Over the last thirty years, a growing number of Bible translators have defined success in translation in terms of how well their translations achieve a specific purpose for their intended audiences.
Today translators often define their success in terms of their own goals, often outlined in a document called a translation brief. With this approach, it shouldn’t be surprising that God’s place as the Author of Scripture is seldom discussed, and translating for the glory of God is not even a topic.
Yet given the high priority of glorifying God in Scripture, we must seriously reconsider the place of the glory of God in translation.
Doing All for the Glory of God?
In 1 Corinthians 10:31, the apostle Paul writes that we are to do all things for the glory of God. What does it mean to do everything for His glory? What does it mean to translate for the glory of God?
To answer these questions, we must first understand how God glorifies Himself. Understating God’s self-glorification will provide us an example we can emulate in our lives and at the translation desk.
When we look at the Scriptures, we learn that God glorifies Himself when He puts Himself on display and manifests His divine attributes. One way He does this is through creation. The heavens declare His glory (Psalm 19:1), and all who ponder them recognize the eternal power and divine nature of the Creator (Romans 1:20).
We also see Him supremely glorify Himself in the incarnation of Jesus Christ (John 1:14; Hebrews 1:3). Moreover, Jesus revealed the Father’s glorious attributes in his obedient life, sacrificial death, and triumphant resurrection (John 17:4; 12:28).
Translating for the Glory of God?
What does it mean to translate for the glory of God?
Translating for His glory involves engaging in Bible translation in a manner that seeks, first and foremost, to reveal the supremacy of God’s character and divine attributes according to His will by the power of His Spirt with the gifts He supplies those who live by faith in Christ.
And this all begins with the translator’s heart.
Recognizing God
To translate for the glory of the triune God, translators must first acknowledge and personally trust in the God who reveals Himself in the Scriptures, both as Creator and Lord. They must confess with their lips and trust in their hearts that Jesus Christ is their Lord and Savior. Furthermore, they must seek the power of the Holy Spirit as they endeavor to live in obedience to the God of Scripture.
In addition to having a right relationship with God, translators must engage in translation with a confidence that it is God’s will for them and not simply their own desire. With such a confidence, they translate as faithful servants with the goal of accomplishing God’s purposes.
A right relationship to God must lead to a right regard for His Word.
Submitting to the Scriptures
Furthermore, to glorify God in the translation of His Word, it is essential to submit to what God says about the Scriptures. They are His inspired, infallible, inerrant, and authoritative Word.
The church is commanded to publicly read, preach, and teach the Scriptures as part of corporate worship. Moreover, they contain the gospel message that followers of Jesus Christ are to proclaim to all nations.
It follows that the task of translation produces a text that equips the church to read, preach, and teach, enabling faithful believers to advance of the Kingdom of God by the power of the Holy Spirit.
If translators do not submit to God and His Word, faithfully translating His Word, they risk translating in a way that only brings glory to themselves.
Translating in Utter Dependence
With a desire to glorify God in translation, it is essential to pray for the Spirit to move and bring God the glory He is due through the translated Scriptures. Such prayer is an expression of our utter dependence on God, who alone can work through us to bring Himself glory.
With our trust fully set on our Heavenly Father, we must persevere even when we don’t see others giving God glory because we know He works in ways we can’t see or imagine. It may be His will to receive glory through the translated Word in decades to come, and so we persevere in faith.
We must not forget that even if we never hear of a person being impacted by our translation, God is nonetheless glorified as we translate as an act of obedience according to His will. Furthermore, He receives glory as He is made known in a new language community through the translated Word, regardless of the response.
In Conclusion
It is essential to engage in the translation of Scripture as a ministry for His glory alone.
Translation must be more than the transfer of meaning, more than communication, more than elevating language communities, and even more than establishing churches. With a right focus on the glory of God, we have the most important motivation for the task of translation. From this motivation, we have confidence and the strength to persevere because we know He will use our feeble efforts to accomplish His wondrous purposes.
Finally, recognizing the rightful place of God as Author provides a framework for better understanding the importance of the audience and guards us from trends in translation that elevate translators and their intended audiences over the Author.
If you would like to go deeper into this topic, I would encourage you to read Translation for the Glory of the Lamb, 10 Reasons to Translate the Bible, and 10 Affirmations About Bible Translation.