Textual retention in bible translations
Mar. 15th, 2010 12:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jsburbidgeA comment in a thread on Making Light raised the familiar point that much of the AV was derived from the earlier translations; which got me wondering. So I chose a pattern at semi-random (the first four verses of Hebrews, which form a moderately complex sentence in the original Greek) and took both earlier translations (Tyndale, Geneva) which fed into the AV as well as the RV and RSV which are revisions of it. (I've also thrown in the Catholic Douay-Rheims, which was a competitor with the AV but was heavily dependent on it.) I've bolded sequences of theree or more words which, spelling aside, is common to the text in question than the AV.
Tyndale:
God in tyme past diversly and many wayes spake vnto the fathers by Prophetes: but in these last dayes he hath spoken vnto vs by his sonne whom he hath made heyre of all thinges: by who also he made the worlde. Which sonne beynge the brightnes of his glory and very ymage of his substance bearinge vp all thinges with the worde of his power hath in his awne person pourged oure synnes and is sitten on the right honde of the maiestie an hye and is more excellent then the angels in as moche as he hath by inheritaunce obteyned an excellenter name then have they.
Geneva:
At sundry times and in divers manners God spake in the old time to our fathers by the Prophets, In these last days he hath spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath made heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds, Who being the brightness of the glory, and the engraved form of his person, and bearing up all things by his mighty word, hath by himself purged our sins, and sitteth at the right hand of the Majesty in the highest places, And is made so much more excellent than the Angels, in as much as he hath obtained a more excellent Name than they.
AV:
God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
Douay:
God, who, at sundry times and in divers manners, spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, last of all, In these days hath spoken to us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the world. Who being the brightness of his glory, and the figure of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, making purgation of sins, sitteth on the right hand of the majesty on high. Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath inherited a more excellent name than they.
RV:
God, having of old time spoken unto the fathers in the prophets by divers portions and in divers manners, hath at the end of these days spoken unto us in his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds; who being the effulgence of his glory, and the very image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had made purification of sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; having become by so much better than the angels, as he hath inherited a more excellent name than they.
RSV:
In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets; but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature, upholding the universe by his word of power. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has obtained is more excellent than theirs.
NRSV:
Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. He is the reflection of God's glory and the exact imprint of God's very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
There seem to be a few things to note:
1) The relation between the Geneva text and the AV text is not especially close -- the two share many phrases, enough to be clearly related, but differ enough to make it clear that one did not become the other by a light editorial once-over.
2) The most closely-related text would seem to be the Douay one.
3) The RV would seem to have modified the AV a bit more than the AV modified the Geneva.
4) The RSV and NRSV (which are extremely close in this passage) are both so distantly related to be in effect new translations. Most of the (few) shared textual sequences have been preserved since Tyndale.
5) Many of the minor changes in this text, unsurprisingly, seem to be concerned with straightening out the word order. The AV is probably closest to the Greek, preserving most of the subordination in the clause structures; the other translations (except for Douay) try to flatten things out to some degree into parallel clauses.
Tyndale:
God in tyme past diversly and many wayes spake vnto the fathers by Prophetes: but in these last dayes he hath spoken vnto vs by his sonne whom he hath made heyre of all thinges: by who also he made the worlde. Which sonne beynge the brightnes of his glory and very ymage of his substance bearinge vp all thinges with the worde of his power hath in his awne person pourged oure synnes and is sitten on the right honde of the maiestie an hye and is more excellent then the angels in as moche as he hath by inheritaunce obteyned an excellenter name then have they.
Geneva:
At sundry times and in divers manners God spake in the old time to our fathers by the Prophets, In these last days he hath spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath made heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds, Who being the brightness of the glory, and the engraved form of his person, and bearing up all things by his mighty word, hath by himself purged our sins, and sitteth at the right hand of the Majesty in the highest places, And is made so much more excellent than the Angels, in as much as he hath obtained a more excellent Name than they.
AV:
God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
Douay:
God, who, at sundry times and in divers manners, spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, last of all, In these days hath spoken to us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the world. Who being the brightness of his glory, and the figure of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, making purgation of sins, sitteth on the right hand of the majesty on high. Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath inherited a more excellent name than they.
RV:
God, having of old time spoken unto the fathers in the prophets by divers portions and in divers manners, hath at the end of these days spoken unto us in his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds; who being the effulgence of his glory, and the very image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had made purification of sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; having become by so much better than the angels, as he hath inherited a more excellent name than they.
RSV:
In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets; but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature, upholding the universe by his word of power. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has obtained is more excellent than theirs.
NRSV:
Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. He is the reflection of God's glory and the exact imprint of God's very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
There seem to be a few things to note:
1) The relation between the Geneva text and the AV text is not especially close -- the two share many phrases, enough to be clearly related, but differ enough to make it clear that one did not become the other by a light editorial once-over.
2) The most closely-related text would seem to be the Douay one.
3) The RV would seem to have modified the AV a bit more than the AV modified the Geneva.
4) The RSV and NRSV (which are extremely close in this passage) are both so distantly related to be in effect new translations. Most of the (few) shared textual sequences have been preserved since Tyndale.
5) Many of the minor changes in this text, unsurprisingly, seem to be concerned with straightening out the word order. The AV is probably closest to the Greek, preserving most of the subordination in the clause structures; the other translations (except for Douay) try to flatten things out to some degree into parallel clauses.
