Ethics in Bible Translation: A View From an Old Testament Text Critic

Most Christians learn that their Old Testament is translated from Hebrew. This assumption, particularly in the west, goes back at the earliest to Jerome of Stridon (d. 420 AD). But does this understanding reflect reality, especially today? Using Jerome’s policy of veritas Hebraica as a heuristic device, I will review samples of Vulgate Job to show that despite his claim to the contrary, he did in fact regularly “translate” the Hebrew by cribbing the ancient versions. This phenomenon, however, is not an isolated incident; modern translations do this as well, often without informing (or adequately informing) the reader. As a result, I suggest that the only “honest” way of translating the Bible would be a liberal use of translators’ notes, if possible following an annotation tradition akin to that which the NET Bible has taken up. I further posit, based on my own experience, that because partner communities are increasingly interested in textual-criticism, text-critical education should form some meaningful part of partner-translator training. Ultimately, including this type of training will provide greater benefits for partner communities moving Bible translation forward and leading to more robust scriptural engagement.