Typo in ESV?

Jacob Hantla
Jacob Hantla MVP Posts: 3,883
edited November 2024 in English Forum

I think I found a typo in the Bible.

Judges 5:25 - He asked water and she gave him milk; she brought him curds in a noble’s bowl.

 Shouldn't it be He asked for water and she gave him milk; she brought him curds in a noble’s bowl. That would make sense and it is how all other translations render it.

Typo reported. Just thought it was weird to find a typo in the Bible

 

Jacob Hantla
Pastor/Elder, Grace Bible Church
gbcaz.org

Comments

  • Ralph Mauch
    Ralph Mauch Member Posts: 373 ✭✭

    Good question, the KJV also has it that way, so I don't think it's a typo, but in how the interperters decided to give us an english translation... one of course is more literal (kjv, esv), then others (nkjv, niv). Songs and Poetry are sometimes worded differntly, especially when in another language.


    25 He asked water, and she gave him milk (The Holy Bible : King James Version. 1995 (electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version.). Bellingham WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.)

  • TCBlack
    TCBlack Member Posts: 10,980 ✭✭✭

    "for" is not in my print version, nor in my other electronic versions, nor on the esv website.  I think it's the way it's meant to be.

    Incidentally, the KJV also ignores the "for".

    Hmm Sarcasm is my love language. Obviously I love you. 

  • Friedrich
    Friedrich MVP Posts: 4,772

    i have seen what seems to me to be another weird construction, something about "at table" rather than "at the table", but that is also in print.  Just sounds weird.

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  • Alan Macgregor
    Alan Macgregor Member Posts: 2,438 ✭✭✭

    There is no for in the Hebrew text.

    It is very terse, as befits verse:

    Water he asked; milk she gave:

    In a noble's bowl curds she gave

    conveys the poetic sense and the parallelism of the construction.

    Every blessing

    Alan

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  • Bohuslav Wojnar
    Bohuslav Wojnar Member Posts: 3,478 ✭✭✭

    There is no for in the Hebrew text.

    It is very terse, as befits verse:

    Water he asked; milk she gave:

    In a noble's bowl curds she gave

    conveys the poetic sense and the parallelism of the construction.

    Every blessing

    Alan

    Alan, I like your translation the most [Y]

    Bohuslav

  • Alan Macgregor
    Alan Macgregor Member Posts: 2,438 ✭✭✭

    Dan

    "at table" is a normal, if slightly stilted and archaic, construction in English. E.g. Children should be taught how to behave at table. It refers to place in general.

    Admittedly, you won't often find it in modern English and is probably on its way out.

    Strictly speaking "at the table" refers to a specific table.

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  • Alan Macgregor
    Alan Macgregor Member Posts: 2,438 ✭✭✭

    Alan, I like your translation the most

    How kind of you, Bohuslav! [:$]

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  • Rosie Perera
    Rosie Perera Member Posts: 26,194 ✭✭✭✭✭


    Dan

    "at table" is a normal, if slightly stilted and archaic, construction in English. E.g. Children should be taught how to behave at table. It refers to place in general.

    Admittedly, you won't often find it in modern English and is probably on its way out.

    Strictly speaking "at the table" refers to a specific table.


    I think it's a British (and Canadian) vs. American construct. Similar to "in hospital" -- in the US we'd say "in the hospital" but in the UK and Canada, they say someone is "in hospital." American English retains this construct for "in bed"

    "At table" is also retained in the song "God and Man at Table are Sat Down" ("are sat down" is also an odd construct; archaic)

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-AxPzY8Goo

    And for the benefit of Ebbe and others, here it is in Swedish:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTfHSoT7hvU

  • Sam McCloud
    Sam McCloud Member Posts: 47 ✭✭

    Here's some awkwardness in KJV and NKJV:

    for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

    for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.

     

    ESV has:

    for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.

    The ESV reads so much better. (imo)

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  • Dave Hooton
    Dave Hooton MVP Posts: 36,339

    for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.

    The ESV reads so much better. (imo)

    The majesty of "behold" is preferable to "now", "listen". "Something" is interpolated and even NIV agrees it is a possibility.

    Dave
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  • Sam McCloud
    Sam McCloud Member Posts: 47 ✭✭

    The majesty of "behold" is preferable to "now", "listen". "Something" is interpolated and even NIV agrees it is a possibility.

     

    I guess I am just referring to whether "a" or "something" translates more smoothly the idea intended by the original text. I think that "something works better and more smoothly than "a".

    image

    or:

    image

    What's interesting to me is how translators ultimately decide on certain words to express as accurately as possible the original inspired meaning of the biblical text, especially when there isn't an exact English equivalent in some cases to the Greek or Hebrew. When there isn't a direct equivalent then some addition(s) would have to be made to convey the same truth(s) in English. That is a huge responsibility on the part of the translator, after all they aren't the inspired author, but merely a messenger of sorts. The more I look at these interlinear Bibles, the more I have to think about what the original author was trying to say, which is a good thing I would say. Anyway ultimately what I get from this verse is this: "Behold, Jesus > Solomon". You know, if he wasn't greater than Solomon, we'd all be up the creek.

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  • JimTowler
    JimTowler Member Posts: 1,383 ✭✭✭

    The more I look at these interlinear Bibles, the more I have to think about what the original author was trying to say, which is a good thing I would say.

    Thats exactly why having access to multiple translations is useful. And to read the Introductions to see what angle the translation team or person used. Some tend towards word-for-word (which can be "almost perfect" but unreadable) or to carry the basic idea (and can tend to be "wrong"). Somewhere in the middle might be just right. It seems ESV is kind of there. Hence we get "at table" which bugs me too [:)]

    Best is to have multiple, and attempt to dig into the originals too.

    YAY for Logos4, so I can do all this without too much pain!

  • Alan Macgregor
    Alan Macgregor Member Posts: 2,438 ✭✭✭

    JimT said:

    Hence we get "at table" which bugs me too

    Jim

    As Rosie helpfully pointed out after I posted:

     

     

    Dan

    "at table" is a normal, if slightly stilted and archaic, construction in English. E.g. Children should be taught how to behave at table. It refers to place in general.

    Admittedly, you won't often find it in modern English and is probably on its way out.

    Strictly speaking "at the table" refers to a specific table.

     

    I think it's a British (and Canadian) vs. American construct.

    It's the old problem of the "barrier of a common language". Differences can grate on the ear. And a certain translation can feel "clunky".

    A couple which "bug" me are the US English talk with instead of talk to and visit with instead of just plain visit. But, hey, variety is the spice of life. [:D]

    And just what was it that crowed when Peter denied Jesus? US English says it was a rooster, but we British English speakers know it was a cockerel. (I wanted to put the NIV - Anglicised's word cock, but it was censored by the US English forum as an obscene word! So I used the longer English form of the word.) [:S]

     

    Every blessing

    Alan


     

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  • Rosie Perera
    Rosie Perera Member Posts: 26,194 ✭✭✭✭✭


    A couple which "bug" me are the US English talk with instead of talk to and visit with instead of just plain visit. But, hey, variety is the spice of life. Big Smile

    In US English, talk with has a more congenial connotation than talk to. If I'm going to talk with you, we are to be conversing together and I'll be listening to your side of the conversation too. If I'm going to talk to you, it's a bit more like I'm going to give you "a talking-to" (do you have that expression in UK English)? Or, we might say I'm going to go talk to the teacher about this. It's more like a one-sided approach. Yes, you do expect to listen and hear back when you talk to someone, but the emphasis is on your approach to the other person, whereas talk with is completely bi-directional. Even more one-sided (and obnoxious) is the construct talk at. If I'm talking at you, I don't care what you think and don't expect to listen to any response. I hope I'm not talking at you now! [:)]

    I agree about visit with. The "with" is completely unnecessary. I don't think it's universal in US English. I'd be more likely to say visit, not visit with.

  • MJ. Smith
    MJ. Smith MVP Posts: 55,539

    I'd be more likely to say visit, not visit with.

    To me, "I'm going to visit Mother" implies travel; "I'm going to visit with Mother" doesn't, it implies a conversation.

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