Biblical Translation and Interpretation: The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

Part One: Translations & Interpretations

Major Bible translations typically reflect one of three general philosophies: formal equivalence, functional equivalence, and optimal equivalence.

Formal equivalence is typically called “a word-for-word translation” and attempts to translate the Bible as literally as possible, keeping the sentence structure and idioms as intact as possible. Some well-known formal texts are the New American Standard Bible (NASB), the King James and New King James Versions (KJV, NKJV), the English Standard Version (ESV), the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), and the Douay-Rheims (DR).

Functional/Dynamic equivalence is typically referred to as “a thought-for-thought translation” and is an attempt to translate the text so it has the same effect on the current reader as it had on the ancient reader. Functionally equivalent translations tend to be easier to read and to understand for modern readers; it prioritizes natural readability and comprehension in the target language rather than literal accuracy and strict fidelity to the wording of the original text. Essentially, functional equivalence attempts to convey the meaning of the original text, even if it requires a bit of rewording in the target language. Functional texts include the New Living Translation (NLT), the Revised English Bible (REB), the New English Translation (NET), Contemporary English Version (CEV), and the Good News Translation (GNT).

Optimal equivalence falls somewhere between the formal and functional approaches by balancing the tension between accuracy and ease of reading: While striving for precision in translation, this method also seeks clarity and ease of understanding for modern readers. Each will rely on formal and functional equivalence—one typically moreso than the other. The Christian Standard Bible (CSB), the New International Version (NIV), the Common English Bible (CEB), and the New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE).

A fourth approach to bringing the Greek and the Hebrew texts into English is the paraphrase. Though many people think a paraphrase is the same thing as a translation, this is not the case. While a translation attempts to tell the reader what the original text says, a paraphrase attempts to tell the reader what the passage means. Therefore, a paraphrase is more of a commentary on or interpretation of the text of Scripture than it is an accurate rendering of what the text says. The Message, The Voice, and The Passion Translation are three of the best-known paraphrases on the market.

To demonstrate the different approaches let’s look at a few examples of 1 Corinthians 13:4,5.

(formal) NASB2020 4 Love is patient, love is kind, it is not jealous; love does not brag, it is not arrogant. 5 It does not act disgracefully, it does not seek its own benefit; it is not provoked, does not keep an account of a wrong suffered,

(formal) NKJV 4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is no puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;

(optimal) CSB 4 Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, is not boastful, is not arrogant, 5 is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not irritable, and does not keep a record of wrongs.

(optimal) NIV 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

(functional) NLT 4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.

(functional) REB 4 Love is patient and kind. Love envies no one, is never boastfu, never conceited, 5 never rude: love is never selfish, never quick to take offense. Love keeps no score of wrongs,

(paraphrase) TM Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have. Love doesn’t strut, Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others, Isn’t always “me first,” Doesn’t fly off the handle, Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,

The interlinear is another approach to translating Greek and Hebrew texts into English. An interlinear is not intended to be a translation in the same way that the NASB and NIV are. Rather, it is meant as a word study tool for those who want a deeper understanding of scripture’s original languages. You can find both Hebrew and Greek interlinears online at biblehub.com.

Due to the differences between the Hebrew, Greek, and English languages, a word-for-word literal translation of the Bible is not possible, since Hebrew and Greek words and phrases often carry multiple meaning depending on how they are being used. In fact, all English Bibles contain much interpretation and are not strictly translations—even the interlinear, which usually pairs an established translation—like the NKJV—with an original language text. This is where a lexicon can be useful—although overwhelming—at times. Let’s look at Matthew 18:18 to see an example:

18 Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven. (NASB20)

18 “Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. (NKJV)

18 Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will have been loosed in heaven. (CSB)

18 “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. (NIV)

The “shall/will have been” and the “will be” in the above example are two different ways that have been chosen to translate the Greek word ἔσται—a form of the Greek εἰμὶ. Translators choose whichever depending on which one they prefer; as you can see, this can have an impact on meaning. In Danker’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature there are three-and-a-half pages on the various meanings and examples of the word εἰμὶ. (282-286)

Translators must decide the best way to render Greek words that may have multiple meanings and can impact how readers understand a given scripture:

15 We are Jews by birth and not “Gentile sinners,” 16 and yet because we know that a person is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we ourselves have believed in Christ Jesus. This was so that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no human being will be justified. (Galatians 2:15,16 CSB)

The word translated as faith in is πίστεως (pistos) and can be equally translated as faith of, giving this passage a different focus.

Please understand that Bible translators are not trying to hide anything from us. In fact, most are faithful people trying to bring sacred scripture in an understandable way those of us who are not fluent in the original languages of the Bible. Nevertheless, translators are people and not unaffected by bias. So it is important to learn what you can about the translator(s) of any Bible translation you are interested in using, since some of these biases can be more egregious than others. Compare how different translations handle Genesis 3:16.

To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire will be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.” (ESV)

Then he said to the woman, “I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy, and in pain you will give birth. And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you.” (NLT)

To the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” (NIV)

He said to the woman: I will intensify your labor pains; you will bear children with painful effort. Your desire will be for your husband, yet he will rule over you. (CSB)

To the woman he said, “I will greatly multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” (RSV)

Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. (KJV)

To the woman He said, “I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth, in pain you shall deliver children; yet your desire will be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” (NASB20)

The remaining three, top-ten selling English translations for 2023: The NKJV, the NRSV, and the New International Reader’s Version all translate this verse as will be for, in line with all the other versions except for the ESV and the NLT. Why would these two versions translate the verse so differently than all the others?

The team overseeing the ESV’s translation consists of all men who support a theological view known as complementarianism that believes that although men and women are created equal in their being, value, and personhood, their roles and responsibilities in marriage, family life, and the church/faith are different. For example, it is usually characterized by the belief that only men should hold church leadership positions over men, that husbands should love their wives like Christ loved the Church, and that wives should submit to their husbands. Here I am neither upholding nor rejecting complementarianism; I only use it as an example of translation bias to encourage readers to learn as much as they can about their preferred Bible’s translators and commentators. To state this just one more time: all Bible translations are interpretations to one extent or the other. So, you must know and trust the translator.

All but two of the most widely used modern translations of the Bible utilize the same sources of both Greek: the Nestle–Aland Novum Testamentum Graece (NU) and their primary source. Only the King James Version and the New King James Version use a different Greek source: the Textus Receptus (TR). This is why you will find some differences in wording—and sometimes more—between these two translations and the others. On the other hand, all major translations utilize the Masoretic text for their main source for translating the Old Testament, and most will also refer to the Septuagint for additional information.