All Translation is Supple

Bill Mounce has an interesting post on conflicting translational practices in the ESV’s rendering of Rom 2:27, 29. The same word (γραμματος) is translated differently (“written code” and “letter”) in the two verses. Folks wonder why this is so, and Mounce give a rundown on the thought processes behind a biblical translator. What this ends up showing is just how squishy supple Bible translations really are.  He ends his post with a warning against armchair quarterbacking:

When someone says that a translation is “wrong” and that the translators “should” have done it another way, in most cases (in my experience) this comes out of a lack of respect to the complexities of translation and a lack of knowledge of all the procedures being followed by a translation committee.

An interesting post, even if it is about the Jesus festschrift.