Romans 14:4 in the NLT
01/29/2006 17:48 Filed in: Faith & Reason
Our Bible study this morning at church covered Romans 14:1-12. Saturday night, Kathy and I were looking over the lesson when she suddenly exclaimed, "My Bible reads completely different from these other versions. " She was referring to her translation of choice, the New Living Translation (NLT), compared to the Holman Christian Standard Bible and the King James Version which were included in the Sunday School commentary.
I read through the NLT after it was released in 1996, but have never used it extensively for study or teaching. Its dynamic equivalence is a bit too dynamic for my tastes. However, I respect the translators, some of whom I've known personally. Therefore, the NLT is a translation I trust.
Kathy, on the other hand, took to the NLT immediately. If there's ever been a translation that fits someone's personality, the NLT fits Kathy. You'd have to know both of them to understand that statement. I tend to avoid the translation battles. I firmly believe that a person should read the translation that speaks to him or her best. What's the best translation? The one you're willing to read. Of course, I'm speaking in terms of the major current translations, not those that might be on the fringe of reliability.
In comparing her NLT to the other versions, Kathy was struck by how different Rom 14:4 read in her Bible. The NLT always reads a bit differently from other standard translations, but this was different. Note the differences below, especially in the first line.
The theme of the passage is Paul's admonition against judging each other in gray areas or disputable issues of the Christian faith. In v. 4 he makes an analogy using the example of household slaves. Of the translations represented above, the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) is the most accurate in the first line because it correctly translates ὀικέτης as "household slave." Paul used this word instead of his more standard word for slave or servant, δοῦλος, because it better suits his analogy. Unfortunately, the HCSB capitalizes the L in "Lord" in the first instance of Paul's use of κύριος. Thus his play on words between a servant's earthly lord and one's heavenly Lord is obscured. The NASB translators more accurately translate the first use as "master." The wordplay itself is lost, but the distinction between the earthly master and the heavenly Master is retained.
But note the NLT's "Who are you to condemn God's servants?" Where did that come from? There was no mention of God in the first line of the other versions. I looked it up in the Greek New Testament, and there was no reference to God there either. Kathy is used to her NLT reading differently from other versions, but I think this was the first time she'd ever doubted its accuracy. I was a bit befuddled, too. That verse taken by itself seemed to be totally mistranslated. I personally know two of the three men who were responsible for translating Romans in the NLT, but I didn't understand why they would translate the verse this way.
I mentally pushed the issue aside and continued to study the passage since I would be teaching it Sunday morning. When I came to bed later Saturday night, I whispered in my sleeping wife's ear, "Your translation is accurate. I'll tell you about it in the morning."
As I continued my study, I eventually understood why the NLT translators presented their verse in this way. The Apostle Paul is making an analogy. In the context of casting judgment on each other over secondary issues, Paul is essentially asking the question, "Would any of you show criticism to another man's servant?" Of course not. It wouldn't be the place of someone to do that in the ancient world. When I taught the passage this morning, I tried to make a modern analogy to being frustrated with rowdy children in public places. Often we are tempted to say something perhaps as a reprimand to them or perhaps to their parents, but we often don't because they aren't our children. This is close to what Paul was saying to the Roman Christians. It wouldn't be fitting to criticize another person's servants because odds are they are fulfilling the will of their master. Paul is stressing that likewise, we belong to God. We are his servants, and it's neither appropriate of us to pass judgment on each other for this disputable issues.
Now I just explained to you what the verse meant. I have interpreted it for you. The NLT translators describe their dynamic-equivalence method as "thought-for-thought." In the preface of the New Living Translation, they describe their method in this way:
When the NLT translators rendered Romans 14:4 as "Who are you to condemn God's servants? They are responsible to the Lord, so let him tell them whether they are right or wrong..." they were taking the interpretive step for the reader and accurately rendering Paul's thought in the passage. The point is about judging God's servants. That may be a bit more than what I personally want my primary translation to do for me, But I can't label it incorrect.
I read through the NLT after it was released in 1996, but have never used it extensively for study or teaching. Its dynamic equivalence is a bit too dynamic for my tastes. However, I respect the translators, some of whom I've known personally. Therefore, the NLT is a translation I trust.
Kathy, on the other hand, took to the NLT immediately. If there's ever been a translation that fits someone's personality, the NLT fits Kathy. You'd have to know both of them to understand that statement. I tend to avoid the translation battles. I firmly believe that a person should read the translation that speaks to him or her best. What's the best translation? The one you're willing to read. Of course, I'm speaking in terms of the major current translations, not those that might be on the fringe of reliability.
In comparing her NLT to the other versions, Kathy was struck by how different Rom 14:4 read in her Bible. The NLT always reads a bit differently from other standard translations, but this was different. Note the differences below, especially in the first line.
New Living Translation |
||
| Who are you to condemn God's servants? They are responsible to the Lord, so let him tell them whether they are right or wrong. The Lord's power will help them do as they should. | ||
New American Standard Bible |
Holman Christian Standard Bible |
King James Version |
| Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. | Who are you to criticize another’s household slave? Before his own Lord he stands or falls. And stand he will! For the Lord is able to make him stand. | Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand. |
Greek New Testament |
||
| σὺ τίς εἶ ὁ κρίνων ἀλλότριον οἰκέτην; τῷ ἰδίῳ κυρίῳ στήκει ἢ πίπτει· σταθήσεται δέ, δυνατεῖ γὰρ ὁ κύριος στῆσαι αὐτόν. | ||
The theme of the passage is Paul's admonition against judging each other in gray areas or disputable issues of the Christian faith. In v. 4 he makes an analogy using the example of household slaves. Of the translations represented above, the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) is the most accurate in the first line because it correctly translates ὀικέτης as "household slave." Paul used this word instead of his more standard word for slave or servant, δοῦλος, because it better suits his analogy. Unfortunately, the HCSB capitalizes the L in "Lord" in the first instance of Paul's use of κύριος. Thus his play on words between a servant's earthly lord and one's heavenly Lord is obscured. The NASB translators more accurately translate the first use as "master." The wordplay itself is lost, but the distinction between the earthly master and the heavenly Master is retained.
But note the NLT's "Who are you to condemn God's servants?" Where did that come from? There was no mention of God in the first line of the other versions. I looked it up in the Greek New Testament, and there was no reference to God there either. Kathy is used to her NLT reading differently from other versions, but I think this was the first time she'd ever doubted its accuracy. I was a bit befuddled, too. That verse taken by itself seemed to be totally mistranslated. I personally know two of the three men who were responsible for translating Romans in the NLT, but I didn't understand why they would translate the verse this way.
I mentally pushed the issue aside and continued to study the passage since I would be teaching it Sunday morning. When I came to bed later Saturday night, I whispered in my sleeping wife's ear, "Your translation is accurate. I'll tell you about it in the morning."
As I continued my study, I eventually understood why the NLT translators presented their verse in this way. The Apostle Paul is making an analogy. In the context of casting judgment on each other over secondary issues, Paul is essentially asking the question, "Would any of you show criticism to another man's servant?" Of course not. It wouldn't be the place of someone to do that in the ancient world. When I taught the passage this morning, I tried to make a modern analogy to being frustrated with rowdy children in public places. Often we are tempted to say something perhaps as a reprimand to them or perhaps to their parents, but we often don't because they aren't our children. This is close to what Paul was saying to the Roman Christians. It wouldn't be fitting to criticize another person's servants because odds are they are fulfilling the will of their master. Paul is stressing that likewise, we belong to God. We are his servants, and it's neither appropriate of us to pass judgment on each other for this disputable issues.
Now I just explained to you what the verse meant. I have interpreted it for you. The NLT translators describe their dynamic-equivalence method as "thought-for-thought." In the preface of the New Living Translation, they describe their method in this way:
...to translate the thought of the original language requires that the text be interpreted accurately and then be rendered in understandable idiom. So the goal of any thought-for-thought translation is to be both reliable and eminently readable. Thus, as a thought-for-thought translation, the New Living Translation seeks to be both exegetically accurate and idiomatically powerful.
When the NLT translators rendered Romans 14:4 as "Who are you to condemn God's servants? They are responsible to the Lord, so let him tell them whether they are right or wrong..." they were taking the interpretive step for the reader and accurately rendering Paul's thought in the passage. The point is about judging God's servants. That may be a bit more than what I personally want my primary translation to do for me, But I can't label it incorrect.