ESV: prayer for translation guidance

The latest interview answer from the ESV team has been posted on Adrian Warnock's blog. Click on the title to this blog to get there.

Following is the comment I made upon that good blog post:

During my life's work as a Bible translator, I have never met any translator who did not recognize their utter dependence upon God for the translation task. I commend the ESV team for following in this important tradition which other translation teams have followed. Bible translation is a very difficult task. There are so many variables to consider. We must recognize how much we need God's help for the work. At the same time, we need to thank God for the wisdom he has given through exegetical insights given to biblical scholars through the ages, and make use of such help in the translation process. Again, the ESV team has done well in this regard, as stated in a previous interview answer, by consulting biblical language lexicons and commentaries. Now, if they could just have consulted more English scholars who are in tune with how good, literary English is actually written today, we would have had an even better ESV. But we can still have hope for the future, as the ESV team continues to revise.

Categories: ESV, Bible translation, literary quality, unnatural English