Thursday 6 January 2011

radio and the Bible

Last Sunday, I spent the morning in bed tuned in to radio4 and for the first time in many, many years I listened to The Archers. I remembering listening to it when I was very little sitting on my Daddy's lap because I was scared of the voice of Walter Gabriel. However, listening to the omnibus edition didn't get me hooked enough to want to listen to the much hyped 60 years special.
However, on Monday, I was hooked when listening to 'The Story of the King James Bible'! So each morning having eaten my porridge, I went back to bed and listened on the following two mornings.
I must admit that although I knew that the Authorised Version (AV) was not entirely accurate, I had no idea that it was translated to 'big-up' royalty.
Over the years I have acquired many translations - I was teased at college because I used the 'Noddy' version (Good News) for my daily use, although I used the Revised English Bible for my college work.
I never liked the NIV, I found it dry, but it seems to have become the translation of choice for many churches. For my personal use I now prefer the New Living Translation, finding it very easy to read out loud - although that was one of the thoughts in the minds of the translators of the AV, and I use the  New Revised Standard Version to prepare my sermons.
The Message translates some well known passages in the bible that fill it with new life but it fails in Romans 16:7 giving Junia a sort of masculine name - Junius - translated by yet another man not able to contemplate that Paul would refer to a woman as an apostle!
My Tyndale New Testament translated in 1526 is OK! It seems it is since then that women have been demoted!

2 comments:

  1. You might like to check out The Power And The Glory, which gives an interesting perspective on the production of the KJV.
    [http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2004/apr/24/featuresreviews.guardianreview26]

    I too have been riveted by the Radio 4 progs on it this week [and also, being a lifetime fan, the Archers as well!] Happy New Year

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  2. I particularly like the new translation of the NT by Nicholas King.

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