BIBLE TRANSLATION

 

TRANSLATION OF THE BIBLE

Introduction: The Bible is viewed as the greatest English. Matthew Arnold said in the nineteenth century that even non-believers can read the Bible and enjoy the poetic passages in it. The Bible in the twentieth century does not cause any difficulties to readers because it has been rendered in modern English. Originally, the Bible was available only in Greek and Latin. Uneducated church - goers had to depend only on the priests’ interpretation of the Bible. Some spadework was done in the Old English period to translate the Bible into English.

         The Bible in old English: Bede was the first to make an attempt at translating the Bible into English. He translated a portion of the Gospel of St.John into Old English prose. The effort was continued by fit and starts throughout the Old English period. The outcome was i) the Lindisfarne Gospels (about 700). About 950, the Northumbrian priest Alfred added to the Latin Bible an interlinear gloss in the Northumbrian dialect. The Rushworth Gospels of the tenth century had glosses both in the Mercian and the South Northumbrian dialects. In the late tenth or early eleventh century a West Saxon version of the Bible was available.

      The Bible in Middle English: Thanks to the sustained efforts of Bible enthusiasts many English versions of the Gospels were brought out in the Middle English period. The following is a brief survey of this development.

i) Wycliffe ( 1320-84): Under Wycliffe’s influence, many scholars undertook to translate the Bible into English. It is not known whetDer Wycliffe did any translation himself.

ii) John Purvey (1388) : Purvey was an important Lollard leader. His translation is regarded as extremely simple.

William Tyndale (1536): For his uncompromising religious stand, Tyndale was persecuted very much and driven abroad. A fragment of his English New Testament was printed at Calogne. For his English version, Tyndale used the Hebrew and Greek originals rather than the Latin text called the Vulgate.

Miles Coverdale (1488-1568): Many beautiful expressions in the English version were the workmanship of Coverdale.

The Great Bible (1539): This was the first of the Authorized Version. It was carried out by a group of translators working under the command of Henry VIll.

The Geneva Bible (1560): It was considerably coloured by Calvinistic thinking. This Bible was also called Breeches Bible because the naked Adam and Eve are described as sewing fig leaves not to cover their private parts but to be used a 'breeches'. This is a euphemism used by the Calvinistic translators to refer indirectly to the couple's genitals.

The Bishops’ Bible (1568) : This version was brought out by a committee of bishops under the supervision of no less a person than Queen Elizabeth. This Bible was intended as a counterblast to the Breeches Bible which was becoming more and more popular.

King James I's version of the Bible (1611): This version is regarded as an authentic translation of the Bible. The Puritans convened a conference at Hampton Court in 1604 and pressurized James I to arrange to translate the Bible into English. To enlist the support of the Puritans, James decided to fulfil their wishes. He appointed forty-seven scholars. They were divided into six groups, each translating a certain portion of the Bible. The task was begun in 1607 and completed in 1611. The outcome is the Authorized Version or King James's Version of the Bible.

Prominent features of the Authorized Version: First, the Authorized Version is endowed from beginning to end with a staunch faith in the Divine Spirit. It has the strength of Tyndale's Bible and the beautiful rhythms of Coverdale's version.

The Authorized Version has three portions, the expository portions the narrative portions and the lyrical portions. The expository part has three aspects namely, exhortation, information and advice. The Deuteronomy and the Pauline epistles come under this part.  They are marked by clarity, dignity and precision.

The narrative portion of the Authorized Version consists of the Pentateuch and the Gospels of all the Apostles in the New Testament. The Old Testament is very harsh whereas the New Testament is liberal in tone.

The lyrical portion is the most readable and enjoyable part of the Authorized Version. The Psalms, The Song of Solomon, and The Book of Job constitute the lyrical part of the Authorized Version. The emotional nature of the Jews as well as their rhythms are fully revealed in this part. At the same time, the soar and swing of ecstatic English prose is also reflected in the translation. The images in the lyrical portions are associated with such everyday objects as the sky, the stars, the running water and birds and beasts. For example, in The Book of Psalms the soul is described as panting after God just as the hart pants after brooks.

The influence of the Authorized Version: The Authorized Version has influenced readers as well as writers. Many expressions used in everyday life are from the Authorized Version. The eleventh hour, a thorn in the flesh, a good Samaritan, sweat of the brow - these are some commonly used Biblical expressions.

      The other influence of the Authorized Version is on writers. Bunyan, Ruskin, Milton, Tennyson, Browning, Hopkins and T.S.Eliot are some of the English writers whose thoughts and language have been moulded by the English Bible.