Lesson 3 | Peeling Back the English
What We’ve Learned
By now it has become clear that there is so much to learn by simply checking cross-references and comparing translations. You might feel overwhelmed by it! That’s okay. Remember, even if you know that there is more insight to be found in the study tools, be glad for the bits you have been able to understand. You may have a long ways to go and a lot of practice ahead of you, but take a look down to be encouraged at how far you have come.
What We Now Know
All language is ambiguous to some degree. Different languages are ambiguous in different ways. Therefore, translation work is hard.
We have learned that the ambiguity can lie in both the words and the grammar, and have begun familiarizing ourselves with some common English translations of the Bible.
We also now know the reasons why translations differ in substance:
- Ambiguity in the Original
- Ambiguity in the English
- Alternative Readings
Finally, we learned what we should ignore when interpreting a passage—namely, the headings, paragraphs, and chapter divisions.
What We Don’t Know
Unless you are proficient in the biblical languages, you have faced the reality that you are unable to weigh the strength of each translation based upon its faithfulness to the original. Rather, you simply know the translation options. (And yet, we can assess different translations based upon the flow of the text.)