Word for word translation bible - Word и Excel - помощь в работе с программами

Recently, we offered a few thoughts in response to the common question “Which Bible translation is the best?” Today, we’ll continue the discussion with a look at one type of Bible translation that you can find here at Bible Gateway: word-for-word Bible translations.

A word-to-word Bible translation is a Bible that aims to hew as closely as possible to the wording and grammatical structure of the original text. (The more technical term for “word-to-word” is formal equivalence.) Whenever possible, a word-for-word translation tries to translate each word, phrase, and concept in the original text with an exactly matching word, phrase, and concept in the target language. People sometimes call this kind of Bible a “literal” translation.

What’s Important to Know About Word-for-word Bible Translations?

1. They aim to reduce the “human interpretation” factor in Bible translation. By sticking as closely as possible to the original words and structure, these translations reduce the number of major interpretative decisions that a translator has to make—and thus, reduce the chance that fallible translators will make the wrong translation choice and distort the meaning of the original.

2. “Word-for-word” is a goal to be aimed at, not completely achieved. Because no two languages are exact 1:1 matches to each other, it’s not possible to create a 100% word-for-word translation (certainly not one that is comprehensible). While translators may try to be as “literal” as possible, they must inevitably make many interpretive decisions, sometimes choosing the best of several unsatisfactory options. And it’s not possible to completely remove fallible human interpretation from the mix—even the decision to translate a Bible word-to-word is an interpretive act! Nonetheless, a word-for-word translation tries to keep translation compromises to a minimum.

3. Their language is unique and memorable. Because they’re translating a vocabulary and sentence structure that are quite far removed from modern spoken language, word-for-word Bibles have a unique voice that truly stands out from modern writing and literature. You might use words like majestic, soaring, or inspiring to describe them—perhaps even “old-fashioned,” but in a positive sense. If this style of language appeals to you, you’ll want to be sure to listen to them as well as read them—so visit our library of audio Bibles to get the full effect.

4. They work especially well when paired with a Bible commentary or other study tool. Because these Bibles’ language and phrasing can differ from modern English, you’ll benefit from keeping a commentary or study Bible handy while reading, to help you sort out unusual or confusing terms and phrases. Bible Gateway’s digital commentaries and study Bibles are very useful for this purpose. (Bible Gateway’s study library includes several good free resources; if you upgrade to Bible Gateway Plus membership, you’ll get access to additional study materials, some of them specific to word-for-word Bible translations—like the King James Study Bible and the NKJV Study Bible.)

Who Will Most Appreciate a Word-for-word Bible?

Consider a word-for-word Bible if you:

Want a Bible experience that is closer to the vocabulary and phrasing that its original audiences read and heard.
Love majestic language and phrasing.
Have access to a good study Bible, dictionary, or other tool to help you when you run across unfamiliar terms.

Four Word-for-word Bibles to Start With

Bible Gateway has many Bibles that lean toward word-for-word translation. Here are a few prominent ones that would make a fine starting point for anyone looking for this kind of Bible reading experience.

1. The Authorized (King James) Version: Easily the most famous word-for-word Bible translation, the King James Bible has had a lasting impact not only on Christianity but on the English language itself. Its majestic language and memorable turns of phrase have cemented it in our cultural consciousness. Many popularly-known and oft-memorized Bible verses use the language of the King James Version; if your early encounters with the Bible were with the King James Version, you probably have a nostalgic connection to its language as well! Although it draws on other English translations, it remains a reasonably literal translation.

The King James Version is still widely used today across the English-speaking world. Here’s a sample Bible passage from the Authorized (King James) Version:

Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this will we do, if God permit. For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. — Hebrews 6:1-6 (AKJV)

2. Young’s Literal Translation: A very literal translation of the Bible by Robert Young in 1862. This translation vividly highlights both the advantages and drawbacks of the word-for-word approach: it sticks quite close in many places to the structure of the original biblical languages, but as you can see from this sample passage, it’s not always easy going for modern readers. But like many such translations, even its difficult-to-read sections have an appealing poetic quality to them.

Here’s a sample Bible passage from Young’s Literal Translation:

Wherefore, having left the word of the beginning of the Christ, unto the perfection we may advance, not again a foundation laying of reformation from dead works, and of faith on God,

of the teaching of baptisms, of laying on also of hands, of rising again also of the dead, and of judgment age-during,

and this we will do, if God may permit,

for [it is] impossible for those once enlightened, having tasted also of the heavenly gift, and partakers having became of the Holy Spirit,

and did taste the good saying of God, the powers also of the coming age,

and having fallen away, again to renew [them] to reformation, having crucified again to themselves the Son of God, and exposed to public shame. — Hebrews 6:1-6 (YLT)

3. English Standard Version: One thing you may have noticed about a lot of word-for-word translations is that they’re old—although they may have been revised and updated through the years, many of them (like the previous two on this list) have their roots in Bible translations that are often centuries old. This can lead to some added reading difficulty, as you combine the quirks of word-for-word translation with archaic English vocabulary. But that doesn’t need to be the case! The English Standard Version is a very popular word-for-word Bible that uses modern English while still employing a formal equivalence translation philosophy.

Here’s a sample passage from the English Standard Version:

Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits. For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. — Hebrews 6:1-6 (ESV)

4. The Amplified Bible: One of the most unique Bibles in our library, the Amplified Bible aims for a word-for-word translation… with some interesting tweaks to help convey the original text’s meaning. The Amplified Bible uses “amplifications” in the text to help readers understand concepts that might not be clear in the text. These amplifications include:

Explanatory notes in [brackets] that clarify concepts which the English translation doesn’t convey
(Parentheses) to provide alternate translation possibilities for certain terms
Italics to indicate words which aren’t in the original texts—often used for words like and or or, which the English language requires for readability

This Bible is a fascinating way to really dig into the nuances of translation and the original languages, and is probably best suited for Bible study (as opposed to casual reading or memorization). Here’s a sample Bible passage from the Amplified Bible:

Therefore let us get past the elementary stage in the teachings about the Christ, advancing on to maturity and perfection and spiritual completeness, [doing this] without laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of teaching about washings (ritual purifications), the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. [These are all important matters in which you should have been proficient long ago.] And we will do this [that is, proceed to maturity], if God permits. For [it is impossible to restore to repentance] those who have once been enlightened [spiritually] and who have tasted and consciously experienced the heavenly gift and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted and consciously experienced the good word of God and the powers of the age (world) to come, and then have fallen away—it is impossible to bring them back again to repentance, since they again nail the Son of God on the cross [for as far as they are concerned, they are treating the death of Christ as if they were not saved by it], and are holding Him up again to public disgrace. — Hebrews 6:1-6 (AMP)

More Word-for-word Bibles at Bible Gateway

The four Bibles above are just the beginning! We encourage you to explore the many more word-for-word translations available at Bible Gateway, including:

Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
American Standard Version
Lexham English Bible
New King James Version
World English Bible

There are yet more for you to peruse in our Bible library. While exploring these Bibles, we also highly recommend using the side-by-side Bible view on Bible Gateway to compare how two or more Bibles translate the same passage.

Hopefully, this has helped you to understand and appreciate the word-for-word Bible translation approach, and given you some good places to start reading these Bibles for yourself! In the next post in this series, we’ll introduce you to Bibles which take a different approach: the thought-for-thought or dynamic equivalence philosophy. Until then, have fun digging into these Bibles—and let’s be continually grateful that God has preserved His Word through the centuries for us to read today.

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Are word-for-word (or “literal”) Bible translations the best at accurately conveying the meaning of the original inspired text of Scripture? No. In fact, there aren’t any popular English Bible translations that are actually literal. For example, here is Young’s Literal Translation (YLT) of 2 Peter 1:20-21 compared with the New International Version (NIV) of the Bible.

“This first knowing, that no prophecy of the Writing doth come of private exposition, for not by will of man did ever prophecy come, but by the Holy Spirit borne on holy men of God spake.” 2 Peter 1:20-21 YLT

“Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” 2 Peter 1:20-21 NIV

As you can see, the most accurate Bible translation is the one that gives the reader a clear, true understanding of the meaning of God’s Word.

Even the most literal English Bible translations include some interpretation of the original text. In the preface to the King James Version (KJV), the translators explicitly wrote that they did not translate the same word in the source manuscripts the same way in all instances; rather, they attempted to capture the sense of the original word in each case.

Martin Luther, the great Protestant reformer, translated the Bible into German. Reflecting on the translation process, he wrote, “I must let the literal words go and try to learn how the German says that which the Hebrew expresses. Whoever would speak German must not use Hebrew style. Rather he must see to it – once he understands the Hebrew author – that he concentrates on the sense of the text, asking himself, ’…what do the Germans say in such a situation?’ …Let him drop the Hebrew words and express the meaning freely in the best German he knows.”

To understand the current discussion, it bears mention that there are two basic approaches to translation. The first is known as formal equivalence, also called “literal” or “word-for-word” translation. The goal of formal equivalence is to reproduce, as much as possible, the form of the original Greek or Hebrew. The second approach is known as functional equivalence, dynamic equivalence, thought-for-thought, or idiomatic translation. The goal here is to reproduce the meaning of the text, without necessarily following its form. All Bible translations lie on a spectrum between form and function, and there are no pure versions of either approach. Contemporary versions that tend toward formal equivalence include the New King James Version, the Revised Standard Version, the New Revised Standard Version, the New American Standard Bible, and the English Standard Version. Versions that tend toward the functional (thought-for-thought) side include the New Living Translation, the Good News Translation, the New Century Version, etc. Other versions take a mediating approach, following the form only when the result is natural or easily comprehended English. Mediating versions include the New International Version, the New English Translation (NET), the Holman Christian Standard Bible, and the Common English Bible.

Word-for-word Bible translators place a particularly high priority on translating Scripture the way it was written — giving the modern English reader the opportunity to see much of the form and structure of the original documents. Ease of understanding varies from verse to verse and from book to book according to the complexity of the source material. But all verses and all books adhere to a high standard of transparency to the original languages.

Thought-for-thought Bible translators place a particularly high priority on helping English readers understand the meaning of Scripture. All Bible passages adhere to a high standard of accessibility and comprehensibility.

Since its release in 1978, the New International Version (NIV) has stood as the modern pioneer of a more balanced approach — an approach that mirrors the balance of priorities held by the KJV translators four hundred years ago. The NIV tries to bring its readers as close as possible to the experience of the original audience: providing the best possible blend of transparency to the original documents and comprehension of the original meaning in every verse. The NIV Bible is founded on the belief that if hearing God’s Word the way it was written and understanding the authors’ intent were the hallmarks of the original reading experience, then accuracy in translation demands that neither one of these two criteria be prioritized above the other.

Built upon this philosophy, the NIV has experienced much the same reaction in the church and beyond as its beloved predecessor, the KJV, whose values it seeks to emulate. Thirty-seven years after its first publication there are more than six hundred and fifty million NIV Bibles in print.

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Summary: A “literal” or “word for word” method seems like the most logical and straightforward philosophy of Bible translation, but it is a bit more complicated than that. Let’s look at the strengths and weaknesses of formal equivalency.

They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading. – Nehemiah 8:8 (ESV)

Strengths of Formal Equivalency

Bible translation can seem simple at first glance. Take a Hebrew or Greek word and put an English word in its place, right? Well, most of the time it’s not that simple. Bible translation from one language to another is actually a very complicated process.

We have talked about the two main philosophies of Bible translation in a previous thinker article, “formal” versus “functional equivalency.” Formal “word for word” translation seeks to make as little change to the text as possible, leaving some things ambiguous. Readers may need to do some additional research to understand the text because explanations are not given. On the other hand, functional equivalency is focused on translating the meaning of the text over form. There are strengths and weaknesses with both philosophies.

Let’s take a look at the formal approach. English Bible translations which follow a formal method of translation include the KJV, NASB, and ESV.

One of the most obvious strengths of formal equivalency is keeping the grammatical structure of the original text identifiable. For example, in the NASB, the word “flesh” in the New Testament will almost always be the translation of the Greek word sarx. In the same way, in the Old Testament the Hebrew word basar is usually translated as “flesh.”

The benefit of translating each Hebrew or Greek word into the same English word most of the time allows the reader to trace repeated words, even if the word has a slightly different meaning depending on the context. This is especially useful when doing Bible study. Additionally, maintaining the same wording can help connect thoughts to other places of the Bible where that same wording is used – connections that may have been intentional by the authors but would be missed if worded in different ways.

A good example of translating a word consistently is the Greek adverb euthys which is used 42 times in the Gospel of Mark, giving the book a fast-paced feel. The NKJV translates it as “immediately” most of the time. It actually is so repetitive it begins to sound awkward as you read it in English. While euthys usually does mean “immediately” it can also be used to indicate a new scene, similar to “then” or “next.”

The CEB (Common English Bible) version is a functional equivalence (meaning for meaning) translation which uses various words for euthys which sounds more like natural English, but by doing so it changes the actual repetitive use of the Greek word in Mark.

The Temptation of Christ by the Devil, by Félix Joseph Barrias, 1860. (Philbrook Museum of Art, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Below is a comparison of the more formal NKJV (New King James Version) and the more functional CEB version of the word euthys, which is used an astounding 11 times in just the first chapter of Mark.