The first Quest Forums
discussion meeting is coming up this Sunday, and I have been thinking a lot
about its topic. We are going to be talking about the Bible itself, which seems
like a good place to start. My preparation has been to collect some information
about its composition, its trustworthiness, and how to read it. The great thing
is, there is no way for me to exhaust the subject in one hour. The real
difficulty is in knowing what is most important for me to say in such a short
time. It isn’t really up to me, though. Not entirely, anyway. The goal is to
discuss questions, not just for me to get up and share information. Hopefully
we get some interesting back-and-forth going.
But anyway, one possible subject that might come up is how to choose a translation of the Bible to read. With so many choices, that isn’t always easy. And even after you have picked one, it is a good idea to refer to others every so often to look for shades of meaning. I came across a good example I would like to share with you today.
II Kings 17
The biblical book of II
Kings is part of a record of the royal history of God’s people, and by Chapter
17, the end has come for the northern kingdom of Israel (not to be confused
with the southern kingdom of Judah). In the mid-8th Century B.C.,
the Israelites were conquered and deported from their homeland by the Assyrian
Empire. II
Kings 17:7–23 explains why this disaster had come about. In spite of
constant warnings from God, the people and their leaders had refused to humble
themselves before Him and put aside their false gods. They had abandoned the
Lord’s commands, which were the terms of receiving His blessings, and so His
blessings were finally rescinded. Keep in mind, this was after 200 years in
which God had been patient with them and had sent His prophets to warn them.
But they would not listen, and so lost everything.
A focal point in this
passage is verse 15:
They rejected His statutes and His covenant that He
had made with their fathers, and His testimonies which He had testified against
them; they followed idols, became idolaters, and went after the nations who
were all around them, concerning whom the Lord had charged them that they
should not do like them.
It lays out the real
crux of what had happened to them. They refused to be holy for a holy God, and
it cost them. But there is a small problem here, and it is a matter of
translation.
Lost In Translation
My favorite version of
the Bible to use is the New King James Version (NKJV), which is where this
quotation comes from. The NKJV is usually pretty reliable, in my opinion,
because it attempts to present the meaning of the original words of Scripture
as faithfully as possible. Here, however, it makes what I consider to be a
misstep.
Now, I am no Hebrew
scholar, so I am telling you to take what I say here with an extra grain of
salt even over what you usually should. But in verse 15, the NKJV says, “they
followed idols, became idolaters, and went after the nations who were all
around them.” And the problem is, at least from what I can tell, that is not
what the Hebrew actually says. The word translated for “idols” is hevel,
and for “idolaters” is haval. They are related words, and in their other
uses in the Bible, they do refer to idolatry. However, there is a shade of
meaning the NKJV misses and which is present in most other versions.
Vanity
You see, a hevel
is a vain thing. Therefore, to become haval is to become vain. We still
have to do some modernizing, though, because it does not mean “vain” in the
sense of being infatuated with your own appearance or abilities. It means
“vain” in the older sense of being worthless. That is why the New International
Version, among others, gives the better translation of “They followed worthless
idols and themselves became worthless.”
This is what vanity
really is. Anytime we rely on something other than God, we are worshipping it.
And it can be false gods like Baal and Zeus, or it can be things like beauty
and money. But none of them can really be relied upon. At some point, in some
way, they fail us and we discover they were nothing more than a wisp of smoke
on which we tried to lean. When we do, we fall. The more we get up only to try leaning
on it again, the more often we fall, and the dirtier we become. And the dirtier
we become, the more we take on its character of worthlessness. Eventually, they
can lead to our destruction just as the Israelites experienced.
The Value of
Comparison
The NKJV still makes
this point, but not with the same strength it could have. That is not a reason
to give up on it, but it is a reason to make comparisons. Most of us will never
master the original languages of the Bible. At most, we will pick up bits and
pieces. It is necessary for us to rely on the experts. But we shouldn’t lean
entirely on one set of them. Translators vary, and it is a good idea to
recognize how. It is also valuable to look into why.
There are a number of
factors that go into selecting an English translation of the Bible. I can’t
cover them all here, and I know one meeting will not be enough to do it,
either, if the topic comes up at all. I do think it is important to have a
preference. Obviously, since I have my own. And I would be curious to hear what
yours are. But my point is this: No translation captures everything. Using a
few is a way to find more than what one offers alone. It does not guarantee you
will figure out the absolute correct interpretation. It is simply an accessible
way to collect new insights, rather than missing out on meaning. Hopefully my
experience with II Kings 17:15 makes that point for you as it has for me.
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