This is great literature and great religious literature,
this collection of ancient writings we call the Bible, and any
translator has a deep sense of responsibility as he undertakes
to transmit it to modern readers. He desires his transcript to
be faithful to the meaning of the original, so far as he can
reach that meaning, and also to do some justice to its literary
qualities. But he is well aware that his aim often exceeds his
grasp. Translation may be a fascinating task, yet no
discipline is more humbling. You may be translating oracles,
but soon you learn the risk and folly of posing as an oracle
yourself. If your readers are dissatisfied at any point, they
may be sure that the translator is still more dissatisfied, if
not there, then elsewhere -- all the more so, because, in the
nature of the case, he has always to appear dogmatic in print.
James Moffatt (1870-1944)
tags: Bible Bible × Inspiration Of Scripture Inspiration Of Scripture ×