First Things Article on Sacral Language

Thanks to the Surly Hermit for passing this First Things article along to me.  It is in the November edition and available online.

Thus Saith the Lord
by Nathaniel Peters

One Sunday in high school, we went to the Anglo-Catholic parish where my headmaster served as an assistant priest. Catechized by evangelical Episcopalians and Presbyterians, I believed that the Bible was divinely inspired by God. But I had never seen it treated as such in a physical or ritual way. Down Mr. Jarvis came, robed in damask and the smoke of incense, into the congregation to sing and kiss the Word of God. He spoke the words of the King James Bible, a language steeped in the same reverence for Scripture that the liturgy made manifest.

My thoughts drifted to that day on seeing the news that Pope Francis has appointed a commission to review Liturgiam Authenticam, the Congregation for Divine Worship’s 2001 instruction governing translations of the Mass and sacramental rites into vernacular languages. More recently, he issued a decree giving local bishops’ conferences greater control over such translations. The conflict is partly over jurisdiction: Who should decide what is an acceptable Japanese translation of the liturgy, a committee in Japan or in Rome?
Continue on here.

Let me note here that the main point of this essay would be in conflict with Msgr. Ronald Knox.  When Peters quotes Nicholson, in his work God’s Secretaries, saying that the KJV translators considered it more important “to make English godly than to make the words of God unto the sort of prose that any Englishman would have written” he is in direct contrast to what Knox thought, in regards to translation.  Knox, in his book On Englishing the Bible, references the great Hilaire Belloc, saying, “The great principle he there lays down is that the business of a translator is not to ask, ‘How shall I make this foreigner talk English’ but ‘What would an Englishman have said to express this?‘“ 

 I am eager to read your thoughts on this, as always, let’s engage in this topic with great charity.

So Which Is It? (2 Maccabees 15:39/40)

Water and Wine, oil on canvas—Richard Baker, 1959

I was reading the last verse of 2 Maccabees 15 yesterday (verse 39 in the Greek-based texts, 40 in the Latin ones) and noticed that there is an interesting difference between the translations, depending on whether they use the Greek or Latin.  It may only be a slight difference, but one which changes the meaning of this last verse of the book.


Here are a few different translations that utilize the Greek:

"For as it is hurtful to drink wine or water alone; and as wine mingled with water is pleasant, and delighteth the taste: even so speech finely framed delighteth the ears of them that read the story. And here shall be an end." -Brenton LXX

"For as it is hurtful to drink wine or water alone; and as wine mingled with water is pleasant, and delighteth the taste: even so speech finely framed delighteth the ears of them that read the story. And here shall be an end." -KJV

"Just as it is unpleasant to drink wine by itself or just water, whereas wine mixed with water makes a delightful and pleasing drink, so a skillfully composed story delights the ears of those who read the work. Let this, then, be the end." -NABRE

"For just as it is harmful to drink wine alone, or, again, to drink water alone, while wine mixed with water is sweet and delicious and enhances one’s enjoyment, so also the style of the story delights the ears of those who read the work. And here will be the end." -NRSV


Here are two that utilize the Latin:

"For as it is hurtful to drink always wine, or always water, but pleasant to use sometimes the one, and sometimes the other: so if the speech be always nicely framed, it will not be grateful to the readers. But here it shall be ended." -Douay-Rheims (Challoner)

"Nothing but wine to take, nothing but water, thy health forbids; vary thy drinking, and thou shalt find content. So it is with reading; if the book be too nicely polished at every point, it grows wearisome. So here we will have done with it." -Knox


Did you notice the difference?  As you can see, the Greek-based texts conclude by praising a story that is skillfully written, while the Latin-based ones ends exalting books that aren't "too nicely polished."  (The NRSV is a bit more ambigious compared to the KJV and NABRE.)  In this instance, it seems to me that the Latin-based texts make more sense, particularly since earlier in the verse the author remarks that it is better to drink wine and water that are mixed together, hence not purely wine or water only.

The 1859 Haydock commentary of the Douay noted the difference as well:

Ver. 40. Always. Greek, "only." (Haydock) --- Readers delight in variety. A middle style is adopted. (Calmet) --- But.Greek, "But as wine mixed with water is pleasant, and affords delight, so the preparation (or style) of a discourse pleases the ears of those who read what is collected. But here shall be an end." (Haydock)

Fascinating.

Genesis 1-11: A New Old Translation for Readers, Scholars, and Translators

It is not often that I receive a book for review that really excites me and has me hoping that there will be more volumes like it in the future.  Genesis 1-11: A New Old Translation for Readers, Scholars, and Translators by Bray and Hobbins is one of them.  Of all the books I have read over the past few years, this one I found to be the clearest and most helpful in showing the true art of translation.  This blog came into existence to provide a place to discuss Catholic translations, and if you were to look back at the various posts over the years, the ones that discussed the "good" and "bad" of the various Catholic translations have always been the most popular and engaging in the comments.  And that is all a very good thing, particularly with the interactions from the various people who have provided helpful insight over the years in the comboxes.  Yet, it is not often that a book comes out that tackles all those issues we have discuss here.  

Well, what does this book do?

Book description: This translation of Genesis 1-11 follows the Hebrew text closely and leaves in what many translations leave out: physicality, ambiguity, repetition, even puns. Bray and Hobbins also draw deeply from the long history of Jewish and Christian interpretation. Their translation and notes offer the reader wisdom and delight.

Before I explain, I'd encourage you to read (or re-read) my recent interview with Samuel Bray.  He goes over, in detail and with examples, what the book description says.  Their motivation for writing this book should be encouragement enough for you to consider purchasing it.  In addition, you will discover that the authors, who are both Protestant, are very ecumenical.  There are references to the Douay, Knox, JB, NJB, and NABRE throughout.  There is a great appreciation for Catholic biblical contributions within this book.

The book, itself, is divided into two distinct parts.  The first part is the authors translation of Genesis 1-11 (although they include 12:1-9 as well).   The translation is presented in a single column, paragraph style, with the chapter and verse numbering on the margins.  Much like the Knox or Jerusalem Bible editions, this allows the text to flow very freely and encourage long chunks of reading.  There are no paragraph headings, which is a good thing.  The translation gives you a real flavor of the importance of repetition in the Hebrew text.  The toledot formula ("These are the generations of....) is a clear example
of this.  How often do we find it translated with some variation within the same translation?  Many translations do not keep a consistency here, even though the formula appears six times in the first eleven chapters of Genesis (2:4, 5:1, 6:9, 10:1, 11:10, 27).  It is examples like this which make this volume so very helpful.

Notice the clear page layout and references at the bottom

The second part of the book consists of almost 150 pages of notes/annotations, along with a number of extensive indexes, a glossary, and a 30+ page work cited section.  The notes are the real jewel here.  The translation, found in the first half of the book, is examined (almost) verse by verse, looking at the Hebrew and comparing it to other ancient translations (like the LXX and Vulgate) as well as dozens of older and modern English translations, including Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish ones.  Because the indexes are so extensive, you can look up your favorite translation to see where it is commented on.

In conclusion, get this book.  It contains both a ton of insights about the Hebrew of Genesis 1-11 and enough translation comparison information to keep you occupied for weeks, if not months.  It is a great tool for your study of Genesis 1-11, which should be used beside your favorite translation and commentaries.  Support this book so that more volumes will come out in the future.

Thank you Sam Bray, John Hobbins, and Glossahouse for providing me a copy for this book for an honest review.