Page 47 - Bible Doctrine Survey I- Student Textbook

“I know the team is trying hard but I fear the writing is on the wall for this season.”
Origin: Daniel 5 – in this passage, handwriting appears on a wall during the King’s feast, and
Daniel’s interpretation of the writing (correctly) predicts the King’s demise.

This brings us to the great debate on how to translate the Bible

The debate is over dynamic vs. formal equivalency.

Formal equivalency is the method of translating that gives as literal a translation as possible. This
perspective seeks a word-for-word translation from one language to another.

An example of formal equivalency: If a Hebrew or Greek word means “to run” then literal translators
rend the word “run” in the target language instead of shuffle, amble, move, skip, prance, or stroll,
because none of these verbs convey the most literal sense of running.

Dynamic equivalency seeks to translate the meaning from one language to another, even if this involves
sacrificing a word-for-word translation in the process.

An example of dynamics equivalency: The German sentence, “Wie Heissen Sie?” (How are you called?)
is better translated in English, “What’s your name?” Even though it is not translated word for word, the
meaning is clearer when translated culturally as the target language expresses the same thought.

Quickly look through the four gospels and you will find that every fourth or fifth sentence begins with
the word, AND. The authors of the Bible wrote very long sentences. For example, Eph 1:3-14 is really
one sentence in the Greek New Testament, comprised of 270 words. A sentence is supposed to be able
to be read in one breath, but here is no way to read this passage in one breath! You can tell how literal
a translation is (formal equivalence) by looking at this passage and counting the sentences of your
translation. Here is the passage:

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual
blessing in the heavenly places in Christ: 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blemish before him in love: 5 having foreordained us unto adoption
as sons through Jesus Christ unto himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 to the praise of the
glory of his grace, which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved: 7 in whom we have our redemption
through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he
made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 making known unto us the mystery of his will,
according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him 10 unto a dispensation of the fulness of the
times, to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens, and the things upon the earth; in him, I
say, 11 in whom also we were made a heritage, having been foreordained according to the purpose of
him who worketh all things after the counsel of his will; 12 to the end that we should be unto the praise
of his glory, we who had before hoped in Christ: 13 in whom ye also, having heard the word of the truth,
the gospel of your salvation,-- in whom, having also believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of
promise, 14 which is an earnest of our inheritance, unto the redemption of God’s own possession, unto
the praise of his glory.

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