Should I use a paraphrase of the Bible?

If, in the translation, minor inaccuracies have occurred, these may be generally found and corrected by honest study. Of course, it is important that one should have a reliable translation, and we may be deeply thankful that the King James Version has been for centuries most prominent in English speaking countries, for in the main it is an excellent translation. A very few others will be helpful however, in giving a more correct rendering in certain passages, and this is advisable for study purposes. But many of the modern translations, and all paraphrased versions, should be avoided. For careful study, the New Translation by J.N. Darby is highly recommended.

Thus far we have dwelt exclusively upon the matter of text and manuscripts. When we come to translation, as has already been intimated, we find especial value in the use of different versions. Every good version in our own or other tongues is just a translation of the original from a slightly different point of view. We would not advise the beginner to get more than the few versions already indicated; but for the advanced student we would say that every genuine new translation which he can get will prove in some way suggestive. Thus, Rotherham's "Critical Translation of the New Testament"; Alford's more popular but scholarly version of the same; and any other genuine and reliable attempt to give the meaning of the original, will prove suggestive. We do not, of course, speak of those wretched and irreverent travesties of translation which result only in bringing dishonor upon the word of God. These, no matter how well intended, may be safely let alone. To express the word of God in the language of the daily newspaper is certainly no gain, but a great loss. If one is familiar with any foreign language, by all means let him have a copy of the Scriptures in that tongue. These will all prove helpful and suggestive in one way or another.

{Note. The English word 'bosom' is perhaps the element in this verse which puts off the modern reader. It is used by the versions which aim to be translations in the strict sense due to Holy Scripture. (AV, RV, RSV, New Trsln). In the popular modern speech versions the position is quite different. They first decide what they think a sentence means and then put that meaning into modern speech. This method was explicit in the case of the New English Bible. On p. vii. of the "Introduction to the New Testament" we find the method stated in these words. "We have conceived our tasks to be that of understanding the original as precisely as we could (using all available aids), and then saying again in our own native idiom what we believed the author to be saying in his". This method the NEB translators quite clearly understood to be a new and radical departure. On this basis the modern speech English versions produce our verse as follows. "He who is nearest to the Father's heart" (NEB). "Who lives in closest intimacy with the Father" (Phillips). "Who … is at the Father's side" (TEV). "He is the companion of the Father" (Living Bible). By contrast, AV and the other versions mentioned with it above, uniformly translate the original kolpos by `bosom', a word with a touch of mystery about it, of which the derivation is unknown, and above all, which does not limit the meaning in Scripture, and in particular of John 1:18 to the present understanding of the translator. All this is not to say that some of these versions may not possess usefulness in other ways.}

It is certainly possible that we could have clothed some passage into a more beautiful German; only, without being slaves of the words, the thought always guided us that an as faithful rendering of the original text as possible outweighed any other consideration, so much the more as we believe with a perfect conviction in the divine inspiration of the Holy Scriptures as the revelation of the infinite wisdom of God and the expression of His gracious character in Christ Jesus.

Seeing, however, that no one is able to grasp the whole extent of this revelation and that there is often a meaning hidden within a sentence that transcends the comprehension of the translator, which is lost in a free translation, but could be discovered in a more exact one through a deeper instruction of the Holy Spirit, it is thus an imperative necessity to reproduce the Word of the original text as it were in a mirror.

The Holy Ghost Himself calls our attention to the necessity of understanding the divine will as a means of safety in the last days; and regard for the holy scriptures is in these days a proof that God is honoured. The efforts of the enemy also are chiefly directed against His word. Now whilst the learned can examine the original text, this privilege is out of the reach of the unlearned, and of those unacquainted with that text. It has therefore been our endeavour and object to give a helping hand to the latter class, and to furnish them at a small cost with as faithful and exact a representation as possible of the divine word in their own language. Undoubtedly every translation must be more or less defective, and we by no means value our work so highly as that we would set aside one more perfectly executed by another hand. How great the difficulties are of conveying the expressions of one language, especially of the rich Greek, in another, those alone can tell who have tried to make a translation. We can nevertheless maintain with good conscience, that we have devoted the utmost care to the work of presenting the word of God as faithfully as possible, and we therefore cherish the hope that even the most unpractised reader will find our translation simple and comprehensive. We might indeed have clothed many passages in more elegant German, but, without being in bondage to words, we have been governed throughout by the thought that the faithful rendering of the original text outweighs every other consideration; and the more so because we believe with the very fullest conviction the divine inspiration of the holy scriptures as the revelation of the infinite wisdom of God, and the expression of His gracious character in Jesus Christ. But since no one is able to grasp the whole expanse of this revelation, and often a meaning beyond the comprehension of the translator lies hidden in a sentence, which would be lost in a free translation but may be found in a more literal one, through deeper teaching of the Holy Spirit — it is evidently necessary to reproduce the original text as in a mirror. Yet of course the limits of this literalness or exactitude must not be drawn so close as to render the sentence translated into another language altogether incomprehensible, and to remain consequently destitute of meaning.

Another ground for making the translation as literal as possible was the conviction that it would not be without profit to a reader unacquainted with the original to learn something of the style, the customs, the thoughts and the manners of the writers of the Gospels. For since the heart, as well as the mind, finds food in the word of God, the forms of expression chosen by the writers are not without importance; and by changing them, even if the meaning of the sentence remains unchanged, the sensibilities of the heart's feelings may often be lost. Above all we have been throughout influenced by the deep sense that it was the word of God which occupied us, and we have therefore striven to accomplish our work as intelligibly, and at the same time as literally, as was at all possible, submitting it to the judgment of thoughtful critics.

We should note that the Lord, and the New Testament writers, used a translation as well (the Septuagint, i.e. Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament), and they quoted from it, saying "it is written". Therefore we can comfortably rely on a good translation and take it as God's word.

It is interesting and confirmatory of our own attitude in this matter that our Lord Himself used a translation of the Holy Scriptures, the Septuagint. This is known not to be too accurate a translation. Yet He quoted it as the Word of God, and appealed to it as final.

Of course we should recommend this for private study, and not for public use. We see no difficulty in the Authorised Version being used in public, as the Septuagint was used by our Lord and His apostles even where it is not an exact translation of the Hebrew — and only corrected where absolutely necessary. By this means we shall preserve the familiar and forcible language of the Authorised Version, and still be furnished by the above, together with some good new translation, which may also confirm the text to be used, with all we may need to arrive at a true text, and the translation of the same.

Another objection to the value of verbal inspiration is that most persons read scripture in a translation, the words of which cannot, it is alleged, be said to be inspired. But if the translation conveys exactly the same meaning as in the original, the words can be said to be inspired: for instance, the words 'God is love,' may surely be said to be the same as ὁ θεὸς ἀγάπη ἐστίν, or Deus caritas est, Dieu est amour, or Dio è carità, to those who can read them. It may be that the translations from which the above are taken cannot in all places be said to be the same as the Greek; but this only shows the great importance of each having a correct translation in his vernacular tongue. And it must not be forgotten that the Lord Himself and those who wrote the New Testament often quoted the Septuagint, which is a translation from the Hebrew; and they quoted it as scripture.

As all know, our brother John Nelson Darby was one of the ablest Greek scholars of his day. He has given us a translation , not a paraphrase. It is permissible to paraphrase in exposition, but never in translation, and to call our brother JND's rendering of this verse a paraphrase is to impugn his reliability as a translator. The connection with the similar use of the word translated "purge out" in 1 Corinthians 5:7 and the added apo , "away from," show plainly to any unbiased mind the true force of the passage, that is, "purge out away from," rightly rendered "purify from in separating from." Anyone wishing to study this matter further may consult the "Graphic Scheme of the Greek Prepositions" as given in the Newberry Bible, where the force of ek and apo is plainly seen.