Thursday, October 01, 2015
Bible Verse of the Month.
"O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding the profane novelties of words, and oppositions of knowledge falsely so called."
--First Letter of St. Paul to Timothy, Chapter 6, Verse 20, Douay-Rheims Edition.
[Helpful Editorial Note: This is the first in what I hope to be a series, using various translations of verses that strike my fancy. By and large, I'm going to be using older translations.
As I explained to a friend once, my main problem with modern translations is that they sound too much like an interoffice memo, with God not asking us to repent so much as to always use the new cover sheets for the TPS reports.
Mm, yeah--that would be great.]
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New digs for ponderings about Levantine Christianity.
The interior of Saint Paul Melkite Greek Catholic Church, Harissa, Lebanon. I have decided to set up a Substack exploring Eastern Christi...
Dear Mr. Price. It is interesting that you posted this after ABS, once agains, just reread the Commonitorium by Saint Vincent of Lerins of it is reproduce there also.
ReplyDeleteThe teachings in The commonitorium read as though they were written specifically for us and our times as he teaches us that such trials as we are undergoing is the way God tests us to see if we love Him and, as regards, novelties, St Vincent teaches us to not only shun them but that those who do shun novelties ("Surprises") are they who are most religious.
Saint Vincent has the answer as to what we must do in this most execrable of ecclesiastical epochs.
Pax tecum, good to see you back positing
I will have to read that--my knowledge of St. Vincent is minimal, alas.
ReplyDeletePeace to you, too--and thanks!
Dear Mr. Price,
ReplyDeleteA favorite example demonstrating why I find modern translations of the Scriptures often unsatisfactory is by comparing the Douai/Reims/Challoner's rendering of 3 Kings 14.10 with the NEW AMERICAN BIBLE's version of the same text at 1 Kings 14.10. The older version has this: "...therefore behold I will bring evils upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall. and him that is shut up, and the last in Israel. And I will sweep away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as dung is swept away till all be clean." The NAB renders 1 Kings 14.10: "Therefore, I am bringing evil upon the house of Jeroboam, I will cut off every male in Jeroboam's line, whether slave or freeman in Israel, and will burn up the house of Jeroboam completely, as though dung were being burned."
My chief complaint with modern Bible translations is how often they flatten out or remove the color and drama and blunt metaphors to be found in the original languages or older translations. For example, "pisseth against the wall" was a metaphor meaning "male," but most modern translations prefer to use "male." Which, while true, eliminates a dramatic metaphor.
I don't object, of course, to Bible translations being improved due to the translators having a deeper and better knowledge of the original Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek texts. But I do wish more effort would be made at NOT removing too many of the more colorful idioms and metaphors to be found in Scripture. I think some readers would pay more attention to the Bible if it was also INTERESTING to read.
Sincerely, Sean M. Brooks