Common English Bible (CEB)
As the new year approaches, I am looking for a new translation to read through beginning in January. I was thinking about trying the CEB. Thoughts from those who have used it?
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I have tried to read different versions over the years as well and I read this a couple of years ago. I enjoyed it for the most part although it is not my favourite translation. I like translations that cause me to pause and think "is that what the text is saying?" Reading different versions often causes me to slow down a bit too which is good as it is so easy to gloss over familiar passages.
The ones that I'm considering for the coming year are the REB and the NEB which P.A. highly recommended in the forums - http://community.logos.com/forums/t/72655.aspx I've read parts but have never read it all. I have not made up my mind yet so I'll also keep an eye on this thread to see what others say.
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Wow! Peace to you, Alabama! *smile* A great challenge! Now that you mention it, I've had this Bible for sometime but haven't really used it. It does have the Apocrypha.alabama24 said:As the new year approaches, I am looking for a new translation to read through beginning in January. I was thinking about trying the CEB. Thoughts from those who have used it?
I'd love to hear what you are thinking of it as you use it.... *smile*
Just in case you haven't yet bought it, here's the first half of the Preface ..
If you own the Bible, please ignore it, eh???!!! If you'd like the 2nd half, let me know ...
PREFACE
The King James Version of the Bible was published in 1611. For two centuries the KJV competed for readership with the Geneva Bible. However, by the nineteenth century in America, the KJV would be described as the "common English Bible," because it was the most widely used translation of Christian scripture. Numerous translations have appeared since that time. However, it has proved difficult to combine concern for accuracy and accessibility in one translation that the typical reader or worshipper would be able to understand. Therefore, readers in the twenty-first century, four hundred years after the creation of the KJV, need and deserve a new translation that is suitable for personal devotion, for communal worship, and for classroom study.
The Common English Bible (CEB), completed in 2011, is a fresh translation of the Bible. Some editions include the Apocrypha that are used in Anglican, Orthodox, and Catholic congregations. The translation is sponsored by the Common English Bible Committee, which is an alliance of denominational publishers, including Presbyterian (USA), Episcopalian, United Methodist, Disciples of Christ, and United Church of Christ representatives.
One hundred twenty biblical scholars from twenty-two faith traditions worked as translators for the CEB. In addition, members of seventy-seven reading groups from congregations throughout North America reviewed and responded to early drafts of the translation. As a result, more than five hundred individuals were integrally involved in the preparation of the CEB. These individuals represent the sorts of diversity that permit this new translation to speak to people of various religious convictions and different social locations.
The translators, reviewers, and editors represent the following faith communities: African Methodist Episcopal Church, American Baptist, Anglican, Baptist, Baptist General Conference, Church of the Nazarene, Disciples of Christ, Episcopal Church, Evangelical Free Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church, Free Methodist, Mennonite, Moravian, National Baptist, Presbyterian (USA), Progressive National Baptist, Quaker, Reformed Church in America, Reform Judaism, Roman Catholic Church, Seventh-day Adventist, United Churches of Christ, and United Methodist. The CEB is truly a Bible created by churches and for the Church.
Accuracy and clarity. The CEB translators balance rigorous accuracy in the rendition of ancient texts with an equally passionate commitment to clarity of expression in the target language. Translators create sentences and choose vocabulary that would be readily understood when the biblical text is read aloud. Two examples illustrate this concern for accuracy and clarity.
First, ben ’adam (Hebrew) or huios tou anthrōpou (Greek) are best translated as "human being" (rather than "son of man") except in cases of direct address, where CEB renders "human one" (instead of "son of man" or "mortal"; e.g., Ezek 2:1). When ho huios tou anthrōpou is used as a title for Jesus, the CEB refers to Jesus as "the Human One." People who have grown accustomed to hearing Jesus refer to himself in the Gospels as "the Son of Man" may find this jarring. Why "Human One"? Jesus’ primary language would have been Aramaic, so he would have used the Aramaic phrase bar enosha. This phrase has the sense of "a human" or "a human such as I." This phrase was taken over into Greek in a phrase that might be translated woodenly as "son of humanity." However, Greek usage often refers to "a son of x" in the sense of "one who has the character of x." For example, Luke 10:6 refers in Greek to "a son of peace," a phrase that has the sense of "one who shares in peace." In Acts 13:10 Paul calls a sorcerer "a son of the devil." This is not a reference to the sorcerer’s actual ancestry, but it serves to identify his character. He is devilish—or more simply in English "a devil." Human or human one represents accurately the Aramaic and Greek idioms and reflects common English usage. Finally, many references to Jesus as "the Human One" refer back to Daniel 7:13, where Daniel "saw one like a human being" (Greek huios anthropou). By using the title Human One in the Gospels and Acts, the CEB preserves this connection to Daniel’s vision.
Second, the phrase "Lord of hosts" (Yahweh sebaoth in Hebrew; Kyrios sabaoth in Greek) appears hundreds of times in older Bibles and persists as an idiom in translations that preserve King James usage. This archaic translation is no longer meaningful to most English speakers. The CEB renders Yahweh Sebaoth and Kyrios sabaoth as "Lord of heavenly forces," which conveys accurately the meaning of the Hebrew and Greek phrases by using contemporary English language.
English speakers, especially when telling a story, writing a letter, or engaging in conversation, make frequent use of contractions. As a result, translators have often used contractions, particularly in direct speech, in the CEB. However, formal genres of literature typically do not include contractions. As a result, translators did not include contractions in contexts such as (a) formal trials or royal interviews (socially formal situations), (b) much divine discourse (e.g., Hos 11:9; Exod 24:12), and (c) poetic and/or liturgical discourse (several types of psalms).
Texts. Translators of the Old Testament used as their base text the Masoretic Text (MT) as found in Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia and the published fascicles of Biblia Hebraica Quinta. For some books the Hebrew University Bible Project was consulted. Judicious depar
Philippians 4: 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand..........
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Milford Charles Murray said:
Now that you mention it, I've had this Bible for sometime but haven't really used it. It does have the Apocrypha.
Does the Logos version have the Apocrypha? I know the translators worked on that as well, but it wasn't apparent that the Logos version included it from looking in the preview.
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Yes, my version has it! I think it unlikely that Logos would also have a version without the Apocrypha!
(which can be translated -- I'm too lazy to look at their catalog!)
Blessings! *smile*
Philippians 4: 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand..........
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Last year I read through the NLT (New Living Translation) and really enjoyed that.
This year it has been back to the ESV (English Standard Version)Actually I find reading the NLT and preaching from the ESV to be a great combination.
Of course I started my reading plan on the right date. :-)
tootle pip
Mike
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Mike Binks said:
Of course I started my reading plan on the right date. :-)
And which date would that be? [:)]
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I would think that The First Sunday in Advent would be idea! *smile* The beginning of The Church Year!
This is the Lutheran Service Book 3-year Lectionary for that day; although I think Mike would likely use a different one....
Sunday, December 1, 2013 | Advent
First Sunday in Advent
Year A
Old Testament Isaiah 2:1–5
Psalm Psalm 122
Epistle (Romans 13:8–10) 11–14
Gospel Matthew 21:1–11 or Matthew 24:36–44
Index of Readings
Old Testament
Isaiah 2:1–5
2 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2 It shall come to pass in the latter days
that the mountain of the house of the Lord
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and shall be lifted up above the hills;
and all the nations shall flow to it,
3 and many peoples shall come, and say:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go the law,
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 He shall judge between the nations,
and shall decide disputes for many peoples;
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war anymore.
5 O house of Jacob,
come, let us walk
in the light of the Lord.
Psalm
Psalm 122
122 A Song of Ascents. Of David.
1 I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the Lord!”
2 Our feet have been standing
within your gates, O Jerusalem!
3 Jerusalem—built as a city
that is bound firmly together,
4 to which the tribes go up,
the tribes of the Lord,
as was decreed for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the Lord.
5 There thrones for judgment were set,
the thrones of the house of David.
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!
“May they be secure who love you!
7 Peace be within your walls
and security within your towers!”
8 For my brothers and companions’ sake
I will say, “Peace be within you!”
9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek your good.
Epistle
(Romans 13:8–10) 11–14
8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
[]
11 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
Gospel
Option A
Matthew 21:1–11
21 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,
5 “Say to the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your king is coming to you,
humble, and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ ”
6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 10 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”
or
Option B
Matthew 24:36–44
36 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son,2 but the Father only. 37 For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. 42 Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. [1]
[1] Lutheran Service Book Three Year Lectionary. (2009). . Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
Philippians 4: 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand..........
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Milford Charles Murray said:
The beginning of The Church Year!
Which for some churches is Sept 1. (think Orthodox for starters) ... I'm always good at remembering the exceptions ... it's exceptions to what that throws me.[;)]
Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."
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alabama24 said:Mike Binks said:
Of course I started my reading plan on the right date. :-)
And which date would that be?
I may be wrong, but I thought I remembered trying to persuade you to start the M'Cheyne reading plan on the 1st January or at least pick it up the readings slated for the day you did start.
Don't take any nonsense from the Lectionary freaks M'Cheyne is the only way to go for a good living Protestant lad.
tootle pip
Mike
Now tagging post-apocalyptic fiction as current affairs. Latest Logos, MacOS, iOS and iPadOS
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Mike Binks said:
M'Cheyne is the only way to go for a good living Protestant lad.
His plan looks like a lectionary to me[:P]
Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."
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Actually you can go off M'Cheyne in a big way - today for instance one of the four chapters is 1 Chronicles 6 - even the commentary is turgid.
I wonder what days this chapter comes up for preaching in the Lectionary - I don't remember passing it by in the RCL. But I haven't gone back to check.
tootle pip
Mike
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Mike Binks said:
I may be wrong, but I thought I remembered trying to persuade you to start the M'Cheyne reading plan on the 1st January or at least pick it up the readings slated for the day you did start.
You did, and I did. Which is why I'm trying to figure out which translation to utilize "for the new year." [:)]
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Personally, I didn't like this version at all, having started reading through it when it first came out. In particular, I found the standard of English to be very poor indeed, making for a very stilted read. I ditched it quickly and haven't looked at it since.
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David Matthew said:
I found the standard of English to be very poor indeed, making for a very stilted read.
Strange. That seems to contradict what most have said about it. What translations do you prefer?
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Mike Binks said:
Last year I read through the NLT (New Living Translation) and really enjoyed that.
This year it has been back to the ESV (English Standard Version)Actually I find reading the NLT and preaching from the ESV to be a great combination.
Of course I started my reading plan on the right date. :-)
I love the NLT readings in the OT. Although not as literal as the other modern translations, I think the NLT does very well in bringing out the meaning of the text for the English reader. We are so blessed to have several English translations to choose from.
David
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alabama24 said:
I agree that the NLT would be a good choice. It frequently provides some really useful insights in a very accessible way.
I am also thinking about the NIV2011 (as most of my NIV work has been in the '84 version) and I am interested in getting a "big picture" view of how it reads.
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I agree with the choose of the NLT. I find it very enjoyable to read.
I also have the CEB but have not use it much.
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I am still struggling with which translation to use in preaching / teaching. My personal favorite is the NIV 1984. It may be a bit dated, but then so am I. However, my congregation has a large number of young adults. I want to use a translation that they can buy and use, and that pretty much means that I need to change. Change is hard.
I like the ESV most of the time, but my young adults (the majority of them) use NLT. So that is what I am trying to use. Actually, when I got over associating it with the old "Living Bible", and gave it a chance, I found that it is very good and very accurate. I don't agree completely with any translation, but the NLT is about as good as any. Some excellent scholars worked on it. Its free style at times makes it the most accurate in communicating the original of all the translations. It gives one a fresh look at the text.
My denomination is pushing the CEB, but they cannot push hard enough for me to use it. I hate what it does to the phrase "Son of Man". Not in my pulpit.
Always check any translation with the Greek and Hebrew, if you can.
I have just started the M'Cheyne Bible Reading Plan and will use NLT.
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Michael Childs said:
My personal favorite is the NIV 1984. It may be a bit dated, but then so am I.
I have thought the exactly same things about myself.[:D]
I use the ESV a lot too but have never taken to the NLT.
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alabama24 said:Mike Binks said:
I may be wrong, but I thought I remembered trying to persuade you to start the M'Cheyne reading plan on the 1st January or at least pick it up the readings slated for the day you did start.
You did, and I did. Which is why I'm trying to figure out which translation to utilize "for the new year."
I might add that this year I have been reading (against one reading from the Old Testament and one reading from the New and Psalms) the single volume Africa Bible Commentary. It had been challenging and enlightening to read a commentary originating from a different culture. Not to mention the proliferation of sayings and aphorisms which have peppered my preaching during the year. As an exercise I recommend it wholeheartedly.
tootle pip
Mike
Now tagging post-apocalyptic fiction as current affairs. Latest Logos, MacOS, iOS and iPadOS
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I spent 10 years now studying English Bibles. I took Greek and Hebrew training eventually so I could read the text that English Bibles are based upon. I charted the major differences between Bibles based on Majority text (as represented by Textus Receptus). I spent a year writing my findings in a book I entitled "Illumination or Illusion" in 2009. Do you realize that in order to have a valid copyright you must be 5% different from another English Bible? Did you know there are over 160 English Bible versions today? I wondered and analyzed whether optimal translation from the Greek texts or whether perhaps compromising of synonyms for lest than optimum meaning might be taking place in order to obtain the validity of a copyright. I did not concentrate much on the Hebrew at the time as I was still in Hebrew training classes while working with my Greek tools after some Greek training. I detailed my findings in my book. I then spent a few months translating the Gospel of John to see what bible was closest to what I came up with. Then this activity got a life of its own when the Canadian Gideons inquired about the version I was producing.
I then decided to commit 2010 to producing the New Testament. Circulated printed copies to reviewers and have just completed a 3 year review. I am now in the process of producing the version as a pbb. I may give you a sample here in the days to come but I am approaching Libronix to make it a purchased product. It is called the SKJV - Simplified King James Version. (Yes after much study I sided with the greater accuracy being with the majority Greek as represented by the KJVers. However make no mistake I am not a KJV Only advocate. You might call me a TR only advocate after my years of study.)
Why would I advocate the Majority text rather than the Minority text as is being followed by the ESV, NIV, NASB, CEB and about 140 others? It is because 2 almost complete Alexandrian documents no matter how old, coming from Alexandria Egypt the hotbed of Gnosticism and the creation place for the Deuterocanonical books which were rejected at the council of Jamnia in AD 90 for the reason that there was no Hebrew source only Greek source for them. And the birth place of all the Gnostic Gospels such as gospel of Barnabus does not bode well with me as the source that we should be using behind modern Bibles.
I also think it is a clear warning that the Tischendorf now called Sinaiticus has the Shepherd of Hermes attached to it in replacement of the Apocolypse (Revelation), a known gnostic book. And the fact that there are over 3000 word differences between the 2 copies in the four gospels alone used for the Westcott Hort invention, UBS, Now NA28 whereby they had to "purify" the text making decisions of which words to go with for us. But apparently they never settled the issue, requiring 28 revisions of the NA currently (the text the ESV is based on, NIV is NA27, NASB is NA26).
Added to this the argument was that the W&H, USB, NA greek sources captured the oldest information available in the whole manuscript evidence is the ignorance to the fact that even older fragments agree with Majority text. ie Ryland 115 Ad fragments.
I wonder sometimes whether the prophecy is coming true today that men will listen to what tickles their ears. Perhaps that is why people compare Bible versions based on what suits their fancy rather than a studied approach.
Why am I saying all this. It is because this topic is dear to my heart. But I ask you please to do some serious study regarding some of the things I have said before you continue to dabble with Bible texts.
An example of what matters to this topic. Who's judgment seat is it in Romans? Look it up in KJV and look it up in NIV. Does it matter? Who's is to be excommunicated from a Church. Read Titus 3:10 in KJV and then in any other version. Then look up the Greek source word that describes this person. Is it properly identified in Newer Versions? Is Lucifer Jesus? Look up the word Lucifer in any version but also in the KJV. Is Satan the morningstar? Is Jesus also the morningstar? I detailed over 200 of these in the Illumination book.
I don't want to hijack this thread but if someone wants a thread for this conversation. Start the thread and invite me to it.
You can explore the SKJV samples I post at www.truthiswhatmatters.com down the left column under freebies as .pdf however I intend to put some pbb examples there as well in the new year.
Your fellow servant.
Ray
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alabama24 said:
As the new year approaches, I am looking for a new translation to read through beginning in January. I was thinking about trying the CEB. Thoughts from those who have used it?
Blessings, 'Bama! *smile*
Dunno if you've made a decision or not; however, I came across a Common English Bible Translation today that I didn't appreciate at all! Psalm 119:83 ...
Translated: 83 because I’ve become like a bottle dried up by smoke, though I haven’t forgotten your statutes.
ESV is: 83 For I have ebecome like a fwineskin in the smoke, yet I have not forgotten your statutes.
My Note: When we read or hear the word "bottle," we immediately conjure up a mental vision of a bottle, eh???
......... not a wineskin ....... which truly was used as a bottle in the time of the Psalmist ... but here the "wineskin" aspect is more important than the "bottle" aspect ..................... methinks! *smile*
From: A Handbook on the Book of Psalms, we read:
In verse 83 a wineskin in the smoke refers to a wineskin (usually made of goatskin) that has been hanging up near the ceiling and which the smoke has blackened and shriveled to such an extent that it is no longer useful and should be thrown away.
Now this isn't really super-important! ... at all! I think it's just a really bad translation ...... (on THIS verse ... I need to examine a few others to come up with a generalised criticism....
Philippians 4: 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand..........
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Thanks Milford. I think I am going to use the NLT, but will consider the CEB another time. [:)]
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I try to read through a different translation each year. This year,I am reading through the LEB for the first time. I started in November. So far, so good. (IMHO)
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Bruce Dunning said:
I have tried to read different versions over the years
I just wonder if someone starts reading one English Bible version each year at 6 years old and lives up to 95 years, can that person read a different version every year?
Gold package, and original language material and ancient text material, SIL and UBS books, discourse Hebrew OT and Greek NT. PC with Windows 11
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One would have to read multiple English translations to even make a dent. See a book I have requested multiple times:
Bradford B. Taliaferro, Brand: McFarlandThis encyclopedia is the first book to identify, explain and categorize more than 1,400 versions of the English Bible! This includes 407 different Bibles, 53 Old Testaments, 407 New Testaments, more than 180 variants of the Authorized Version, 50 unfinished Bible versions and many others. It is an up-to-date and comprehensive reference work that includes internet versions along with print versions and offers details not found in other reference works. Scripture samples, bibliographic entries, translator lists, revision connections, variations of the texts, word substitutions and source texts are just some of the information found in this work. Biographical information about key translators is provided as well. Also unique to this work are difference tables which help differentiate among revisions of a particular Bible. An extensive index includes version titles, nicknames, abbreviations, translators, dates, source texts, and much more.Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."
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My favorite is the HCSB, which translates the text from word to word, and gives a clear understanding of the text as it reads in the Hebrew and Greek.
Next to that would be the NKJV for me.
But it is good to read different translations. Right now I am reading the NRSV which I have never read before. I started in Genesis, and am now in Acts. I find this translation to also be good.
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Evaluation for academic use - see http://courses.missouristate.edu/markgiven/rel102/bt.htm and
[quote]
Something I just ran across in a Journal of Hebrew Scriptures review that might be of interest regarding selecting a translation (Of course, it's one person's opinion).
In Part One (chapters 1 and 2) Gorman discusses the task and text of exegesis. In chapter one he briefly defines exegesis before discussing the strengths and weaknesses of various ways in which exegesis has been done. He compares and contrasts the synchronic approach (focusing on the final form of the text as seen, for example, in narrative-critical, social-scientific, or socio-rhetorical readings) with the diachronic approach (the historical-critical method) and the existential approach (his name for readings which focus on hermeneutics, transformation, or theology, such as missional interpretation, sacred readings, postcolonial criticism, or liberationist exegesis). He argues for an eclectic approach in which synchronic exegesis is the first among equals. In chapter two Gorman focuses on the selection of an English translation for exegesis. He expresses a preference for formal-equivalence translations and divides translations into four categories: 1) preferred for exegesis (NRSV, NAB, TNIV, and NET), 2) useful for exegesis, with caution (RSV, NIV, NASB, REB, ESV, HCSB), 3) unacceptable for exegesis, but helpful in others ways (NLT, NJB, CEV, GNB, The Message), and 4) unacceptable for exegesis (KJV, NKJV, LB).
Gorman, Michael J. Elements of Biblical Exegesis: A Basic Guide for Students and Ministers
(Revised and Expanded Edition; Peabody MA; Hendrickson, 2009). Pp. xii+286, Paperback, US$19.95, ISBN 978-1-59856-311-5Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."
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MJ. Smith said:
Evaluation for academic use - see http://courses.missouristate.edu/markgiven/rel102/bt.htm
Thank you for sharing... He has similar conclusions to my own although i tend to be a little more charitable to the freer translations like the NIV. This thread had me going back to examine the CEB compared to the NRSV.... CEB really just washed out too much for my liking.
One example was in Psalm one where chaff is changed to dust. Chaff is fairly useless and light but still may conceal a kernel or be used as animal feed. Changing it to dust moves it to a different class of object in my mind and moves the feel of reading it from low value connected to crop production to no value. Numerous other seemingly bizarre changes left me asking "Why?" (I do realize that paraphrased translations like the Message have also rendered it dust, but most literal or dynamic ones retain chaff). I do realize that this one example is no way to judge a translation, but for me it is a good example of the overall quality of the translation in my mind.
-Dan
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