The Bible in Translation: Ancient and English Versions

This is a enjoyable read for those who like digging into background and facts that aren't widely discussed. You'll learn about ancient bible versions and get a quick tour of English translations.However, I found myself disappointed by a few areas in this book- in the English bible version, I was surprised by how often Metzger would quote things like "The description of this bible on the book jacket says..." and use that to make a point. Just felt a bit thin on original thinking and taking the summary that a marketing department probably wrote.-There are some interesting observations on individual translations here and there, but I found myself wishing that there was more of a synthesis on how we should think about different translations and what the tour of translations can tell us about bible translations.- I also found his coverage of the NIV to be very thin and not well balanced.

I was thrilled to get such an affordable copy of this book. It's a valuable reference tool on the story of how the Hebrew and Greek originals of the Judeo-Christian scriptures went through an enormous number of translations. Some of these were necessary in the light of new sources and improved scholarship, and some were simply an effort to reach people in the language style of their own time, sometimes as a paraphrase. I rarely felt this book got too involved in obscure academic issues, and yet it provides many useful facts and some priceless copies quotations from lesser-known translations. For example, this "Prodigal Son" excerpt from 18th-century England made me laugh out loud: "One day the younger approached his father, and begged him in the most importunate and soothing terms to make a partition of his effects.... The indulgent father, overcome by these blandishments, immediately divided all his fortunes..." Oh, those upper-crusty parables!

Interesting and from a different prospective than what I have seen in other books on the subject. Metzger states that the KJV of the Bible is really a revision of the older Bishop's bible and he is probably correct despite the fact that the translators made use of the Greek and Hebrew manuscripts available. KJV Onlyists fail to understand that and that the KJV is a product of the Anglican church; whose doctrines and practices they detest.

Excellent overview of the history of the Bible. I did not know how many different English Bibles there were before the King James Version! Nor how many "original" King James Versions there were! After reading this with an open mind, it is impossible to hold a King-James-Only view. Don't get me wrong, the KJV is still my favorite translation! But it's important to know its history, which you will find condensed here, along with the histories of many other translations.

Bible Translations:The Holy Bible, available in whole or in part to some 98 percent of the world's population in 2,233 languages (Preface), continues to be the most translated book in the world. This effort started with Ptolemy Philadelphus arrangement for the translation of the Hebrew Bible into Koine, in Alexandria, on the island of Pharos. This common Old Greek version, called Septuagint (LXX or 70) by the writer of the 'Letter of Arsteas,' alleged to its seventy two Jewish translators.Origen's Hexapla, was a heroic attempt by the head of the Didaskaleon of Alexandria in the third century, to compare and purify the existing Greek texts.Since 1870, with the beginning of the Revised Version, of the English Bible, a scholarly debate started over the approaches used in the translations that most closely transmitts the message of the Bible. Within the advances in liguistic arts, the trend moved from Literal translation, to Dynamic equivalence, or Meaning-Based Translation, and Paraphrase. While a paraphrase helps to grasp overall meaning of a passage a literal translation may be useful for some topical study. Many individuals, who study the Bible intellectually or devotionally may select multiple translations to help in clearly interpreting what they read.Bible Translation History:Just before the advent of Islam, the Good News as the four Gospels were translated into Coptic, Syriac, Armenian, Ethiopian, Georgian and Nubian in the East of which the first two nations were invaded, and in the West only to Latin and Gothic. At Gutenberg revolution the number of partial Biblical translation tripled in more than eight centuries. Translation from Hebrew and Greek originals started with the Reformation, and the Vulgate was left behind.Ancient Versions:In his masterful exposition, Professor Metzger allocates the first quarter of his study on the history of Bible translations started by the intellectual king that made of Alexandria the center of scholarly Jewish thought that produced Philo, the father of Christian allegorical interpretration. It is very interesting for English speakers to discover that the Alexandrian Church, not only pioneered the edition of the oldest codices, MS Unicials, but produced translations in the six Coptic dialects, since the third century. What amazed me was that even after the advent of Islam, the Bible was translated to Arabic since the eighth century, six hundred years before Wycliffe took on the task of the Bible English translation.The Bible in English:Old English translations began to appear in various dialects since the ninth century, and from there Princeton Professor of NT languages does provide a compelling study, informative and interesting of all versions of the English Bible ending with the NRSV, fifteen years ago. What makes his study of great value, is his comparative version reviews, bible quotations, and history of certain verses or narratives including the controversial passage of Isaiah on the virgin.

Bruce Metzger is to be commended for providing such an accessible history of the early Bible translations and a faily complete history of the English translations. This includes some very rare and obscure translations, now out of print such as the Noah Webster version and others. The book is (predictably) well written and quite engaging.

Mr. Metzger wrote a concise, but detailed history of translating the Bible into vernacular language for the common people in different lands and times. He informs you of the resistance and acceptance of new translations.

This is a great book on the history of Bible translation. Well organized and it gives you the important facts right away, without inserting too much fluff or a particular doctrinal view. I used it for my dissertation on Bible Translation and Gender in college and it helped a lot.