Lesson 7: Form and Meaning in English Bible Translations

The Nature of Translation

A language consists of two important elements, which we may call form and meaning. Form refers to the letters, syllables, words, phrases, and sentence structures of a particular language. People who share a common language use forms that are unique to their language to convey information between one another. Meaning, then, refers to the information and ideas that a person intends for another person to hear and understand. People use form to express meaning. This is the nature of language.

People use form to express meaning.

Consider how an English-speaking person would convey to another English-speaking person the idea of “a round spherical shape or object.” This is meaning. To express this idea to another person, he or she may use the letters b-a-l-l as the word ball. This is form. To convey more complex ideas, a person must do more than combine letters into words. He or she must also combine words into phrases (like “the red ball”) and phrases into sentences (like “the boy threw the red ball”).Now, when a person attempts to convey the same meaning into a different language, he or she must do the work of translation. To accomplish this, the translator must change the form of the message, using letters, words, phrases, and sentence structures that are different from form of the original language. This requires finding forms in the target language convey the same meaning as the source language.Consider how an English-speaking person would convey to a Spanish-speaking person the idea of a “ball,” changing the form b-a-l-l to ­b-o-l-a as bola. Similarly, “the red ball” would change to “la bola roja,” and “the boy threw the red ball” would change to “el niño aventó la bola roja.” This demonstrates how the form of an idea must change to convey an idea from one language to another. Bible translators face this challenge when they endeavor to convey the meaning of the Hebrew Old Testament and Greek New Testament into other languages, like English.

A False Dilemma

In discussions about English Bible translations, people frequently claim that one translation is good because it is a “formal” translation that reflects the “form” of the original language; and they claim that another translation is bad because it is a “functional” (or “dynamic”) translation that attempts to use language that “functions” the same way as the original did while obscuring the original form. But pitting form and function against one another creates a false dilemma, because no Bible translation is only “formal” or only “functional.” It is more accurate to say that every translation is a combination of both, though some lean more one way than the other.

Pitting form and function against one another creates a false dilemma, because no Bible translation is only “formal” or only “functional.”

Some English translations are more “formally” equivalent than others. This means that they more frequently reflect the words and structure of the underlying Hebrew and Greek language to encourage accuracy. The NASB, KJV, NKJV, and ESV are good examples of this, with the NASB being significantly more formal than the rest. The strength of formal translations is their accuracy, but their weakness is in readability. But accuracy and readability are two sides of the same coin: an accurate translation that no one can read is not accurate.Other English translations are more “functionally” equivalent. This means that they more frequently choose the words and structure of modern English to encourage understanding. The NIV is a good example of this. The strength of functional translations is their readability, but their weakness is in accuracy. Yet again, because accuracy and readability are two sides of the same coin, a readable translation that doesn’t convey the same meaning as the original is not a translation.To understand the difference between a “formal” and “functional translation, consider our example of the red ball. A more formal translation of “la bola roja” into English would be “the ball red.” This formal translation reflects the original form of the Spanish phrase, preserving the same word order. However, this word order sounds awkward in English. A more dynamic translation into English would be “the red ball,” which changes the Spanish word order to reflect the normal English form of phrases.Nevertheless, both translations change the form of the letters and words from Spanish spellings and vocabulary to English alternatives. In this way, both translations are “functional”; but the second translation is more “functional” than the first because it also changes the word order. In a simple way, this demonstrates why every translation uses a mixture of both formal and functional translation; there is a constant push and pull between accuracy and readability.

Intriguing Inconsistencies and Idioms

Recognizing that some translations are more “formal” and others are more “functional,” it is also important to recognize that these descriptions are not perfectly consistent. For example, in John 14:18, the KJV says, “I will not leave you comfortless.” Other translations say, “I will not leave you as orphans.” The underlying form is the Greek word for orphans. As such, this instance shows that sometimes a more formal translation like the KJV takes a more functional approach in some cases than does a more functional translation like the NIV, which uses the more formal and literal translation of orphans in this instance.In another instance, Romans 6:1 provides an example of how the KJV (and other good translations) take a dynamic approach to translating the original Greek words. In this Greek expression (or idiom), Paul gives a strong, negative prohibition. A more literal or formal translation of these words would be something like “may it not be” or “let it never come to pass.” The NASB (a more formal translation) reflects the original wording most closely, saying, “May it never be!” But since we don’t express negative prohibitions like this today (or apparently in the 1600s either), translators of various English versions, including the KJV, chose to take a more functional approach, using contemporary alternative expressions for strong, negative prohibitions. The KJV translators chose, “God forbid!” though neither the word God nor forbid appears in the underlying Greek text. The ESV translators chose, “By no means!” and the NKJV translators chose, “Certainly not!” These two translations are more “functional” than the NASB, but less “functional” than the KJV.

By reading multiple English translations, you will benefit from thoughtful differences of translation.

By reading multiple English translations, you will benefit from thoughtful differences of translation when you encounter idioms and phrases like this throughout the Bible. These differences are not the result of erroneous translations, but they are instead the result of careful translation work with valuable differences in approach.

The Benefit of Multiple Translations

When you are unable to read the Bible in Hebrew and Greek, you can benefit from reading and studying multiple English translations. For instance, when a more formal translation like the KJV or NASB seems awkward, you can appreciate that that awkwardness is due to an attempt to reflect the original wording, structure, and emphasis of the underlying Hebrew and Greek language. To boost your understanding further, you can read the same passage in a more functional translation like the NIV, or a more recent translation like the NKJV or ESV which uses more present-day language.

When you are unable to read the Bible in Hebrew and Greek, you can benefit from reading and studying multiple English translations.

If you are most familiar with the NKJV, for instance, then you can strengthen your understanding by consulting a second translation such as the NIV, which reads in a more fluid and understandable way. At the same time, the NKJV will provide you with a more accurate sense of the words and sentence structure in the original languages. If you want to strengthen your understanding further, you can also read the passage in the NASB (for an even more formal understanding) or in the ESV (for more present-day wording). By reading multiple translations, especially when one is more formal and the other is more functional, then you will gain a more complete understanding of both the underlying Hebrew and Greek wording and the intended meaning in the English language as you speak it today.In a discussion about using diverse languages in church worship, Paul gave us this valuable perspective: “Unless you utter by the tongue words easy to understand, how will it be known what is spoken? For you will be speaking into the air” (1 Cor 14:9). The blessing of an English Bible translation that follows a more functional approach is that it enables you to read and study the Bible in “words easy to understand.” That is a good thing. But Paul also said that a pastor is responsible to “rightly divide the word of truth” (2 Tim 2:15). Therefore, English Bible translations that follow a more formal or literal approach enable you (not just a pastor) to read and study the Bible with a better understanding of how to “divide the word of truth.” This two-fold blessing of multiple English translations enables the believer to study the Word of God with heightened accuracy and effectiveness. As Jesus taught, “to whom much is given, from him much will be required” (Luke 12:48). Through multiple English translations, God has given us “much.”