What is formal equivalence in Bible translation?

Dans sa Parole, Dieu nous montre ce que nous sommes, mais en même temps et surtout, Il se révèle Lui-même, Il nous appelle à une communion parfaite avec Lui-même; et, dans ce but, tout en ôtant le péché qui rendait sa communion impossible, Il nous donne, par son Esprit, l’intelligence pour connaître “le Véritable”. Sans la révélation de Dieu, nous ne pourrions le connaître; le péché nous en a rendus incapables. Une sagesse infinie a choisi et arrangé les termes dans lesquels le Saint Esprit daigne nous faire ses communications. Combien n’est-il donc pas important de conserver, autant que possible, la force exacte de chacune de ses paroles, et de ne pas chercher à expliquer, dans une traduction, ce qui n’est pas clair dans l’original! Celui qui est le mieux instruit dans les Écritures ne connaît après tout qu’en partie, et il se peut qu’il se trompe quand il veut donner le sens d’un passage. — Se borner à donner le sens des mots et laisser parler l’Écriture, là où elle est obscure, voilà le rôle du traducteur consciencieux. Mais, pour cela, il faut qu’il soit soumis à l’Esprit de Dieu et à la Parole même; qu’il n’agisse pas comme l’auteur d’un ouvrage purement humain qui cherche à faire tout plier — langage, force et tournure d’expression — sous les efforts de son propre génie et sous les élans de sa propre imagination.

“Toute Écriture est inspirée de Dieu”; il importe donc de conserver, autant que possible, les mots aussi bien que le sens de chaque passage. Une traduction doit être aussi littérale que le génie de la langue le comporte, lors même qu’on risquerait, parfois, de se servir d’expressions peu élégantes. La vraie difficulté est de conserver le sens exact de l’original, en le reproduisant dans une traduction littérale qui soit, en même temps, agréable à lire et facile à saisir par un lecteur ordinaire.

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.

Thoroughly convinced of the divine inspiration of the scriptures, we have endeavoured in translating them to reproduce as exactly as possible in French, that which God has given us in another language, unknown to the greater part of those who read the Bible. We have rendered the Greek as literally as was consistent with the perspicuity needed for the understanding of what is said. The depth of the word of God is infinite, and the connection that exists between all the parts of the divine mystery is not less admirable; although this mystery is not revealed to us as a whole, for "we know in part and we prophesy in part." Therefore it is that we often meet in the word with expressions that, flowing from the depth of the mystery in the mind of the inspired writers, make us perceive (under divine teaching) the connection of the different parts with each other, and that of each of these parts with the whole. To retain these Greek expressions is sometimes disadvantageous to the style of the version; but, when the clearness of the sentence was not injured by it, we have allowed some to stand which might help the reader to apprehend all the meaning and bearing of what is written in the Greek. In other cases, when the French language would not admit of a literal translation, and where the form of the Greek phrase appeared to contain thoughts that might be more or less lost or modified in the French expression, we have given the literal translation in a note.

We can claim, however, with a good conscience that we have worked with all care in order to render the Word of God as faithfully as possible, and we entertain the hope that even the unskilled reader will find our translation simple and understandable.

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.

We have already remarked that where it appeared to us admissible, we have left the style peculiar to each of the several inspired writers unaltered, in accordance with our principle of translating the written word as faithfully as possible. We have always, where the reader could not fail to understand, retained the sentence in its primitive form as we found it in the original text, and only where an imitation of this form would occasion ambiguities have we admitted a change, so as to give the sense to the best of our ability. Thus, for example, we find in Luke, in several places, the word "and" where we, in order to be understood, must translate it by "that." (See Luke 2:15; 5:1, 16; 9:28; 14:1.) Where a form of speech indicates the customs of the East, we have not sought to accommodate it to those of the West; because by a true picture of the former all the circumstances there mentioned are placed more distinctly before the eye of the reader's mind.

We also believe that the representation of manners and customs, in their original character (as for example, "To lie at table," instead of "To sit at table"), not only often pictures the whole scene more vividly before us, but also, even though at first sight it seems most strange, is calculated to place many passages in a clearer light. Thus, for example, the expression "To lie at table," given literally, explains how Lazarus lay in Abraham's bosom, and John in the bosom of the Lord; and other similar examples may be discovered without much trouble.

The inspired word, though in Hellenistic Greek, has nothing to fear from the minutest research. The slightest change of construction is instructive; so is the choice of case or number, of comparison or collocation, still more of tense or mood, where more than one might have been employed. The particles and prepositions are never loosely used, any more than the article, but always for the most accurate conveyance of truth rather than for mere rhetoric as often is the case in classical writings. Here it is sought to transfuse the apostolic expression as exactly as one could, even at the risk of shocking ears accustomed to the beautiful smoothness of the Authorized Version, and notwithstanding the fact that there is now a Revised Version open to almost everybody who can read English, the result of united labours on the part of many respected names, few of whom may be themselves quite satisfied, as the mass of intelligent students are less so.

This is important. I would say even to any Roman Catholic Christian that these languages are to anyone difficult now, because they are dead languages. But through grace, translations have been made. When Latin was used, a Latin version was needed. But Latin was not one of the languages in which the word was first given. To translate out of one tongue that is not generally understood into another that is just as difficult for the ordinary reader is no help; it only hides the communications of God instead of passing them on into the ordinary speech of the common people (Rom. 10:8). The validity of a translation is measured by its fidelity to the original word, and the value of it is commensurate with its use of words understood by ordinary people.

For those who will read this paper there was needed an English translation, true to the original word, and in language such as simple English people can understand. For God has given His word to us not to conceal His meaning, nor to becloud our minds, nor to nauseate the heart with controversies, but to convey to His people His own blessed thoughts; thoughts of which Christ — the true Christ — is the ever blessed Centre.

There is however, special emphasis put upon the fact of the apostles having the Spirit of God, by whom they communicate the truth of God to others. They spoke in words, not of man's wisdom, but as taught by the Holy Spirit, "communicating spiritual things by spiritual means" (J. N. Darby Trans.). It should be evident that spiritual things can be no more communicated by natural means than that they could be understood by natural intellect. Therefore, it must be by the power of the Spirit of God that they are both understood and communicated to others. Let us closely observe too, that it is not merely the thoughts or concepts involved that are inspired of God, but the "words." Every word as it was given was precisely right, exactly expressing (in the original languages) the mind of God. Translators are not at liberty therefore to merely translate what they conceive to be the meaning of any given passage. An honest translation must translate the words as faithfully as they can possibly be translated, in strict consistency with the meaning of the words in the original language.

Smoothness of expression has not been sought, nor a learned treatise, but simply and solely to put the English reader in possession of the exact sense of the original: for this reason many of the meanings may sound harsh from their very bald literality.

Beautiful English is not so good, if it gives us only an approximation to the original (and that not a close one), as a rougher and less polished English which gives the original as nearly as possible as it stands. Moreover, the change in the mode of presenting the matter to be communicated is a serious change, and without warrant.