Which Translation Does Your Pastor Base She-He-It's Faith On

My experience with the Christian scriptures has taught me time and again to cross check the written word.

The Life And Times Of Brian Waddington

 

I'm the one wearing the tie. I first came to understand the power of one translation over another as I was trained by the village to be their pastor. The council wanted me to preach from the King James. For them, it was the bible. I preferred the Jerusalem Bible.

I found a passage in the King James and read it. No one knew what a dromedary was. I read the same passage from the Jerusalem. Everybody knew what a camel was. 

I pointed out to them that it was hard enough to bring to life G-d's message without having to stop to explain the words.

We decided to go with the Jerusalem for everyday preaching but when it came to special occasions such as weddings and funerals we'd use the King James. Worked for me and worked for them.

Which brings me, as we approach the Winter Solstice, to a passage that has always made me go 'Hmmmmm.'

 For this little thought experiment I'll be using the NASB and Youngs Literal Translation. First the NASB:

 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among people [a]with whom He is pleased.”

a)  Luke 2:14 Lit of good pleasure; or of goodwill

 Now, YLT:

  `Glory in the highest to God, and upon earth peace, among men -- good will.'

(The YLT intrigues me. I believe that in Young's attempt to go hard core literal he has managed to leap over some obvious translational bias. It is not a translation that I would choose to preach from. It is a translation that I use to go deeply into the scripture. So, back to Luke 2:14.)

First the NASB: 

• Glory to God in the Highest. The Highest what? The Highest Heaven? Remember Paul went up to the third Heaven
•  And on earth peace among people [a]with whom He is pleased.” G-d's Peace is for the people with whom He is pleased or who have good will. I can't see that the earth is to receive anything. 

Now for YLT:

•  Glory in the highest to God. To me, this seems to be a straightforward call to give the ultimate Glory to G-d.
  
•  and upon earth peace, among men -- good will.' The most straight forward reading has G-d giving peace to the earth and to men, good will.

Please don't misunderstand. I'm not telling you which translation to use, who to follow or which pew to sit in. I'm just pointing out that Christian faith needs to rest in humility if for no other reason than the rule book comes in many editions.

 

Brian