The ESV and the English Bible Legacy E-Book

Leland Ryken

• Herausgeber: Crossway
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2011

Beschreibung

Modern Bible translations are at a crossroads as multiple translation philosophies argue that Bible translations ought to be done a certain way. So who's right? And what has been the historic view of English Bible translators? Leland Ryken, an expert on the literature of the Bible, brings clarity to questions of how modern Bible translations should be viewed in their historical context. He begins by tracing the history of English Bible translation from William Tyndale to the King James Bible, outlining important distinctions. In the view of these historic translators, there is a right way and a wrong way to translate the Bible. Ryken concludes that essentially literal Bible translations best adhere to the legacy of classic English Bible translation. He contends that the English Standard Version is a true heir of this classical stream and concludes with an argument on why the ESV can serve as the translation of choice for Christians in all walks of life. This book will be a great resource for Christians who have questions about why we have different Bible translations and how to choose between them.

Leseprobe

“Leland Ryken brilliantly demonstrates historically and linguistically that Bible translation philosophy is a life and death matter, and that it takes a thorough commitment to producing an ‘essentially literal’ translation to convey (and not obscure) the multiplex, polychrome fullness of God’s Word. Unflinching. Powerful. Convincing.”

R. Kent Hughes, Senior Pastor Emeritus, College Church, Wheaton, Illinois

“In this fascinating book, one of the world’s most renowned experts on the literary qualities of the Bible explains what made the King James Version of 1611 the standard of translation excellence for centuries, and shows convincingly how the ESV and several other modern versions compare favorably or unfavorably to that enduring standard. An excellent book for understanding why translations differ, and why it is important.”

Wayne Grudem, Research Professor of Theology and Biblical Studies, Phoenix Seminary

“Every generation has to fight their own ‘battle for the Bible.’ Today the issue is seen through the ‘What does this mean to you?’ syndrome, an aversion to propositions, and most recently, the questioning of the historicity of Genesis. That’s why The ESV and the English Bible Legacy is so critical. In the current climate of pop Bible translations it is critical to have a translation like the ESV, which is faithful to the original text, honors the traditional treasures of literary style and readability, and is widely accessible. Last year we began using the ESV officially in our church and sold over two thousand Bibles in our church bookstore, most of which were ESVs. Obviously, we believe in the legacy Dr. Ryken explains in this book!”

Jon McNeff,Senior Pastor Emeritus, NorthCreek Church, Walnut Creek, California

TheESVand theENGLISH BIBLELEGACY

OTHER CROSSWAY BOOKS WRITTEN OR EDITED BYLEL AND RYKEN:

The Legacy of the King James Bible: Celebrating 400 Years of the Most Influential English Translation

Understanding English Bible Translation: The Case for an Essentially Literal Approach

ESV Literary Study Bible

Preach the Word: Essays on Expository Preaching: In Honor of R. Kent Hughes

Choosing a Bible: Understanding Bible Translation Differences

The Word of God in English: Criteria for Excellence in Bible Translation

The ESV and the English Bible Legacy

Copyright © 2011 by Leland Ryken

Published by Crossway 1300 Crescent Street Wheaton, Illinois 60187

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided for by USA copyright law.

Cover design: Studio Gearbox

Cover photo: Corbis Images

Page design and typesetting: Dawn Premako

First printing 2011

Printed in the United States of America

Scriptures marked as “(CEV)” are taken from the Contemporary English Version Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked ESV are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked HCSB have been taken from The Holman Christian Standard Bible®. Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are from The New American Standard Bible®. Copyright © The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked NCV are from The Holy Bible, New Century Version, copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Word Publishing, Dallas, Texas 75039. Used by permission.

Scripture references marked NEB are from The New English Bible © The Delegates of the Oxford University Press and The Syndics of the Cambridge University Press, 1961, 1970.

Scripture references marked NIV are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture references marked NKJV are from The New King James Version. Copyright © 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.

Scripture references marked NLT are from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004.

Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Ill., 60189. All rights reserved.

Scripture references marked RSV are from The Revised Standard Version. Copyright © 1946, 1952, 1971, 1973 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.

Trade paperback ISBN:

978-1-4335-3066-1

PDF ISBN:

978-1-4335-3067-8

Mobipocket ISBN:

978-1-4335-3068-5

ePub ISBN:

978-1-4335-3069-2

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ryken, Leland.

  The ESV and the English Bible legacy / Leland Ryken.

       p. cm.

  ISBN 978-1-4335-3066-1 (tp)

  1. Bible. English—Versions—English Standard. 2. Bible.

English—Versions—History.

I. Title.

   BS195.E642R95 2011

2011026423

220.5'208—dc23

Crossway is a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

For Sharon and Norm Ewert

CONTENTS

Abbreviations of Bible Versions

11

Preface

13

Part One: The Classic Mainstream of English Bible Translation

1 The Translations That Make up the Tradition

17

2 How the Bible Was Viewed

29

3 Principles of Translation

37

4 Language and Style

47

5 Rhythm and Oral Effects

57

6 A Literary Bible

63

7 A Unified Tradition

71

Part Two: Modern Bible Translation in Its Context

8 Modern Translation at the Crossroads

81

9 What Reviewers Say about Modernizing Translations

87

Part Three: The English Standard Version: Heir to the Great Tradition

10 What the Preface to the English Standard Version Tells Us

99

11 The Content of the English Standard Version

111

12 The Language and Style of the English Standard Version

125

13 Rhythm and Fluency in the English Standard Version

137

14 The English Standard Version as a Literary Bible

145

Conclusion: Why You Can Trust the English Standard Version

157

Notes

169

ABBREVIATIONS OF BIBLE VERSIONS

CEV

Contemporary English Version

ESV

English Standard Version

GNB

Good News Bible (Today’s English Version)

HCSB

Holman Christian Standard Bible

JB

Jerusalem Bible

KJV

King James Version

NASB

New American Standard Bible

NCV

New Century Version

NEB

New English Bible

NIV

New International Version

NKJV

New King James Version

NLT

New Living Translation

NLV

New Life Version

REB

Revised English Bible

RSV

Revised Standard Version

Preface

The purpose of this book is to keep the nature and excellence of the English Standard Version (ESV) of the Bible in public view. The ESV was published in 2001 and has grown in influence ever since. But the crosswinds of Bible translation controversy that swirl around us make it continuously necessary to explain why the ESV deserves to be the Bible of choice.

I have written extensively on the subject of Bible translation philosophy, using the ESV as well as other translations to illustrate various aspects of essentially literal Bible translation. This book differs from my previous books and essays in two respects. First, this time I have not written primarily to explain and defend a translation philosophy but to delineate the nature of the English Standard Version of the Bible. Second, having written a book on the King James Bible, it became apparent to me that I can achieve the purpose stated above by placing the ESV into the context of English Bible translation from its beginning to the present day.

This explains the format that I use in this book. I will begin by describing “the classic mainstream of English Bible translations,” a phrase from the preface to the ESV. Then I will show how the ESV perpetuates that tradition, in contrast to the branch of modern translations known as dynamic equivalent translations. Implicit in my approach is the premise that part of the greatness of the ESV is the greatness of the tradition to which it belongs.

PART ONE   

The Classic Mainstream of

1    THE TRANSLATIONS THAT MAKE UP THE TRADITION

When the translation committee of the Revised Standard Version (1952) composed its preface, it spoke of “the great Tyndale–King James tradition.” The preface to the New Revised Standard Version (1989) likewise identifies something called “the great tradition of the King James Bible and its predecessors.” And the preface to the English Standard Version (ESV; 2001) speaks of “the Tyndale–King James legacy.” The purpose of this chapter is to flesh out what these phrases mean.

Four things are worthy of note at the outset: (1) The tradition consists of multiple English translations of the Bible. (2) These individual translations have so much in common that they constitute a single tradition, distinct from alternatives that emerged along the way, beginning with the Revised Version (1885) and accelerating with the rise of dynamic equivalent translations in the middle of the twentieth century. (3) This family of translations was dominant from Wycliffite beginnings (ca. 1380) right through the middle of the twentieth century. (4) The King James Version (KJV; 1611) was the final codification of preceding translations, and it became the channel through which the tradition maintained its dominance, explaining why the tradition is always identified with the KJV.

THE HEADWATERS

The great tradition begins not with William Tyndale but a century and a half earlier with John Wycliffe (“morning star of the Reformation,” as he is called). Wycliffe’s translation is more accurately called the Wycliffite translation, because it was chiefly the work of Wycliffe’s associates rather than Wycliffe himself. Additionally, it is important to know that the Wycliffite translators actually produced two versions of the Bible: one a literal translation from the Latin Vulgate and a second translation that had more of an eye on the English receptor language than on Latin, which in this case was the donor language. The complete Bible appeared around 1380.

It might seem unnecessary to push the great tradition back to Wycliffe. For one thing, Wycliffe’s language was Middle English—the language of Chaucer but not what is called modern language (the language of Tyndale and Shakespeare, despite its archaisms by the standard of modern usage). Second, there were no printed versions of the Wycliffite Bible until the middle of the nineteenth century. This means that all versions in Wycliffe’s lifetime were handwritten manuscript copies, disseminated partly by oral readings conducted by traveling preachers known as Lollards.

But there are other factors that make it necessary to trace the great tradition back to Wycliffe. The foundation of the tradition was simply the demonstration that the Bible could be translated into English. To cite a parallel, modern jet travel would never have happened if the Wright brothers had not flown a rudimentary aircraft at Kitty Hawk in 1903. A historian of English Bible translation correctly asserts that “the Wycliffe Bible was . . . not merely a book but an event, . . . [marking] a momentous epoch in our religious development.”1

Additionally, once the Wycliffite Bibles began to make the rounds, they created a grassroots thirst among Englishmen to have access to the Bible in the vernacular. Even today, the Wycliffite translation survives in a staggering total of 250 manuscripts, more than any other medieval English text.2 Only the wealthy could hope to afford a manuscript copy of the Wycliffite Bible, but farmers were willing to give a load of hay in exchange for a day’s use of a copy.3 A Bible-hungry readership did not suddenly appear in William Tyndale’s time; ferment for an English Bible had been around for a long time.

HOW THE HEADWATERS BECOME A RIVER

John Wycliffe can be considered the pioneer of English Bible translation, but in terms of direct influence on the English Bibles that we hold in our hands today, William Tyndale’s printed work is the place where foreshadowings became a mighty stream. Educated at Oxford University, Tyndale (1494–1536) was a linguistic genius who was conversant in at least seven languages. His doctrinal convictions made him an early Reformer. His particular zeal as a Reformer was translating the Bible from the original languages into English, a passion that he came to view as his life calling.

Because Tyndale’s religious views were condemned as heretical by the Catholic Church, Tyndale carried out his work of translation on the Continent under threat to his life. He worked in a largely solitary manner. The specific qualities of Tyndale’s translation that he bequeathed to the tradition that followed will be noted in later chapters. The important point here is the revolution that the English Bible effected in English life. Copies of Tyndale’s New Testament were published in 1525 and reached England in the following year. Because the Bible was a banned book, it had to be smuggled into England in sacks of flour and bales of cloth. Book burnings by Catholic bishops did not stem the flood.

There are two dimensions to the revolution that the Tyndale New Testament started in England. One is that it created a religious change in which people read the Bible voraciously as the very Word of God and therefore based their doctrine and lifestyle on what the Bible said. David Daniell paints the following picture of the appetite for the vernacular Bible that Tyndale helped to create: “There is no shortage of evidence of the gatherings of people of all ages, all over the country, to read and hear these English Scriptures—and reading meant, so often, reading aloud. . . . The corner that English readers turned in the 1530s . . . did not lead to one or two curious Bible effects. . . . On the contrary: turning that corner was suddenly to be faced with a vast, rich, sunlit territory.”4 No publishing venture succeeds without a readership. Tyndale’s New Testament created a Bible-reading public in England.

There is also a linguistic dimension to the revolution created by Tyndale. Before Tyndale’s time, most of the important religious and intellectual business in England and in Europe had been conducted in Latin. Tyndale’s work of translation struck a blow for the English vernacular. Tyndale’s English, moreover, although it is today so archaic that many refer to it as “old English,” is technically modern English. David Daniell claims that Tyndale bequeathed a plain style to the English language, with plain meaning “clear,” not low or colloquial.5

TWO FALLACIES ABOUT TYNDALE THE TRANSLATOR