22.ansZating the
New Living Translation
By Dr. Eugene E. Carpenter
T
Introduction
he New Living Danslation (NLT)of the Bible appeared in 1996
(Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois) and quickly became
a best seller. Over six million volumes have been sold. Both lay
persons and scholars have found the NLT to be both highly accurate,
easy to read and clear in its translation of the Old and New
Testaments. During a period of seven years over ninety evangelical
scholars engaged in the task of producing a dynamic equivalency
translation of Scripture. Since some of the roots of this translation
go back to the popular Living Bible paraphrase, some persons have
mistakenly thought that the NLT is a paraphrase. But while the
NLT does try to retain some of the emotive quality of the earlier
Living Bible, it is not a paraphrase, but an entirely new translation
of the Bible. The NLT is based upon a careful examination of the
original and most important Hebrew and Greek manuscripts of the
sacred texts. It has proven to be a n accurate, authoritative, viable
devotional and study Bible with clear and emotive language that
one reviewer calls a "can't-put-it-down" quality.
Rationale
The need for a "thought for thought" translation of the Bible,
sometimes called a dynamic equivalency translation, had been
expressed by both lay persons, translators and biblical scholars for
decades. The range of translations possible includes several viable
though different approaches: a strictly literal, a literal, a literal
with some idiom used, a dynamic equivalence, and a paraphrase.
The only dynamic equivalence translations available before 1996
were Today's English Version, used by mainline churches, and The
Jerusalem Bible (and New Jerusalem Bible) which is a Roman
Catholic translation. The Living Bible and Phillips translations
are paraphrases. So, the door was open and the need was there for
Tyndale Publishers to undertake a true dynamic equivalency
translation through a group of scholars with an evangelical
perspective. The New International Version (NIV), an excellent
translation, had specifically sought to minimize dynamic equivalency,
while the NLT would aim to maximize this translation approach.
The ultimate aim was evangelical; that is, to encourage more people
to read the Bible, because it would be easier and more clear to read,
as well as accurate.
In short the new dynamic equivalency rendering is intended to
be a translation that is acceptable to a large majority of evangelical
scholars and churchmen. It is a reliable translation which conveys
the meaning of the texts of the original languageswithout necessarily
reproducing the syntax or word-for-word features of the original
manuscripts. And,just as importantly, this feature makes it suitable
for wide dissemination among lay people and pastors alike as a
highly readable translation.
It is unfortunate that more people hear the Bible read aloud
today than read it for themselves. With this fact in mind, scholars
translated the NLT so that it would retain the oral communicability
of the original texts with power when read in public worship. Its
emotive power makes it ideal for public worship. Its emotive power
makes it ideal for public reading and consumption. It leaves a
desirable impact upon the heart, spirit and mind of the hearers of
God's word.
Method and Philosophy of the NLT
The NLT team of scholars went back to the ancient Masoretic
Hebrew text of the Old Testament, specifically the edition known as
the Biblia Hebraica Stutgartensia (19771,which features a new upto-date textual apparatus, for their translation base. For each Old
Testament book the translators also made use of other ancient
sources to arrive at the best translatable text. Sources such as the
Dead Sea Scrolls, the Septuagint(Greek translation),the Samaritan
Pentateuch (another ancient Hebrew text), the Syriac Peshitta, the
Latin Vulgate and any other ancient source that would shed light
upon textual translationalissues were used. New Testament scholars
employed two basic editions of the Greek New Testament as their
translation base, The Greek New Testament (United Bible
Societies, 1993) and Novum Testamentum Graece, (Nestle and
Aland, 1993).These foundational sources for translation represent
the best in modern scholarship and are significant advances over
the Textus Receptus used for the KJV and NKJV.
A dynamic equivalency translation is essentially a thought-forthought translation-not a word-for-word translation. Once the
translators have accurately understood the language of the original
author, in my case, the Hebrew text of Exodus, they are challenged
to render the thought of that text into the language and idiom of
the receptor language, in this case English. So the NLT aims to
produce a translation that reflects the original text accurately and
powerfully and with the "feel" of that text imbedded in it. In a
dynamic equivalency translation the use of a word, for example,
determines how it should be translated. The Hebrew word hesed
can mean or connote rove, mercy, grace, kindness, faithfulness,
loyalty," and even more. The context will determine what "thought"
must be translated into a given passage, not the lexicon or dictionary.
For example, compare the translations of the Hebrew idiom in
1Kings 2:10 that reads literally "And so David slepfflayed down
with his fathers. . . ."
"Then David rested with his fathers. . ." (NIV)
"So David slept with his fathers. . ." (KJV)
"Then David died. . ."(NLT)
In this case the NLT translates the real meaning of the Hebrew
idiom and communicates its meaning with less "static" from the
idiom of the original language.
In order to accomplish the translation goals a team of three
scholars was assigned to each book. I was assigned to the book of
Exodus along with Dr. Bob Bergen (Southwestern Missouri State
University, a Linguist) and Dr. Daniel Block (Southern Baptist
Theological Seminary).A "first draft" translation was produced by
all three scholars. Then we met regularly over a period of years to
refine second and third drafts that went through further editorial
processes administeredby a Permanent Translation Committee. This
permanent translation team will also approve all future changes in
the translation, as these are suggested, and debated. English style
editors polished the h a 1 draft for publication.
This translation will also serve as a textual base for a new
generation of reference works. A new set of commentaries on the
whole Bible is under production now based on the NLT text (with
reference to the original languages as needed). I have already
completed a commentary on Daniel based on the NLT for Tyndale.
I am also preparing the introduction and study notes for Daniel
to be included in a NLT study Bible that is under preparation.
Special Features of the
Translation and Translation Process
The readability and flow of the narrative is carefully considered
in the NLT. This can be appreciated by comparing sentences and
paragraphs rather than merely single words. Here is Exodus 1:l-5,
first in the KJV, then in the NLT:
(1)Now these are the names of the children
of Israel, which came into Egypt; every man and
his household came with Jacob. (2) Reuben,
Simeon, Levi, and Judah, (3) Issachar, Zebulun,
and Benjamin, (4) Dan, and Naphtali, Gad, and
Asher. (5)And all the souls that came out of the
loins of Jacob were seventy souls: for Joseph was
in Egypt already (KJV).
(1)These are the sons of Jacob who went
with their father to Egypt, each with his family:
(2) Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, (3) Issachar,
Zebulun, Benjamin, (4) Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and
Asher. Joseph was already down in Egypt. (5) In
all, Jacob had seventy direct descendants (NLT).
Of course, both of these translations have come to be loved and
appreciated by millions. But the NLT flows easily, is accurate, and
uses modern English style and diction to convey the message to
today's readers.
Word order is used oRen in biblical Hebrew to express emphasis,
as is also the repetition of key phrases or words. These Hebrew
stylistic devices are not literally reproduced in a dynamic equivalency
translation, but their resulting emphasis is expressed appropriately
in the English rendering. The reading level of the language in the
NLT was set a t a junior high school level; language that would
soon become outdated and the use of subdialects of English were
avoided in order to reach the greatest number of readers.
The NLT enhances readability further in several ways: ancient
weights and measures are converted to modern English (American)
equivalents, and ancient currency expressions are rendered into
modern terms, e.g. "three shekels of silver'' = "three pieces of silver''.
The ancient names of months, days, and times of days are put into
equivalent contemporary language. Ancient near eastern
metaphorical language is rendered to help the reader. For instance,
'Your eyes are doves" (S. of Songs 1:15) is given as "Your eyes are
like doves." In all of these cases a footnote is given presenting the
original literal or figurative meaning in the original Hebrew or
Greek text. But textual footnotes are kept to a minimum, since the
purpose of the translation itself is to be as clear as possible. Genderinclusive language has been used when the biblical text itself, in its
original use or idiom, intrinsically contained this feature. Proverbs
22:6 is rendered as "Teach your children to choose the right path,
and when they are older, they will remain in it" (NLT), while a
traditional translation would be "Train up a child in the way he
should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it."
As noted above the purpose of this monumental translation
endeavor was that the NLT would open up new doors for more
people to read the Scriptures more often and with greater ease and
understanding. One edition of the NLT that has been especially
effectivein reachingthe non-Christian population is entitled simply,
The Book. It has sold very well even in non-Christian book stores.
Although, as John Robinson said, "As the waters are more pure
and sweet in the fountain, so are the Scriptures in their original
language," perhaps God can use this translation, as it attempts to
get close to the meaning of the original sources, to reach and
encourage the reading of God's word, by sinner or saint.
In closing, and on a personal note, it can truly be said this
work became a "labor of love" in which I was immersed and blessed
by an intimate contact with the biblical text and the Spirit that, as
it were, emanated from it, along with the fellowship shared with
fellow translators.
Dr. Eugene E. Carpenter is Professor of Old Testament and
Hebrew at Bethel College in Mishawaka, Indiana.
Historical Perspective
The Missionary Workerwas conductinga subscription campaign
in 1935. As an incentive to send in new subscriptions, a New
Testament with Psalms and a beautiful leatherette plaque of the ten
commandmentswere awarded to a person who submitted three new
subscriptions. For five new subscriptions you could choose an Oxford
Bible in genuine leather or Egermeier Bible Story Book.
- The Missionary
Worker, November 1,1935,p. 15