The Scriptures are authoritative, but does their authority have any significance for their translation?
Many Bible translators today affirm the authority of the Bible in their doctrinal statement, saying, for instance, that “they are of supreme and final authority in faith and life” or that they speak “with supreme authority in all matters of belief and practice.”
How do these doctrinal affirmations impact the task of Bible translation?
Translators who don’t reflect seriously on the topic of authority risk assuming more authority than they should and inadvertently detracting from the authority of God. In fact, some current approaches to Bible translation present translation teams, translation consultants, and even Bible translation organizations as authoritative. But how much authority should they assume?
In the following blog post, I will first consider what is an authoritative text. Then we will consider how authoritative texts are translated, looking at the example of legal translation to provide a vantage point for discussing how to approach Scripture as authoritative.
What is an authoritative text?
An authoritative text is a text with authority. Consider a stop sign. On the red sign is a single word: STOP. Though a single word, this is an authoritative message for drivers.
The authority of a text comes from the author or source of the text. The authority of a stop sign derives from the government, which has authority over how citizens drive on public roads. Furthermore, the government created the language on the stop sign for the purpose of exercising its authority. The government wants every driver to stop at the location indicated by the authoritative text.
It’s also noteworthy that an authoritative text is intended for those under the authority of the author. The government intends for licensed drivers to stop at the sign. It would be a comical sight for pedestrians and their pets to gather before a stop sign and discuss when they might continue their strolls. No, the government created the authoritative text for drivers and communicates the importance of obeying traffic signs in their training to receive a license.
But more than a text for drivers, the authoritative text is a means to actually exercise authority over the audience. When the intended audience reads and comprehends an authoritative text, the authority of the author extends to the reader at that moment through the written word. The driver recognizes that it is not a word from just anyone, but from the government and, as such, it is a command to be obeyed.
Finally, the intended audience is expected to affirm the authoritative text as an expression of the authority of the author and respond in agreement with the authority’s intentions. And so, when drivers come to a stop sign, they recognize the word on the sign as an expression of the authority of the government and, by stopping, affirm the authority of the government according to the government’s intentions.
Is the Bible an authoritative text?
The Bible is an authoritative text because it is a text with authority. The authority of Scripture rests in the author of Scripture, the triune God who has all authority in heaven and on earth. Furthermore, God intended His Word for His people, with whom He has an exclusive covenant relationship as their Sovereign, Savior, and Judge.
In Exodus 19, Moses and the Israelites reach the mountain of Sinai. God tells Moses that He has brought them out of Egypt and to Himself at Sinai because they are to be His “treasured possession” and a “holy nation,” unique among the peoples of the earth (Exodus 19:4-6). However, this exalted status is only possible if the Israelites obey God’s voice and remain faithful to the covenant He establishes with them.
In Exodus 20-23, God speaks to the entire nation of Israel from the mountain. In Exodus 24, Moses repeats for the people what they had heard from God, and the people agree to obey everything that God had spoken. Then Moses writes down everything that he had heard from God and reads the document to the people the next day (Exodus 24:4, 7).
The Israelites at Mount Sinai understood that their God had all authority and, moreover, that He spoke authoritatively through the writings of Moses. Their authoritative text had authority over them and their children and grandchildren. It also had authority over non-Israelites who decided to submit to the God of Israel. In short, it had authority over all who God brought and continues to bring into His people.
How is an authoritative text translated?
Returning to our example of the stop sign, how would such an authoritative piece of legal text be translated? Such a translation project would fall under the category of a legal translation.
In legal translation, it is essential to have the approval of the relevant authority for the translation. If I want a stop sign on my wall with the word “stop” in 50 languages, I could produce such a work on my own authority. However, if I want stop signs in my community or state to be bilingual, I have no authority to produce and install such signs.
Furthermore, the state does not only grant permission for translation, it also approves the translated text as an authentic legal text with the same status as other stop signs. The state commits to enforce the driving code with the newly translated signs.
Translators who want to serve a language community with bilingual road signs should not produce signs on their own initiative. Nor is it sufficient to have the language community organized and supportive of the initiative. It is essential to have the relevant governmental body approve such a project and recognize the translated texts as equally authentic legal texts.
Legal texts have more in common with Scripture than many realize today.
How do we translate Scripture as authoritative?
If Bible translators affirm that the Bible is an authoritative text and, moreover, that the authority originates from the triune God who reveals Himself in His Word, several significant implications follow for Bible translation.
First, translators must have God’s approval to translate His Word. An appropriate first step is to establish that God actually wills that Scripture be translated and that God wills for a particular individual to engage in the task.
Over the last 50 years, the focus in translation has moved from God as Author to the needs of the audience. With this shift, the rationale for Bible translation has shifted from obedience to God and Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior to imparting a blessing to the intended readers and their entire community.
However, if we truly recognize the authority of God and His Word, we must affirm translation as an act of humble obedience for the glory of the Author.
Second, it is essential to have some grounds for believing that God will honor the translation and work through it by the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish His purposes. If we have confidence that it is God’s will that His Word be translated, we can have confidence that the Holy Spirit will minister through the Word in translation.
However, if we believe that translate is by our own initiative and for the benefit of those we choose to serve with our work, how do we know that God will actually speak by the Holy Spirit and bring life through the lifeless ink on the page?
Third, translators must respect the authorial intent with regards to the purpose of Scripture. For example, God intended that His Word be read aloud to His people (Deuteronomy 31:10-11; 1 Timothy 4:13). Furthermore, the people of God are to teach from Scripture (1 Timothy 4:13; Matthew 28:19; Colossians 3:16). It follows that Bible translations should be intended for corporate reading and teaching.
Unfortunately, there is a growing movement to translate according to the perceived needs of specific audiences, regardless of the intended purpose. One example of this trend is Muslim Idiom translations with their emphasis on personal reading for evangelism.
Fourth, translators should translate in a manner that respects the intended audience. From the first writings by Moses to the final words of the apostle John, God intends for His Word to have His people as the primary audience.
It is also true that the New Testament contains the good news of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. This gospel message has been given to the church to proclaim to everyone. So we can say that the Scriptures are for the church with a message for the world.
Unfortunately, some have turned these two truths around, proposing that the Scriptures are for everyone and that whoever reads Scripture should be able to comprehend the gospel and put their faith in Jesus Christ, apart from any interaction with Christians.
This view was well articulated by William Wonderly and his colleagues at the American Bible Society in the 1960’s. They sought to produce simplified translations intended for those with the least knowledge of English and the Bible. Their approach laid the foundation for Bible translations intended for an audience other than the church. Regrettably, this approach to translation lowers the Scriptures to the status of an evangelistic tract, no longer suited for preaching and teaching in the church.
Why affirm the Scriptures as authoritative?
Many who are involved in Bible translation today would not adhere to the authoritative status of Scripture. Others may agree that Scripture is authoritative, but they would also add that the authority of Scripture comes from those who attempt to live in obedience to it. That is to say, the Bible is not the authoritative Word of God because God is authoritative in and of Himself, but rather it is authoritative because we view it as such.
Most Bible translators, however, would accept the Bible as the authoritative Word of the authoritative, triune God of Scripture. Therefore, it is important to carefully and prayerfully consider the implications of authority for the task of translation.
In the last twenty years, a new approach to Bible translation has emerged called skopos theory or functionalism. According to this approach, the author and source text are no longer authoritative. The translator and those involved with the translation determine what to translate, the function and audience of their work, and the ultimate indicators of success. They are encouraged to outline their plans in a document called a “translation brief.” This document is the only authoritative text in view, given that the source text has been “dethroned.”
In Conclusion
The concept of authority is fundamental to Bible translation, now more than ever.
The translator does more than studying a source text in order to produce a translation. As translators study and understand the Bible, they are increasingly under the authority of the Author and accountable for what He has said to them. Moreover, as they understand the relationship between God and His creation, they are accountable to deliver His Word to His audience for His glory and not their own.
However, if translators reject the authority of God, they inevitably attribute authority to others or even themselves. Recently, an increasing number of translators subscribe to functionalism and receive the authority to engage in Bible translation according to their own plans and desires.
If you are a Bible translator, I encourage you to prayerfully consider how much authority you should assume for yourself before you are detracting from God’s. A translation brief is a useful tool as long as it does not have more authoritative than the Scriptures. Most concerning of all, while adopting functionalism gives you the freedom to do what you want, it comes at a price. According to functionalism, there is no longer truth or falsehood in translation, only suggestions for how to make a translation better according to its own standards of success as outlined in its translation brief.
If you are interested in Bible translation or even support this vital ministry, I would encourage you to learn more about this important topic. You could start with this article about functionalism or this blog post about Muslim Idiom translations, one of the modern approaches that rests on functionalism.
Finally, note that the debate about how to translate, whether more literal or more dynamic, is fading into the past. Major Bible translation organizations are moving on to functionalism. With this move has come an explosion of new kinds of activities. It is essential that you learn more about these developments so you can understand what is happening and respond wisely.