what is the point? I do try to warn folks that for serious study they will eventually want to advance to a more accurate translation, but I have developed an appreciation for the role that easier versions can play in helping along the unchurched.

And sometimes even very “churched” people can be thrown by the way something is rendered in any given version. I’ll give you an example.

The KJV says in Matthew 26:27 that at the Last Supper, Jesus “took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying ‘Drink ye all of it.’” When I was a kid, there was one family in our church who believed this meant that you had to drink all of the contents of the cup when taking communion; that it was a sin to leave a little bit of the juice in the cup. Drink ye all of it. The NKJV clarifies this by rendering Jesus’s words as, “Drink from it, all of you.” This family was just mis-reading the KJV. The word “all” went with the word “ye.” “Drink ye all of it.” Too bad Jesus wasn’t a Southerner. He could have just said, “y’all.”

I really don’t mean to say that older translations are bad. In fact, I love the KJV! I believe that reading it so consistently in my youth contributed to my love of language. But as an adult I have also found uses for other versions even though they may be less respected, and rightly so. For serious study, you need a seriously reliable translation. But referring to a variety of translations can often help us develop a deeper understanding of the text.

Ever since Babel, language has been a confusing thing. And it isn’t just foreign languages that cause problems. Sometimes we can even be confused by our own language! How often do we mis-understand each other, or even God’s perfect word, because of our limitations as human beings?

One more caution— whatever Bible you use, make sure to distinguish between the word of God and any commentary added by the publishers. Study Bibles have all kinds of helpful aids, but they are not inspired and tend to contain a lot of human opinion. Just as various translations should be considered with discretion, so should commentaries (whether printed in a Bible or as separate books).

In all Bible study, we should pray for understanding.

Open my eyes, that I may see
Wondrous things from Your law. Psalm 119:18

And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. Luke 24:45

Dear God, we know that language is a great gift— very beautiful but also very complex. Please prevent us from falling into the curse of Babel confusion when studying Your word. Open our eyes to see and understand the things that You have revealed. In Jesus’s name, Amen.

by Christie Cole Atkins