Revelation: Lost in Translation
In the first edition of his Greek version of the New Testament, Erasmus did not have a Greek Manuscript available for the last bit of Revelation. So he translated Revelation 22:16-21 from the Latin Vulgate into Greek. This obviously introduced errors. There is an interesting website called “Lost in Translation” which takes an English text, translates it into another language, translates it back into English, another language, and so forth. Just for a reminder of the perils of translation, let’s see what it does with Revelation 22:16-21 as taken from the NRSV English translation. (Sidenote: my German professor says there is no such thing as a “translation” – we have to say “rendering” or “interpretation”)
English:
“It is I, Jesus, who sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let everyone who hears say, “Come.” And let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift. I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book; if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. The one who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen.
Translated into French:
le “It est I, Jésus, qui vous a envoyé mon ange avec ce témoignage pour les églises. Je suis la racine et le descendant de David, le matin lumineux tiennent le premier rôle ; L’esprit et la jeune mariée indiquent, “Come.” ; Et laissez chacun qui entend la parole, “Come.” ; Et laissez chacun qui a soif venu. Laissé n’importe qui qui souhaite à prise l’eau de la vie comme cadeau. J’avertis chacun qui entend les mots de la prophétie de ce livre : si n’importe qui ajoute à eux, Dieu ajoutera à cette personne que les pestes ont décrite en ce livre ; si n’importe qui emporte des mots du
livre de cette prophétie, Dieu emportera la part de cette personne dans l’arbre de la vie et dans la ville sainte, qui est décrite en ce livre. Celui qui témoigne à ces choses indique, “Surely je suis prochain soon.” ; Amen. Venez, Seigneur Jésus ! La grace du
seigneur Jésus soit avec tous les saints. Amen.
Back to English:
the “It is I, Jesus, who sent to you my angel with this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the luminous morning holds the first role; The spirit and the bride indicate, “Come.” And leave each one which hears the word,
“Come.” And leave each one which is thirsty come. Left no matter whom who wishes with catch brandy like gift. I informed each one which hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if no matter who adds to them, God will add to this person that the plagues described in this book; if no matter who carries words of the book of this prophecy, God will carry the share of this person in the tree of the life and the Holy City, which is described in this book. That which testifies with these things indicates, “Surely I am next soon.” Amen. Come, Seigneur Jesus! The grace of the Jesus lord is with all the saints. Amen.
Translated into German:
das “It ist I, Jesus, der Ihnen meinen Engel mit diesem Zeugnis für die Kirchen schickte. Ich bin die Wurzel und der Folgeprozeß von David, der leuchtende Morgen hält die erste Rolle an; Der Geist und die Braut zeigen, “Come.” an; Und lassen Sie jedes, das das Wort hört, “Come.” Und lassen Sie jedes, das gekommen durstiges ist. Links gleichgültig, das, wer mit Verriegelung Weinbrand wie Geschenk wünscht. Ich informierte jedes, welches die Wörter der Prophezeiung dieses Buches hört: wenn, egal wer ihnen hinzufügt, Gott dieser Person daß die Pest hinzufügt, die in diesem
Buch beschrieben wird; wenn, egal wer Wörter des Buches dieser Prophezeiung trägt, Gott den Anteil dieser Person im Baum der Lebensdauer und der heiligen Stadt trägt, die in diesem Buch beschrieben wird. Das, das mit diesen Sachen bezeugt, zeigt, “Surely ich sind folgendes soon.” an; Amen. Gekommen, Seigneur Jesus! Die Anmut des Jesus Lords ist mit allen Heiligen. Amen.
Back to English:
I, Jesus, which you angels mean with this certification for the churches sent, is “It. I am the root and the discrete event type process of David, the lighting up morning stop the first role; The spirit and the bride show, “Come.” on; And you leave everyone, which hears the word, “Come.” And you leave everyone, which is come thirsty. Left indifferently, that, who requires with interlock weinbrand such as gift. I informed everyone, which hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if, all the same who adds them, God of this person that the plague adds, which is described in this book; if, all the same who carries words of the book of this prophecy, God carries the proportion of this person in the tree of the life span and the holy city, which are described in this book. That, which testifies with these things, shows, “Surely I is the following soon.” on; Amen. Come, Seigneur Jesus! The beauty of the Jesus lord is with all holy ones. Amen.
Translated into Italian:
_ I, jesus, che voi angelo signific con questo certificazione per chiesa trasmett, “It. _ io radice e discreto evento tipo processo david, illuminazione mattina arresto primo ruolo; _ lo spirito e bride mostr, “Come.” sopra; _ e voi lasci tutto, che sent parola, “Come.” _ e voi lasci tutto, che ven assetato. _ parte di sinistra indifferently, quello, che richied con interruttore di sicurezza weinbrand quale regalo. _ io inform tutto, che sent parola prophecy questo libro: _ se, tutto stesso che aggiung loro, dio questo
persona che peste aggiung, che essere descriv in questo libro; _ se, tutto stesso che trasport parola libro questo prophecy, dio trasport percentuale di questo persona albero life durata e santo città, che essere descriv in questo libro. _ quello, che testimoni con questo cosa, esposizione, “Surely i seguente soon.” sopra; _ amen. _ Ven, Seigneur Jesus! _ la bellezza jesus signore con tutto santo quel. _ amen. _
Back to English:
_ I, jesus, than you angel signific with this certification for church trasmett, “It. _ I root and discreet event type process david, lighting system morning arrest first role; _ the spirit and bride mostr, “Come.” over; _ and you lasci all, than sent word, “Come.” _ and you lasci all, than ven made thirsty _ part of left indifferently, that one, than richied with emergency switch weinbrand which gift _ I inform all, than sent word prophecy this book: _ if, all same that aggiung they, God this person who plague aggiung, than to be descriv in this book; _ if, all same that trasport word book this prophecy, God trasport percentage of this person tree life duration and saint city, than to be descriv in this book _ that one, than witnesses with this thing, exposure, “Surely following soon.” over; _ amen _ Ven, Seigneur Jesus! _ the beauty jesus getlteman with all saint those _ amen _
And it just goes downhill from there. One interesting observation is about the “the” error which was introduced into the French rendering from the beginning (the first word of the passage). It was repeated again in English, then in German, but was removed when going from German back into English. Secondly, for whatever reason some of the punctuation just couldn’t make it through into Italian and thus our punctuation in the final English translation is greatly flawed. Finally, there are foreign words that the website could not translate into English: “Seigneur,” “mostr,” “ven,” “getlteman.” These words were
simply used in the English text in the same location as they had been in the previous language.
The end result is obviously massively butchered from the beginning passage. The point of this exercise is not to show that this is exactly what happens in the the scribal or translation process, but it makes me think a little bit about what is involved in the translation and copying of sacred texts. One would assume that an educated human doing the same translations would do better than the computer. But why? If translation were a one-to-one equation, a machine could do it better than humans. All translation is (to some extent) an interpretation. Nothing surprising, but it was fun to experiment.
(Oh, and yes, there is some intended irony in using this particular passage when it comes to translation… Let’s just hope I don’t experience any plagues as a result of this blog posting!)
Pursuing a Career of Holy Scholarship
It is a strange thing to pursue academics in the area of a sacred text. I am entering dangerous territory upon which many millions around the globe stake their entire belief system and worldview. Another issue is that I am studying the text which is normative for my own faith as a disciple of Jesus. On top of this, one might wonder if the whole enterprise of academe is contrary to that discipleship:
- Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all
- He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly
- If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return.
- Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.
- Why do you call me “Lord, Lord,” and do not do what I tell you? I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them.
- I tell you, among those born of women no one is greater than John; yet the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he
- If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it. What does it profit them if they gain the whole world, but lose or forfeit themselves?
I have somewhat schizophrenic identities when it comes to this pursuit. On the one hand, I want to do what my Bible professors at Messiah College did for me: prodding my presuppositions, guiding my inquiring mind, speaking to my questions of faith. For example, if I were to teach at my alma mater one day, I would then hope to be a mentor to students. I would seek to connect issues of faithful discipleship to intellectual integrity within biblical studies. I would want to be involved in services and ministries with students and other faculty members in the nearby city of Harrisburg. And have discussions with members of the Messiah community about what our responsibility is to the trailer park that hides just beyond our campus borders.
On the other hand, in my weak moments, I have delusions of grandeur. I imagine myself armed with an Ivy League doctorate, a prestigious postdoctoral fellowship, record sales with my groundbreaking dissertation. Patrick George McCullough would be a household name among seminarians and other such Bible geeks of the English speaking world, heck, the whole globe. I would have speaking engagements bringing in $2000 a pop and book deals rolling through the door to my enormous office at some impossibly competitive school. All of this with a wonderful family life to boot.
Perhaps I am being a tad hyperbolic, but some form of that ridiculous dream lies beneath my calm, composed, and reasonable exterior. It is hard not to want praise for my name, money for my words, and respect for my reputation when I reach some distant goal of being a top brass scholar. But to get there, it would seem I have to promote myself, give up my cross and follow the “world.” Even if I do not want to be all of these bombastic aspirations, striving after the ideals of scholarship, I must still “play the game,” as it were. I need to make myself look spectacular. My professors need to love me, my grades need to be perfect, and I need to measure up to the best on the GRE (don’t even get me started on standardized tests). I need to serve those who will best serve me when it comes time to write a recommendation, or put in a good word, or even someday write a blurb on the back of a book. In the meantime, I have to make sure I look better than all of my peers. What was that about the first being the last and the last being the first? When it comes to the kingdom, am I shooting myself in the foot to intentionally try to pump up my image? To try to beat out the competition?
These are a few of the fundamental questions I have about a life of biblical scholarship as it relates to my faith. At a later date, I will have to take up those tricky “conflict of interest” questions on how my faith might bias my scholarship of my own community’s normative sacred text. That’s all for now.
The Baptism Hermeneutic
Anabaptism is no Arnold Schwarzenegger. It’s not a household name and it isn’t the governor of California. You may not know what Anabaptism is, or you may know but don’t understand how it might affect biblical interpretation. For that reason, I feel that I should take a moment here and articulate how my understanding of Anabaptism forms my understanding of the Bible. If you’re a pro when it comes to Anabaptism, you may know all this (or you may disagree with me). If so, please indulge me. If not, I hope this information contributes to the betterment of your soul (that is, if there is a soul, see Nancey Murphy about that).
There are many ideas about how to define Anabaptists, but perhaps I should begin with the name. Ana-baptism means a re-baptism. The Anabaptists were a part of the 16th century “radical Reformation” movement and they felt that the mainline Reformers like Luther or Zwingli were not going far enough. One contentious issue was that of infant baptism. I know that many today wonder what the big deal is about baptism, but here’s the rub: the Anabaptists believed the people of the church should be voluntary believers. Baptism in 16th century Europe made a clear connection with the state-run church. For the state churches, baptism was not only a means for entrance into the church, it was (in the absence of birth certificates) a method of tracking tax-paying citizens. To the state, if you did not baptize your infant, you denied your allegiance to the state. For the Anabaptists, infant baptism corrupted the church. Baptism was no longer being used as a declaration of their committment to follow Jesus, but as a declaration of their allegiance to the government. On top of this, they felt that an infant couldn’t make a voluntary decision to follow Jesus anyway. Some of them, then, began to rebaptize one another. They did not necessarily think of it as “re-baptism” because they did not see their infant baptism as valid, but their opponents called them Anabaptists and the name stuck.
Since it is a believer’s church, with an emphasis on discipleship and a skepticism of the state, there are many ways they have a unique Christian perspective. My own understanding of the Anabaptist point of view (or hermeneutic) is its emphasis on discipleship, obedience, and community. Anabaptists believe that the life of the Christian takes place in a dedicated community of fellow Jesus followers who are accountable to one another. As it is a community-based theology, all the people of the community (ideally) have a voice. So those who are not fortunate enough to be able to afford an expensive education, still have important things to say about the Bible and theology. One feature that I see in the Anabaptist perspective is that it lacks the need for inerrancy in order to take the Bible seriously. Many Anabaptists feel the debates stemming from inerrancy only distract from following the actual commands of Jesus. And yes, it is a Christocentric reading of Scripture. We all have biases in our reading of the Bible (those of us who read the Bible) and I say, why not just be up front about it?
The best, most recent treatment of Anabaptist biblical interpretation (that I know of) is Stuart Murray’s Biblical Interpretation in the Anabaptist Tradition and you can get a survey of his book on the Anabaptist Network website. Two of the key themes in the book, as I read it, are “congregational hermeneutics” and the “hermeneutics of obedience.” Interpretation of the Bible occurs within the local congregational community. I mention local and congregational to highlight that “community” means more than “Christian tradition,” it means the people with whom I share my walk. Additionally, the ruler for judging correct biblical interpretation has to have something to do with obedience. If we declare that we have all the Bible answers and yet it does nothing to help us become more obedient disciples to Christ, then we might question the validity of our interpretation. This goes against the grain of modernity, which tells us that objective and disinterested truth is available to us if we set our minds to it. In the modern sense, the way we live our lives has nothing to do with the validity of the intellectual statements we make. In fact, if one questions the character of the person making an argument in order to argue against that argument, this is called an ad hominem attack.
Am I saying that character attacks are good? No. Instead I think one of my Anabaptist professors at Fuller put it well when he said, “The devil can sign your statements of faith! What difference does it make?” Perhaps that’s a little much, but maybe not. What is the purpose of our belief? What is the purpose of our hermeneutic? Discipleship, discipleship, discipleship. (I do acknowledge, however, that not everything has to fall into the category of a serious pursuit of obedient discipleship. I’m not against just having fun at a movie, for instance, and I haven’t thought through the theological implications of enjoying Happy Gilmore or Office Space.)
So these are the themes with which I am working, the framework for viewing interpretation. I am in a period of my life in which I am wrestling through the foundation of my hermeneutic. Some of my lingering questions are:
- What is the role of the historical-critical method if what is truly important are the implications of the text itself upon our lives?
- If Anabaptism seeks to empower the humble layperson in the interpretative process, but education is needed to understand the complicated historical and cultural backgrounds to the biblical text, how is empowerment possible? How much education do we have to provide to laypersons who have no interest in the apocalyptic nature of 1 Enoch and its implications for Jesus’ eschatological teachings in Matthew?
- The nature of academic study is individualistic. How can we truly have “congregational hermeneutics” when the scholars do their study and make up their minds in isolation?
- Many at my seminary have declared that not everything we do in theology or biblical exegesis must be relevant or practical to our lives. I resonate with this thought, but don’t know how to reconcile it with my theology.
- If obedience is the judge of appropriate interpretation, what do we do with the vast amount of obedient Christians who have vastly different ways of reading the biblical text? Does this mean that the differences are not as important as we think they are? How can we best nuance the concept of “hermeneutics of obedience” in light of that? Furthermore, who gets to decide the definition of “obedience”?
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Elsewhere . . .- Blog titles beginning with "A" to "Z" on your reader Mark Goodacre
- Of making many books there is no end Chris Brady
- Free Online: The Liddell-Scott Jones Lexicon S and C
- Does Higher Criticism Attempt to “Destroy the Bible”? II agathos
- Steven J. Friesen and the Identity of Satan’s Throne in Pergamum alan
- Does Higher Criticism Attempt to “Destroy the Bible”? agathos
- Bloomsbury buys Continuum Mark Goodacre
- Imperial America Peter J. Leithart
- C.F.D. Moule on the Birth of the New Testament d. miller
- Responding to Kostenberger (with comparisons to Marshall) Jeremiah
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