I would guess that most people today wouldn't bother with seeking out and reading this "1534" translation of the Bible. Most people prefer to keep it modern and up-to-date. A translation for today's people. A translation that is easy to understand, easy to relate to. I can't argue with that logic. Personally, I'm not a Message kinda girl. (Not much on the TNIV either or the CEV or the NCV. Not that I'm telling you what to think. If you love those translations, then I'm all for you reading them!)
William Tyndale wanted a translation of the Bible that was for the people. For common, ordinary, often-busy, well-meaning people. A translation that was easy for people to understand, to grasp. A translation that would bring the New Testament into the homes and hearts of the people.
From the introduction:
Many people have heard of Tyndale: very few have read him. Yet no other Englishman -- not even Shakespeare -- has reached so many...I loved reading this New Testament. I loved getting to know Tyndale. He was surprising easy (in some places) to understand. True, Tyndale's "everyday English" is not our "everyday English." But there is still much to appreciate.
With modernized spelling, and no other changes at all, that translation is here uncovered to show it as the modern book it once was...
Much of the New Testament in the 1611 Authorised Version (King James Version) came directly from Tyndale, as a glance at Luke 2 or most of Colossians or Revelation 21 will show. Some was subtly changed...
Throughout the New Testament where the Authorised Version is direct, simple, and strong, what it prints is pure Tyndale. Yet Tyndale's name is never mentioned...
The story of Tyndale is part of that of the revival of learning. His exceptional strengths were twofold. First was his good Greek and Hebrew, when such knowledge was not at all common...
The second of Tyndale's strengths is his power with the English language. He has an extraordinary ability to reach off the page and seize the reader's interest, both in his own theological writing and in his Biblical translations. This alertness comes from a conscious use of everyday words without inversions, a neutral word-order, and a wonderful ear... Tyndale understood how to ...make an even flow that pulls the reader along...
Tyndale felt passionately about the value of English...
Tyndale's everyday immediancy can be startling...
Is it for every reader? Probably not. No translation is right for every reader. You've got to find the one that works for you best. But should you be intimidated by Tyndale? Not really. Tyndale wasn't trying to be grandiose and mighty. (Or pompous) He was hoping to be effective in reaching readers, in providing the bible in a translation that would meet the needs of the people. Using words and phrases that they'd understand. But in a way that was accurate to the Greek and Hebrew originals. For those interested in different translations, for those interested in the history of bible translation, or in the history of how the bible has effected society and culture, then this one satisfies.
© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible
1 comment:
It's encouraging that it isn't something to be intimidated by! Thanks for sharing your review of this!
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