This weekend we celebrate the great feast of Pentecost and get to hear, in the first reading, from Acts 2. So, below you will find four different English Bible translations of Acts 2:1-4. The translations are the NABRE, NRSV, RSV, and NJB. Which one is which? Which one do you like best and why? Try not to cheat!
1:
"When the day of Pentecost had come,
they were all together in one place.
And suddenly a sound came from heaven
like the rush of a mighty wind,
and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
And there appeared to them tongues as of fire,
distributed and resting on each one of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit
and began to speak in other tongues,
as the Spirit gave them utterance."
2:
"When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled,
they were all in one place together.
And suddenly there came from the sky a noise
like a strong driving wind,
and it filled the entire house in which they were.
Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire,
which parted and came to rest on each one of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit
and began to speak in different tongues,
as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim."
3:
"When Pentecost day came round,
they had all met together,
when suddenly there came from heaven a sound as of a violent wind
which filled the entire house in which they were sitting;
and there appeared to them tongues as of fire;
these separated and came to rest on the head of each of them.
They were all filled with the Holy Spirit
and began to speak different languages
as the Spirit gave them power to express themselves."
4:
"When the day of Pentecost had come,
they were all together in one place.
And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind,
and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.
Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them,
and a tongue rested on each of them.
All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit
and began to speak in other languages,
as the Spirit gave them ability."
Let's put them up head-to-head
ReplyDelete#1
And there appeared to them tongues as of fire,
This is simply not correct in vernacular English.
#2
Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire,
This is simply not correct in vernacular English
#3
a sound as of a violent wind
and there appeared to them tongues as of fire
This is simply not correct in vernacular English
#4
And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind
That sounds like English to me
Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them,
and a tongue rested on each of them.
While I am not crazy about the clause "as of fire," this is the most naturally expressed.
Another comparison
#1
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit
and began to speak in other tongues,
as the Spirit gave them utterance.
"gave them utterance"? That's hardly natural English
#2
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit
and began to speak in different tongues,
as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.
Better than #1, but still a little strange as it is not clear what is being "proclaimed." This also does not make it clear that these were languages that they did not know previously.
#3
They were all filled with the Holy Spirit
and began to speak different languages
as the Spirit gave them power to express themselves.
This sounds very much like the 1970s. It reminds me of Madonna's "Express Yourself"
#4
All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit
and began to speak in other languages,
as the Spirit gave them ability.
I think this is the most natural.
So, when comparing the four versions of these passages, I think that #4 is the most natural while still adhering rather closely to the Greek. I would guess that #4 is the NRSV, and I think that would be the one I would recommend to a reader who did not have previous experience reading Greek.
"Came round" sounds like NJB on No. 3. No. 2 must be NABRE, since No. 1 appears to be the RSV compared to the NRSV in No. 4.
ReplyDelete1, 4, 2, 3.
ReplyDeleteBy the time one reaches three, the translator is resolving ambiguity with a quite "dynamic" style of translation. 1 and 4 are good; 2 is mediocre, 3 is unacceptable, IMO.
PS. The "express themselves" really biased me against 3: it reminds me of some self-actualizing, self-help, Myers-Briggs, Maslow, enneagram crap. The Holy Spirit doesn't help you "express yourself" in the way that verse implies - it reminds me of many renderings in "The Message", which "Remix" the Bible to be a message of "Moral Therapeutic Deism" instead of salvation through the Blood of God.
ReplyDelete