Brian Webster's blog

Even in a good translation sound plays are lost in translation. At Amos 7:7-8 the NET Bible reads:
He showed me this: I saw the sovereign One standing by a tin wall holding tin in his hand.The Lord said to me, “What do you see, Amos?” I said, “Tin.” The sovereign One then said, “Look, I am about to place tin among my people Israel. I will no longer overlook their sin."
Instead of “tin” most other translations say “plumb line” (e.g. NIV, NASB, ESV, NLT, NRSV, KJV). What did they all miss?

“The cattle are lowing, the poor babe awakes...” Do folk really say “lowing” anymore when they talk about cow sounds? Especially city folk? Cows “moo,” right?

In 1Sam 6:12 and Job 6:5 the cows “low” according to most translations or they “moo” in a few. A recent commenter suggested that they “bellow” in Job 6:5 rather than “low.” That led to a change for both of these passages (for a future edition of NET). What difference does it make?

The NET Bible translates the Hebrew gēr as “resident foreigner.” But as we noted last time, this cultural term does not refer to just any non-Israelite residing in Israel’s borders. In Mosaic law, “resident foreigners” are essentially naturalized citizens. They have religiously, ceremonially, and legally become part of the congregation of Israel, have equal protections and obligations under the law, and participate in the worship of the Lord. So why does a gēr/resident foreigner/sojourner/naturalized citizen get to glean with the widows and orphans (Deut 24:19-21)? And why are they sometimes grouped with Levites to receive provisions (Deut 26:12)?

The Hebrew word is gēr (גֵּר). What was a sojourner/ foreigner/ immigrant/ resident alien/ stranger? It is not the same thing to be an immigrant in, say, Japan, as it is to be an immigrant in America. Was it the same thing for Abraham to be a sojourner in Canaan as it was for someone to be a sojourner in Israel? The translators of the Septuagint didn’t think so. And for good reason. And does that difference make any difference when Peter calls us “foreigners” (NET)/ “aliens” (NIV)/ “sojourners” (ESV)/ “strangers” (KJV)?

Was Jabez asking for something just for himself? Jabez asked for four things to begin his vow: 1) blessing, 2) a great border, 3) God’s hand to be with him, and 4) something else that is less clear. Most translations (every one I've seen including the current NET) render the last component as “keep me from harm/evil/trouble.” Someone left us a comment remarking that the Hebrew verb ‘asah (עָשָׂה; “to do, make, act, perform”) never has this proposed meaning in the rest of its over 2,600 occurrences in the Bible. This is quite true.

The foremost task of translating is to translate what is there. What do the words say? What does the syntax mean? A translation might need to be more dynamic than literal to make the clearest sense in the target language, but it is still trying to translate what's there.

When should we “translate” what isn't there? And how do we do it?