Be Ready In Season and Out of Season Part 2
Wendyl made an interesting comment to my last post about 2 Timothy 4:2. You can read the post and comment here. To sum up, Wendyl is concerned about dumbing down the scriptures. I have a similar concern, particularly about difficult concepts and terms. There are some ideas that just cannot be simplified. I wrote a post about keeping the word “betrothed” because other translations like “engaged” do not appropriately capture the meaning. So, to an extent, I have the same worries that the meaning of the scriptures will be changed in an effort to make the text understandable. We need to learn the concepts and meanings of the scriptures.
However, that does not mean that we should intentionally make the scriptures difficult. Nor do commentaries or preachers exist to explain difficult English translations. Commentaries and preachers exist to help us dig deeper in the word of God. Even the NLT has a commentary, the Cornerstone Biblical Commentaries. Even preachers who teach from the TNIV, NLT, or some other modern translation still have jobs. Translators exist to take us from the original language to the English language, communicating the original language in a way that we can understand. Translation has no value if it does not make sense.
The same word translated “in season” in 2 Timothy 4:2 is used in Mark 14:11, which is commonly translated “opportune time.” It is not a theological term. It is means “opportune, convenient.” So “in season” is simply a traditional rendering and there are words that communicate the idea better.
I do not want the Bible dumbed down. It is silly to try to use only 150 words to translate the Bible. I think it is ridiculous to try to translate the Bible with words that do not exceed five letters. Don’t dumb the Bible down. But there is no reason to go out of our way to make an English translation difficult to read. If a term is hard, don’t dumb it down. But if a term is simple, don’t make it hard. I feel the phrase “in season and out of season” is taking a simple concept and making it harder than it needs to be.
Don't forget to browse Biblical Studies or Translations.
Your Thoughts
8 Comments so far8 Responses to “Be Ready In Season and Out of Season Part 2”
By submitting a comment here you grant Christian Monthly Standard a perpetual license to reproduce your words and name/web site in attribution. Inappropriate comments will be removed at our discretion.
Joel
April 2, 2009 at 10:25 am
I share the concern over scriptures being ” dumbed down.” I also see the need for translations at different knowledge and reading levels. In secular education system, they utilize school books which exactly what Bibles are. There are 1st grade math books and there are 12th grade math books. The various books are dependent on the skill level of the student. Bibles can be utilized the same way. If you give someone with minimal reading skills and no knowledge of Christianity a KJV (for example,) they will be lost simply because they do not understand the concepts or the 16th century language. The “simpler” translations do have their place especially among young people and new Christians. As one grows as a Christian, they should utilize  more complex translations. Also as a Christian grows they should develop an understanding of “word for word” and “idea for idea” concepts.  That is where having Brent as a teacher has been wonderful for me because of the excellent work he does in studying and teaching about the various translations. These are not concepts that you can simply pound into someone’s head as they “come out of the water.” Brent does an excellent job of studying the various translations and finding translations like the HCSB that are both readable for new Christians and as accurate as possible for those farther along. Brent still stresses using multiple translations wherever possible which is most important. For those of you who don’t live here, it would be worth the trip to come hear him teach especially in the class format. I have lived in several states and attended many congregations and Brent is among the best I have ever heard.Â
Joe
April 2, 2009 at 2:27 pm
For some, the Bible is supposed to be difficult to understand, we are not supposed to just read….and get it! I know this because 2 young girls(8yrs – 10yrs) in our kids class are reading from the KJV because they are not even to think about touching a new translation (or anything other than KJV I guess), because they make it too easy….what a shame. I don’t believe God intended for us to struggle to read basic sentences and understand what they mean.
Joel
April 2, 2009 at 5:17 pm
I truly realized the importance of translations when I briefly attended a congregation where they taught that if you read from a translation other than the KJV, you are going to hell. The congregation had 4 “elders” and a preacher. The “elders” taught the bible study classes. In these “classes, the elders read from the KJV and then translated what was being taught. No one was allowed to question the validity of the what the “elders” taught. That did not meet my definition of a congregation. I found it to be much closer to a cult was “excommunicated” during my second week of visitation for telling one of the “elders” that he was wrong. I found this to be odd since I hadn’t placed membership there. That experience sparked my interest in translations which is a subject I now find fascinating. When I first started attending WestPalmBeachChurchofChrist, it was like “Heaven” on earth given Brent’s extensive knowledge and teaching on Biblical Translations.
Joe, why are the class teachers making the children only use the KJV?  It seems to me that to teach basic Bible stories to children, a simple to read translation like the CEV would be much more effective. I would be afraid that teaching Children exclusively from the KJV would amount to teaching them  from a foreign language. Children aren’t going to attract their friends by saying “thees” and “thous” or “betwixt.” Personally, as a young person, I was turned off by the KJV because it “sounded funny.” Christ didn’t recruit the most educated people in the Roman world to spread his word. He recruited the poor, who spoke the most common of language that everyone could understand. That is a lesson we tend to forget sometimes. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t use the KJV. IN fact I think we should since it is very accurate but it needs to be used in conjunction with newer translations so that the meanings of the scriptures are understood.
Joe
April 2, 2009 at 5:54 pm
Well let me clarify, it is not the class teachers, it is the kids parents, grandparents who will not let them read from anything else. I was the class teacher last semester, and yes, it is like a foreign language to them!
Joel
April 2, 2009 at 9:13 pm
Joe, that is sad because reading from a translation that you understand makes the stories so much more real. Especially when dealing with young minds that are used to the visual medium of television and computers. It sounds like the parents and grandparents need to be educated about biblical translations as well. There was once not long ago when a very close family member of mine would only read out of the NASV or the KJV. Fortunately a move to a new congregation with an excellent teacher in regards to the various translations has opened previously closed minds in ways I never dreamed possible. That same teacher has opened my mind in many areas. That teacher strives as hard as any I encountered to find the truth rather than proving they are right. Doing so requires both a strong foundation in the truth and having a very open mind. That teacher has encouraged and inspired me to venture into areas spiritually that I had never considered before, such as blogging here on the CMS site as well as my own blog (“God and Country”)
Wendyl
April 2, 2009 at 9:17 pm
Guys, I didn’t mean to generate a little “firestorm” here. If someone reads “The Message” and is baptized into Christ, then that’s a wonderful, marvelous thing! My initial point in all this has to do with the direction publishers are taking with the actual inspired Words of the Scripture.
I don’t want to sound cynical or hard-nosed (I’m really not), but the publishers goal is to make money . . . not to save souls. They’re cranking out new Bibles, new versions, new translations all the time, each one claiming to be more “easy to read, modern, up-to-date, written for today’s times,” etc., with almost reckless abandon. Study bibles galore permeate the market with people just buying them to read the study notes . . . not the Word.
What I’ve seen happen time and time again, is that these new translations are put out so fast that within no time they’re having to “update” them because one of two reasons: 1) they didn’t get it right the first time, or 2) it’s another marketing ploy to make more money.
The ESV and the HCSB are classic examples of this. I’m thinking the ESV was first published in 2000-2001. Then in 2007 they came out with an ‘updated’ version . . . with over 350 changes in it! The HCSB has done basically the same thing. So, what are you going to do? Stick with the original which is not up-to-date or plunk down another $40 or $50 for a new one.
One more point and I’ll get off my little soapbox. Face it, people today have waaaaay too many choses when it comes to which Bible to purchase. Folks like us, who know an awful lot about the various Bibles, their differences, their nuances, their strong points and weak points . . . we don’t have a problem in deciding which Bible to use whether it be for study, devotions, preaching from the pulpit, whatever.
But, in all reality, most folks don’t realize that there are so many variances in all these different Bibles and they’re at the mercy of either the sales clerk who probably knows about as much as they do, or someone who’s adamant about a particular version and persuades them to buy it.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve sat in a classroom or am teaching when someone brings up a question about a passage that has generated confusion or “debate” because it reads different from someone else’s Bible. In all truth, I don’t think this should be happening.
It’s like Paul has told us in 1 Cor. 14:33: “God is not the author of confusion . . .” Well, He may not be, but we certainly are.
Joe
April 3, 2009 at 6:24 am
I agree with most if not all of what you say Wendyl.
The publishers need to stay in business. So money does come into play.
New translations do seem to be rushed a little, but I would prefer them to make the corrections and revisions necessary than just leave it. Most of these revisions seem to simply be related to English grammar. I know this because I have been doing a HCSB and HCSBse comparison of the NT.
I am not sure about the text causing the confusion or debates you have had in class, that may be a interesting topic, but in general I am OK with people asking questions if the goal is to better understand the Bible. If my Bible reads different, I want to know why. Perhaps there is a very good reason for it. This is a good opportunity to let people know about these variances.
Joel
April 3, 2009 at 7:05 am
Wendyl, while this is the first time speaking to you, I too  agree with you. Since no one else does it, we must police ourselves in that department. That is where the pen meets the translation. Since I haven’t found a perfect translation, my pen goes a long way toward adapting my translations in areas where they need improvement. I have seen some bibles where every verse has been underlined and or marked out. I don’t do so unless I hear another translation that really does a far better job on the text.  Wendyl, I didn’t think this was a firestorm.  Nobobdy was mad or yelling. We were just conversing and getting to know each other through a healthy dialogue. Isn’t that what blogs like this are all about. We’re learning about fellow Christians in other lands. I associate blog firestorms with arguments and there were none here. Instead you sparked a healthy conversation between fellow Christians and now I know you and Joe much better than this time yesterday,
Going back to your pint Wendyl, that is why we need teachers like you to set us sheep on the right path.