Bridge to God’s Word

Righteousness and Justice - Key Terms in Translation

Do the words "righteousness" and "justice" mean the same thing in English? How about in French? And what are the words in Greek and Hebrew? These questions prompted me to look a little more in depth at these key terms, which are very significant terms in translation.

Grace - Key Terms in Translation

Grace is our next key term in translation! This is a word we are quite familiar with, but is still difficult to translate as we consider the depth of the word. Here we consider the meanings of the original words, along with a particular translation that uses the word "love" to translate grace, and then the translation I am working with, which uses the phrase "free help". So do these accurately represent the meaning of the word grace? Listen in to find out!

 

Photo by Laura Allen on Unsplash

Glory - Key Terms in Translation

For our next podcast series, I wanted to look at some key Biblical terms. These terms are significant for our understanding of faith, so they are very important for translation. The first word I want to consider is "glory". We have a sort of intuitive understanding of this word, but it can be hard to define...and translate! I also wanted to consider the passage 1 Corinthians 11:7, which says that woman is the glory of man. What does it mean to be someone else's glory? Join me in this look at the key Biblical term of "glory". 

 

Here is the commentary that I reference in the podcast:

Gordon D. Fee, The First Epistle to the Corinthians, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1987), 517.

Drafting Titus - Final Cautions and Greetings

We have reached the end of Titus! This podcast covers Paul's final words of caution to Titus and his greetings from those with him to the church. We also look at our most important translation principle. I hope you have enjoyed this look at the nuances of drafting a Biblical text!

Drafting Titus - A Miniature Gospel

We are nearing the end of the book of Titus! In this episode we look at the translation principle of how to translate special Biblical terms, and then we see this principle in action in verses 4 through 7, which contain a mini gospel! There are many key Biblical terms, but we look specifically at "regeneration" and "renewal".

Drafting Titus - Can Grace ”Appear”? Translating Figures of Speech

In this episode we consider how to draft Titus 2:11-15. We also look at how to translate figures of speech, and note that in this verse, grace is personified so that it appears, offers salvation and teaches. What happens if it doesn't make sense in a new language to have an abstract noun do those things? This section ends Titus chapter 2!

Drafting Titus - Relationships

As we continue through Titus considering various translation issues, we look in this episode at Titus 2:1-10. This section talks about Christian relationships and behavior. Five different groups of people are given instructions on God-honoring behavior: older men, older women, younger women, younger men, and servants. The primary translation issue is how to translate all these characteristics and how much implicit information can be made explicit - especially considering a passage where we might want to explain some of the concepts, such as women working at home and being submissive to their husbands! Join us as we consider how to translate these ideas.

Drafting Titus - Dealing with the Rebellious

In this podcast, we look at translation issues in Titus 1:10-16. In this section, Paul is giving Titus instructions for dealing with "the rebellious", and particularly "those of the circumcision party." We discuss how translators sometimes have to take cultural information that would have been implied to the original readers and actually state it outright for a new audience. We look at the example of "the circumcision party" - what it means, how to state it in a clear way for a new audience, and how understanding the meaning of this phrase affects our understanding of the rest of the passage. 

Translating Titus - Qualifications for Elders

We are continuing our look through Titus. In this podcast we look at translation issues in Titus 1:5-9, which includes both how to translate words in lists that are very similar like "self-controlled" and "disciplined", and the issue of the "one woman man" - does this mean an elder is faithful to his wife, or has only one wife?

Drafting Titus - Introduction

As my translation team works through the book of Titus, I thought it would be fun to look at it in podcast form as well. We will consider the issues that are specific to translation, which are different than the types of things you might consider in devotional study. This podcast looks at the introduction - verses 1 through 4, and considers issues like how to translate "slave", how to translate "God's elect", and how to make it clear that Titus isn't Paul's biological son.