Thursday, January 13, 2011
Where You Going First in the NABRE?
So, which Bible passage(s) are you going to look up first once you get a copy of the NABRE? This question has been hinted at a bit in some of the comments from previous posts. For me, I am going to go straight to the Book of Psalms, where I will look up Psalms 1, 8, 23, 110, and 139. I really want to see how they are rendered in comparison to the revised '91 Psalms. (Psalm 139 is a favorite of my wife, so I will be interested to see what she thinks of it.) After looking at the Psalms, I will be interested to see how the NABRE renders Genesis 1:1-2 and Isaiah 7:14 and 9:5. Will the NABRE follow the LXX of Isaiah 7:14 as in the original NAB? Will they change the rather awkward/notorious rendering of Isaiah 9:5? After looking up these passages, I then plan to do some more comprehensive reading of larger portions of the text to see how it flows. So, what about you?
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13 comments:
A less than obvious selection: Sirach.
I've been spending a lot of time with the Wisdom texts lately because 1.) I've criminally neglected these wonderful texts in the past, 2.) they soothe my soul, 3.) their eloquence surpasses the millenia. I've recently been comparing various translations for the best rendering of the Wisdom texts, and hands down, the NJB takes the cake. This, perhaps, shouldn't be so shocking considering the fluidity and eloquence of the NJB itself. It seems that I won't ever completely escape the appeal of the NJB despite my need/desire to increasingly utilize the NAB for study/reflection/teaching.
I think any OT translation ideology speaks loudest in the poetry sections as the Hebrew/Greek idioms expressed in these parts would be the most difficult to express in a comparable, fluent English idiom. As it stands, I rank the current NAB OT among the lowest in terms sufficiently doing such even though I did prefer the rendering of some passages to that found in the NJB.
Isaiah 7:14 ("virgin" or "young woman"?)
Psalms 1, 8, 23 (how traditional is the rendering?)
Ezekiel chapters 8-11 (did the editors transpose the verses again to completely change the story?)
Job 28 (same -- did the verses get transposed again to rework the poem?)
Genesis 1-3 (is it still the tree of the knowledge of "good and bad"?)
Then I plan on picking a book at random and simply reading it slowly and carefully to see how the language flows and how well it tells the stories.
Tobit 4 and 8; and 1Sam 2:9.
Mine are more about "personal affinity" than translation issues, I guess.
Not a Marcionite here but just not a regular reader/fan of the OT in general but am of the Psalms. Psalms 51 and 139 are my personal favorites so would probably go there first. Maybe check out Genesis 3:15 and see how it translates it (She will crush; He will crush; It will crush; They will crush...)
Wouldn't it be great if they could publish a critical notes addendum to the NABRE documenting the issues the translators made, and the reasoning for their choices?
I think this would be very useful for students of the OT/NT languages and for interested laypeople as well. For example Gen 1-3. why we chose "bad" over "evil", or "virgin" vs "young lady".
I know the CBA (Catholic Biblical Association) used offer for sale something like a booklet with this information about the original NAB, but I have not had the opportunity to look at it.
Psalm 1: Happy or blessed, inclusion of being verbs?, translation or inclusive gender interpretation of pronouns, walk / stand / sit or dynamic equivalence
Isaiah 9:5: English or gibberish
Psalm 2:11: Translation, interpretation, speculation or redaction
Gen 1:1, 26-27: Traditional / innovative translation choices, gender issues, image of God / Divine image
Psalm 130: Translation of Hesed - mercy or loyalty or some form of lovingkindness, etc; gender issues (sentinel / watchmen); poetic quality
And the usual Bag: Isaiah 7:21, Ezekiel, Job; placement and source of additions to Ether / Daniel, etc
Brad
Deut 28:2 These are all the blessings that will come to you and stay close to you because you obey the LORD your God:
Deut 28:3 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country - This happen to be my favourite. I do enjoy reading the psalms too especially Psalm 130:3
2 Samuel 4:5...to see if David still takes his "siesta" or not.
I believe I'll check out the last chapters of Exodus, to see if the instructions on how to build a tabernacle are any easier to understand. ;)
(I am reading the Bible straight through for the first time and these chapters were very slow-going, to say the least! :)
Bernadette,
Thanks for the comment. Best wishes on reading through the Bible. Just don't get bogged down in Leviticus.
Thank you very much! Yes, I've heard about Leviticus but I'm determined that I will get through it! Best wishes! :)
Psalm 23!
The entire book of Esther and Psalms 23 and 51. I have pre-ordered the LRSB but I can't wait to get my hands on one of the softcover St. Benedict's Press NABRE's also.
Sharon in Waxahachie!
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