tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11875966.post111246067437396265..comments2023-10-20T07:28:50.948-07:00Comments on Better Bibles Blog: HCSB (Holman Christian Standard Bible)Wayne Lemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18024771201561767893noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11875966.post-81158404813838119352008-09-04T15:13:00.000-07:002008-09-04T15:13:00.000-07:00Romans 11:2, "God has not rejected His people whom...Romans 11:2, "God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says in the Elijah section—how he pleads with God against Israel?" <BR/><BR/>No one says "the Elijah section" it just sounds weird, especially in a dynamic translation77jordanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10349019386852051000noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11875966.post-1146248610544849842006-04-28T11:23:00.000-07:002006-04-28T11:23:00.000-07:00Isaiah 53 1 Who has believed what we have heard? ...Isaiah 53<BR/> 1 Who has believed what we have heard?<BR/> And who has the arm of the LORD been revealed to?<BR/><BR/>The second sentence of the verse drives me nuts. Why did they end the sentence with the word "to"? Did the translators really feel this would be the best way to translate this verse? I think a more traditional rendering, "And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?" would have been much better.<BR/><BR/>Just because people use improper English doesn't mean our Bibles should, does it?<BR/><BR/>GaryGZimmyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00343987749136219839noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11875966.post-1119241587953131782005-06-19T21:26:00.000-07:002005-06-19T21:26:00.000-07:001 Sam. 2:7 7 The LORD makes poor and makes rich;He...1 Sam. 2:7 7 The LORD makes poor and makes rich;<BR/>He brings low and lifts up.<BR/><BR/>The verb phrases of this verse seem like odd English to me:<BR/>"makes poor"<BR/>"makes rich"<BR/>"brings low"<BR/>"lifts up"<BR/><BR/>I would normally expect there to be a syntactic object for these verbs, such as:<BR/><BR/>"makes people poor"<BR/>"brings people low"Wayne Lemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18024771201561767893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11875966.post-1115517539559903372005-05-07T18:58:00.000-07:002005-05-07T18:58:00.000-07:007:51 "You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised h...7:51 "You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are always resisting the Holy Spirit; as your forefathers did, so do you."<BR/><BR/>The second sentence strikes me as unnecessarily repetitious. It seems to me that no accuracy would be lost if the last three words were deleted and the semicolon changed to a comma.Wayne Lemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18024771201561767893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11875966.post-1114052697828116592005-04-20T20:04:00.000-07:002005-04-20T20:04:00.000-07:00Gal. 2:13 "Then the rest of the Jews joined his hy...Gal. 2:13 "Then the rest of the Jews joined his hypocrisy"<BR/><BR/>Collocational clash: In English one cannot speak of "joining" anyone's hypocrisy. The two words do not combine according to English lexical rules.<BR/><BR/>It would be proper English to say:<BR/><BR/>"Then the rest of the Jews became hypocrites along with him"<BR/><BR/>or, even better"<BR/><BR/>"the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him" (ESV)Wayne Lemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18024771201561767893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11875966.post-1114052282763006012005-04-20T19:58:00.000-07:002005-04-20T19:58:00.000-07:00James 5:5 "You have fattened your hearts for the d...James 5:5 "You have fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter."<BR/><BR/>Collocational clash: The English lexicon does not sanction combining the verb "fatten" with the noun "heart." This word combination has no meaning in English, therefore it does not accurately communicate the meaning of the original Greek, since a meaningless wording, by definition, cannot transfer any meaning, let alone the correct meaning.Wayne Lemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18024771201561767893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11875966.post-1114052050507183082005-04-20T19:54:00.000-07:002005-04-20T19:54:00.000-07:001 John 3:17 "shuts off his compassion from him"In ...1 John 3:17 "shuts off his compassion from him"<BR/><BR/>In English one cannot "shut off" compassion from someone, just as we cannot "shut off" love, or help, or justice from someone.Wayne Lemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18024771201561767893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11875966.post-1114051862948245612005-04-20T19:51:00.000-07:002005-04-20T19:51:00.000-07:00Rev. 1:12 "I turned to see the voice that was spea...Rev. 1:12 "I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me."<BR/><BR/>Collocational clash: "see the voice" is improper English. In English one cannot "see" a voice.Wayne Lemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18024771201561767893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11875966.post-1114051716105729882005-04-20T19:48:00.000-07:002005-04-20T19:48:00.000-07:001 Peter 2:6 "it stands in Scripture"In English one...1 Peter 2:6 "it stands in Scripture"<BR/><BR/>In English one does not speak of anything "standing" in Scripture. Instead, it is accurate and grammatical English to translate the Greek word, periexei, as "is contained in" (NASB). The RSV, NRSV, and ESV have the same English error here.Wayne Lemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18024771201561767893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11875966.post-1114051165680560362005-04-20T19:39:00.000-07:002005-04-20T19:39:00.000-07:00James 5:18 "the sky gave rain"Collocational clash....James 5:18 "the sky gave rain"<BR/><BR/>Collocational clash. In English the sky does not "give" anything. It is inappropriate Englishto speak of the sky "giving" rain.Wayne Lemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18024771201561767893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11875966.post-1114051004051171222005-04-20T19:36:00.000-07:002005-04-20T19:36:00.000-07:00Acts 28:31 "...teaching the things concerning the ...Acts 28:31 "...teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with full boldness and without hindrance"<BR/><BR/>Collocational clash: The English lexicon does not sanction the collocation of the adjective "full" with the noun "boldness." That is, in English boldness is not referred to by the modifier "full." The HCSB collocational clash does not follow English language lexical rules, so, in some sense the translation wording here is ungrammatical.Wayne Lemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18024771201561767893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11875966.post-1113863337687846112005-04-18T15:28:00.000-07:002005-04-18T15:28:00.000-07:00Eph. 4:15 see under NETEph. 4:15 see under NETWayne Lemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18024771201561767893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11875966.post-1113839827684018072005-04-18T08:57:00.000-07:002005-04-18T08:57:00.000-07:00English and Biblical Hebrew differ in many ways, o...English and Biblical Hebrew differ in many ways, one of which is in their syntax of adjectival noun phrases. In English if we have an adjectival noun phrase it only has a plural referent. In Hebrew an adjectival noun phrase can have either a singular or plural referent.<BR/><BR/>The HCSB properly follows English syntax in this regard in many places, as in Prov. 10:10:<BR/><BR/>"The wise store up knowledge"<BR/><BR/>There is plural subject-verb agreement in the HCSB wording which is correct for plural subjects. It would not be proper English to say:<BR/><BR/>"The wise stores up knowledge"<BR/><BR/>Although the HCSB uses correct English syntax when its translators understand the Hebrew adjectival noun phrase to be about a plural referent, there are a number of passages where the HCSB uses improper English syntax where the Hebrew adjective noun phrase is a about a singular referent.<BR/><BR/>For instance, HCSB Prov. 11:8 says:<BR/><BR/>"The righteous is rescued from trouble;<BR/>in his place, the wicked goes in."<BR/><BR/>Proper English requires some kind of "filler" noun or pronoun to be part of the adjectival noun phrase when there is a singular referent as there is in Prov. 11:8. Revision to grammatical English syntax is simple, with possibilities such as:<BR/><BR/>"The righteous one is rescued from trouble"<BR/>"The righteous person is rescued from trouble"Wayne Lemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18024771201561767893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11875966.post-1113693341656539852005-04-16T16:15:00.000-07:002005-04-16T16:15:00.000-07:00Mark 14:34 "My soul is swallowed up in sorrow--to ...Mark 14:34 "My soul is swallowed up in sorrow--to the point of death."<BR/><BR/>It is not English to speak of a soul being "swallowed up" nor even, figuratively, "swallowed up in sorrow." The Greek word perilupos of this verse has nothing to do with swallowing. It simply means 'very sad.'Wayne Lemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18024771201561767893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11875966.post-1113692289867981522005-04-16T15:58:00.000-07:002005-04-16T15:58:00.000-07:00John 17:12 "the son of destruction"This wording do...John 17:12 "the son of destruction"<BR/><BR/>This wording does not accurately communicate to English speakers the meaning of this Semitic idiom, which is that this was a 'person destined for destruction.'Wayne Lemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18024771201561767893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11875966.post-1113691886798124372005-04-16T15:51:00.000-07:002005-04-16T15:51:00.000-07:00Luke 20:34 "the sons of this age"This wording does...Luke 20:34 "the sons of this age"<BR/><BR/>This wording does not accurately communicate the meaning of the original Semitic idiom which refers to 'people who are now living.'Wayne Lemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18024771201561767893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11875966.post-1113681438915654452005-04-16T12:57:00.000-07:002005-04-16T12:57:00.000-07:00Ps. 110:105"Your word is a lamp for my feetand a l...Ps. 110:105<BR/>"Your word is a lamp for my feet<BR/>and a light on my path."<BR/><BR/>As I understand English, it is inaccurate to include the English word "and" in this verse. The English conjunction "and" joins different items. As far as I have been able to determine, it cannot conjoin words which mean the same or refer to the same thing. For instance, it is not grammatical (proper) English to say:<BR/><BR/>"My son is sick and ill."<BR/><BR/>Using English "and" in Ps. 119:105, then, invites the understanding from the translation user that there are two kinds of light being described in this verse, first, "a lamp," and, second, "a light." But, in reality, the verse is describing the Word of God as being one light, expressed through Hebrew poetic parallelism with two synonymous words for that light.<BR/><BR/>The Hebrew conjunction in this verse did not have this restriction that English does, at least not in Hebrew poetic parallelism which is beautifully displayed in this verse. The Hebrew conjunction does not block the interpretation that what is conjoined can be synonymous or nearly synonymous or co-referential. English "and" does. It is, therefore, not accurate to translate the Hebrew conjunction here with the English word "and" because the two conjunctions do not have the same meaning and do not function the same.<BR/><BR/>Instead, the accurate English equivalent to the Hebrew conjunction of Ps. 119:105 is to have an appositive construction. With the appositive, a comma is used instead of the conjunction "and." And the appositive construction, by definition, says essentially the same thing about something. It is a form of synonymy.<BR/><BR/>The HCSB wording would be more accurate if it simply left out the "and" and were worded like this:<BR/><BR/>"Your word is a lamp for my feet,<BR/>a light on my path."<BR/><BR/>Most other major English versions include the "and" in this verse, like the HCSB, including: KJV, NKJV, RSV, NRSV, NASB, NLT, ESV, NIV, TNIV, TEV, GW, NCV, NAB.<BR/><BR/>The only English versions I have found so far that express Ps. 119:105 with the appositive construction are the NJB:<BR/><BR/>"Your word is a lamp for my feet,<BR/>a light on my path."<BR/><BR/>and the Tanakh:<BR/><BR/>"Your word is a lamp to my feet,<BR/>a light for my path." <BR/><BR/>and the REB:<BR/><BR/>"Your word is a lamp to my feet,<BR/>a light on my path"Wayne Lemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18024771201561767893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11875966.post-1113681245961693972005-04-16T12:54:00.000-07:002005-04-16T12:54:00.000-07:00Gen. 4:1 "Adam knew his wife Eve intimately"Obsole...Gen. 4:1 "Adam knew his wife Eve intimately"<BR/><BR/>Obsolescent: Use of the literal English "knew" for "had intercourse with" is largely obsolescent today, even with the additional help of HCSB's adverb "intimately."Wayne Lemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18024771201561767893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11875966.post-1113178224337091112005-04-10T17:10:00.000-07:002005-04-10T17:10:00.000-07:00Is. 50:1 "Where is your mother's divorce certifica...Is. 50:1 "Where is your mother's divorce certificate that I used to send her away?"<BR/><BR/>Inaccurate: "send her away" is not an accurate English wording to communicate the original Hebrew (figurative) meaning of what is done when divorcing someone.<BR/><BR/>Suggested revision: "get rid of her" or, simply, "divorce her"<BR/><BR/>The HCSB does accurately translate the non-literal meaning of the Greek word apolusai as 'divorce' in Matt. 1:19, even though this Greek word has the same literal meaning as that of the Hebrew word in Is. 50:1, namely, 'to send (someone) away.Wayne Lemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18024771201561767893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11875966.post-1112543069641973522005-04-03T08:44:00.000-07:002005-04-03T08:44:00.000-07:00Acts 15:3 they created great joy among all the bro...Acts 15:3 they created great joy among all the brothers<BR/><BR/>Collocational clash: according to the lexical rules of English, one does not "create joy."Wayne Lemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18024771201561767893noreply@blogger.com