The Holy New Covenant
Foreword by the
Galilee Translation Project Team
Every
new generation deserves a new translation of the Bible, for many words
change in meaning as time moves on. Communication is a problem for
all ages and all cultures, a problem for all peoples in all times.
Certainly, the problem of communicating biblical truth is ever with us.
This becomes increasingly apparent in a century that has seen the good
news of Jesus taken to all parts of the globe. Certainly, Bible
translators have wrestled with the problem of whether to translate word
for word the literal meaning of the earliest Bible texts into English,
Japanese, Chinese, Arabic and other languages, or to attempt to
translate the concept/idea expressed in the words. Many
translators have taken a path that was religiously and politically safe
-- they transliterated certain words rather than translate the meaning.
This is indeed true of words such as baptism, grace and love.
Another problem is choosing the word that most closely translates the
original concept into the target language. In translating from a
very precise language into a language that lacks the same precision of
expression, there arises the problem of exactness in translation.
There is a sense in which no translation is as exact as the original
language. Jesus alludes to the problem of new commandments and old
entrenched religious attitudes in speaking of new wine and old wineskins
-- both will be lost or destroyed should new wine be put into old
wineskins. Hence, many translators have chosen to preserve the old
wineskins rather than accept the new wine. Sometimes man has
chosen the safer path of using a word that is overworked or not as
straightforward in meaning so as to prevent retaliation from established
church dogma. Sometimes his own lack of understanding has
prevented correct translation. This is why we have translated
love, the love Jesus Christ commanded, as: "give yourself to others, for
their good, expecting nothing in return."
This translation of the New Covenant is an attempt by its translators to
define one of the most important words in any language.
Undoubtedly, the attempt will fall short in some aspects -- language is
not as precise as mathematics. But because of the weight of the
doctrine connected with this translation problem, we must attempt to
understand the Lord's meaning when He commanded us to love. Many
things that one must do or say for the first time seem awkward or
clumsy. However, the more we practice or repeat them, the more
natural they become. All translations have the message of God, so
why create another translation? To make it easier to meet needs of
present young people and others to discover for themselves the unique
words. We realize how feeble are all of our attempts, especially
in our own language, to communicate biblical truth to others. For
this attempt to communicate the greatest of all commandments to men is
the most important thing that we can do. And we must communicate
it in such a way that the listener or reader can put into action that
which the Lord has commanded. May God bless you as you read this
New Covenant, and may He give you strength to carry out His commandment,
once you have understood it.
|