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Gospel
Christ
Tradition
Matthew
Mark
Luke
John
Interpretation
From ‘Notes on the Formation of the Gospels’,
by John Wijngaards;
published in Background to the Gospels
(Bangalore & Ann Arbor 1981)
and Together in My Name (London
1991).
Christ preached in Aramaic, the language of the Jews in Palestine. The
early apostolic traditions were first formulated in that language. Matthew's
gospel too, or the collection of sayings on which it is based, was originally
written in Aramaic. But as the Christian community spread over the then known
world, Greek soon took over as the language of communication.
Aramaic was only known to the Jews, whereas Greek could be understood by
everybody. Greek was the 'lngua franca’for all educated classes,
for business and trade, for politics and culture at the time. Thus we find that
all the books of the New Testament were eventually composed in Greek.
From the third century onwards Latin became more important than Greek as
language of communication in the countries of the Graeco-Roman Empire. Various
Latin translations of the Gospel were made. In 383 A.D. St. Jerome was
commissioned by Pope Damasus to revise these translations. His work, the
socalled Vulgate (literally: ‘widespread’), became the
standard Latin translation, which was in use until the Second Vatican Council
(1963-65) as the gospel text for Latin Masses in the Catholic Church.
At the same time, right from the beginning, Sacred Scripture was
translated into the languages spoken by nations that had embraced Christianity.
At present, Gospel translations exist in more than 1,200 languages of the
world. As such it ranks as the book that has the widest circulation in the
whole world. A special word of praise should go to the Protestant Bible
Societies which have contributed very much to spreading the Bible text to all
continents.
Of course, it will not do to have only one translation in a living
language. We need translations for the learned, for children, for use in Church
and for devotional use. Moreover, the language we speak changes with the course
of time. New translations are, therefore, essential from time to time.
If we take ENGLISH as an example, there have been more than 250
independent translations of the Gospels into English. Some of these
translations are outdated, but many of them are still being used.
It may be useful to discuss some of the translations in English which we
are sure to come across.
-
The REVISED STANDARD Version: This version comes as the
conclusion of a long history. In 1611 the Anglican Church brought out an
English translation which is known as the King James Bible or the Authorised
Version. For many centuries it remained the principal version in the Protestant
Churches, and even today it is still in wide circulation. The Gideon Bible uses
this version.
In 1870 the beginning was made of a revision of this Authorised
Version. It went through many stages, but eventually received a definite shape
and was widelLy accepted as the Revised Standard Version. Some Catholic
scholars went through the text and prepared an edition for Catholics, which is
now known as the Catholic Revised Standard Version (1966). This version has the
good quality of being exceptionally faithful to the original diction of the
inspired books. It is, therefore, well suited for professional students of
Scripture. But its tendency to give literalistic translations makes it less
readable for the ordinary faithful.
Example: “You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has
lost its taste, how shall its saltness be restored? It is no longer good for
anything except to be thrown out and trodden underfoot by men”. (Mt
5:13)
-
The RHEIMS-DOUAY Version, by English scholars, which mainly
follows the Vulgate. The first edition appeared in 1582 A.D., but many
revisions have been made since then. It was widely used by Catholics in
England. The translation has its own beauty, but it is outdated on account of
its antiquated language and because it does not incorporate the findings of
modern scholarship.
Example: “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt
lose its savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is good for nothing anymore
but to be cast out and to be trodden on by men”. (Mt 5:13)
-
The KNOX Version. In 1945 Mgr. Ronald Knox published a new
translation which he had made at the request of the English hierarchy. Being a
great scholar and writer of English, the translation possesses a majestic style
of speech. Though of outstanding merit for people who know English very well,
those not acquainted with English literature would find it difficult to
understand.
Example: “You are the salt of the~earth; if salt loses
its taste, what is there left to give taste to it? There is no more to done
with it but throw it out of doors for men to tread it be under
foot”. (Mt. 5:13)
-
The CONFRATERNITY edition: a new translation made by American
scholars and approved by the hierarchy in 1941. (quite accurate, simple and
expressive.
Example: “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt
loses its strength, what shall it be salted with? It is no longer of any use
but to be throwm out and trodden underfoot by men”. (Mt
5:13)
-
The KLEIST Version: A translation produced by Father James A.
Kleist in the United States. It is highly praised for being both faithful to
the original and yet very expressive in modern English.
Example: “You are salt of the earth. But suppose salt
should lose its savour, what is there to restore its nature? It is no longer
good for anything except to be thrown out of doors and trampled upon by
passers-by!” (Mt 5:13)
-
The JERUSALEM Bible: Following the example of the scholarly
edition of the French Dominicans in Jerusalem (1955), English Catholic scholars
produced a very fine, new version.
Example: “You are the salt of the earth. But if salt
becomes tasteless what can make it salty again? It is good for nothing, and can
only be thrown out to be trampled underfoot by men”. (Mt
5:13)
-
TODAY'S ENGLISH Version: The American Bible Society
experienced the need of an English translation which would be both very
accurate and at the same time extremely clear and easy to read. Dr. Robert G.
Bratcher and other scholars achieved this in ‘Today's English
Version’. Since its appearance in 1966 it has sold millions of copies all
over the world. The translation is very well suited to those for whom English
is not the mother tongue, but who have learned English as a second language. It
has been approved for Catholic usage.
Example: “You are like salt for the earth. If the salt
loses its taste, here is no way to make it salty again. It has become
worthless, and so it is thrown away where people walk on it.”. (Mt
5:13)
-
The NEW ENGLISH BIBLE (Protestant, 1961) and the
NEWAMERICAN BIBLE (Catholic, 1970) may also be recommended for accuracy
and readability.
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