The Art of Bible Translation

As I think back on the books I read this year, this one stands out most clearly in my mind. Alter's premise is simple: English translations of the Bible are bad, not because they are inaccurate, but because they owe too much to various theological traditions (Protestant? But what kind? Methodist? Baptist? But what kind of baptist?); furthermore, while the King James Bible might be the peak of English literature, and while it might be the best we have it's nevertheless an abysmal translation of the bible. So what's the solution? We have to change gears and start seeing the Bible for what it is: a literary text with styles, genres, motifs, and wordplay. We have to move beyond our theological ideas and accept the text; if you're religious and a more accurate (see: literary) translation of the Bible butchers your theology, then your theology wasn't in the Bible to begin with.

Now, Alter is writing primarily from the standpoint of the Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament), but everything he says is largely true of parts of the New Testament as well (namely the Gospels-Acts, and Revelation). When a piece of the Bible is being translated, the translator would do well to think about how it sounds in the original language and to try and replicate that as best they can in English. This means (1) don't try to clarify an unclear text, (2) when the grammar doesn't make sense, let it not make sense, (3) rhyme and sound and rhythm are more important than meaning, (4) stop interpreting for the reader and just start translating.

That last point is really the kicker: our Bibles do the heavy lifting for the reader, trying to tell them what a text means by the way they translate it. It's bad. And it's also (to an extent) unavoidable. But it's something to be aware of and to push back against.

Finally, Alter's translation of the Hebrew Bible (a separate volume from this one) is absolutely stunning and should be checked out. His translations of Genesis, Job, and Esther are incredible works.