![]() Imagine how many marital squabbles and counseling sessions could have been avoided if translators had been more attentive to the gender-neutral nature of this verse! (Furthermore, the prior context speaks of children caring for parents, rather than vice versa, but that’s a matter for another discussion.) 3. On the contrary, however, even though this is what some English translations say, it is not what Paul said. Many of them don’t know this teaching comes from 1 Timothy 5, but they know it’s in the Bible somewhere. Consider, for example, the NRSV: “And whoever does not provide for relatives, and especially for family members, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” This verse finds a place on my list of seven because an uncountable number of Christians believe that the Bible instructs husbands to be the main breadwinner for a family. In the KJV we read, “But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.” This translation includes three masculine pronouns, and the pre-2011 NIV retains all three.Īgain, we can be pleased that the 2011 NIV more faithfully follows the Greek text, which is gender-inclusive. 1 Timothy 5:8ġ Timothy 5:8 is my second example, and for entirely different reasons than my first. Simply stated, the wording of this Bible verse is important because millions of children learn it in their earliest years. Second, I begin with this example because of the famous children’s song, “I Will Make You Fishers of Men” (published in 1927 by Harry D. That is to say, the “fishers” part of Jesus’s statement is the real culprit in terms of making the verse sound odd. I consider this a specious claim, because essentially no one today uses the word “fishers” (except, of course, those who live in Fishers, Indiana, northeast of Indianapolis). They may say, for example, that “fish for people” simply doesn’t sound good. First, people who disapprove of gender-inclusive Bible translations often refer to this verse. I begin my list of seven here for two reasons. Nearly four centuries later, the NIV still used the phrase “fishers of men.” Happily, the 2011 NIV instead reads, “I will send you out to fish for people.” Let’s start with a famous one: In Mark 1:17 we read, “I will make you to become fishers of men” (KJV). ![]() Thus I’m here taking the opportunity to give seven examples (four in this blog entry, three in a subsequent one) of places where gender-inclusive translation matters significantly. Nevertheless, some people aren’t persuaded by this big-picture argument. That is to say, gender-inclusive translations such as the NRSV, NLT, NIV 2011, and CEB are taking steps toward the character of the Greek New Testament, not away from it. ![]() When I demonstrate that vast numerical discrepancy, I am driving home the point that people who claim that the New Testament has a masculine feel, and claim that gender-inclusive translation tactics do damage to that masculine feel, are expressing a truth about certain English translations, not a truth about the Greek New Testament. In fact, I have often made the point that the King James Version and the pre-2011 New International Versions each include more than 1,000 occurrences of the words “man” and “men” which are not found in the Greek New Testament. As I begin, it’s essential that I emphasize that I believe gender-inclusive Bible translation matters much more frequently than seven times.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |