AN ACID TEST FOR BIBLE TRANSLATIONS

This could be hard to explain, but if you care about biblical texts for literary, historical, poetic, religious or any other reasons, I think it is very important.

About six or seven years ago I became aware of what can only be called a conspiracy, to water down the language of the Scriptures, thereby making their words less offensive to governments and to wealthy, powerful elites. At the time, I had other fish to fry, and so said little about it, except for a Facebook Note, "The Book of Psalms and its Various Translations," and later another, "Where is Mercy?" They are reproduced in relatively recent entries in this blog.

What I found out, back in those days, was that I had half a dozen modern translations of the Bible into English that were victims of this "spinning" of scriptural meanings. I got rid of all of them.

Fortunately, there is an easy way to determine whether the translation that you use has been affected by this modern tendency to willful mistranslation to satisfy an agenda. I call it "the acid test."

If the translation you use was produced by Protestants, who use the Masoretic numbering of the Psalms (or if it is a JPS Tanakh), go to Psalm 18. If your translation was produced by Catholics, it will will probably use the LXX/Vulgate numbering, in which case it will be Psalm 17. In either case, go to the last verse of the psalm, which will be either 50 or 51, depending on the numbering.

Our earliest sources for this psalm are in Hebrew and in Greek. If your translation includes a phrase such as "and shows mercy to his anointed," then it MAY be a good translation; if it says "and shows steadfast love to his anointed," then it has DEFINITELY been affected by the conspiracy mentioned above, and I would not use it. The word used in Hebrew is "chesed" which means, and has always meant, "mercy." The word used in Greek is "'éleos," which means "pity, mercy." The three Latin translations that I use (one based on the Greek, and two based on the Hebrew) all translate the word as "misericordia," which means "mercy."

If that example of the "acid test" is too complicated, here is a simpler one. Go to Proverbs 3.3. If it says something to the effect of "let not mercy and truth abandon you," or "let not mercy and truth be far from you," then you MAY have a good translation. But if it says "let not steadfast love and fidelity ..." then you DEFINITELY have a translation that has been a victim of the above-mentioned conspiracy to "soften" and "spin" meanings according to an agenda.

Why does it matter? Well, here's an example. If modern Israelis are to follow the advice of Proverbs 3.3, then their relations with the Palestinians should be characterized by "mercy and truth," which, it seems clear to me, they are not. "Mercy" is an accountable word that is generally tied to actions. "Truth" is also pretty accountable, since something is either true or it is false. But "steadfast love" is vague, unaccountable, relativistic, and tied to nothing. In concrete terms, it does not commit to any particular type of behavior, or any behavior at all. The same can be said of "fidelity," which is vaguer and more relative than "truth." In other words, it's a weasel word. By the way, the words used in Hebrew are "chesed" (mercy), and "emet" (truth). I've known those meanings for more than fifty years, and they are the meanings that they've always had. Saint Jerome knew them in 400 CE, and the translators of the Septuagint knew them in 200 BCE. Why change them now, except to assuage some people's consciences and let them weasel their way out of doing what is just (and merciful and truthful).

I'm not a fundamentalist. In fact, I'm not even a Christian or a Jew. I'm a poet and a translator, and words matter to me. I hope they matter to you, too.

et mansuetudo tua multiplicavit me

The meaning of the words of the title of this entry mean "and your gentleness made me strong." The quotation is from Psalm 17 (18) [for an explanation of the dual numbering, see my translation of Psalm 9], verse 36 (35). But you have probably never seen these words before. The NRSV gives "and thy help made me great." The traditional translation in the Vulgate is "et disciplina tua correxit me in finem," which means "and thy discipline corrected me to the end." A literal translation of the Greek of the Septuagint is "and your instruction set me straight completely."

Why these differences? The simple answer is: because no one is sure about the meaning of the Hebrew. This was also the case in 400 CE, when Jerome did his translations for the Vulgate, and in the second century BCE, when the "seventy" translators of the Septuagint did their work. The scholars who translated the Septuagint (Hebrew Bible into Greek) presumably had better texts to work with than we do, but the problem already existed, along with many others. This is not too hard to understand. There were many misreadings with consequent copying errors, and they were writing without vowels.

The problem of defective writing of the manuscripts explains a lot, but there's more. When Jerome presented his translations to the Pope, he provided dual translations of a single book: the Psalms. One translation was based on the Greek of the Septuagint (LXX), and the other was based on the Hebrew text of his day (which, by the way, was very similar to the Masoretic text that we use now). The Pope opted for the more familiar text, based on the LXX, which then became part of the Latin of the Vulgate. My edition of the Vulgate, though, includes both texts. The title of this blog entry is a quotation from Jerome's Hebrew-based translation.

The Pope's decision was not too bad, considering that Greek was much better understood in the West than Hebrew, and also considering that the LXX was based on earlier Hebrew texts, which were clearly in better condition (sometimes whole verses are missing from the Masoretic text) than the Hebrew texts extant in Jerome's time, or in ours.

For many years I preferred the Psalms based on the LXX, because of their familiarity, use in the Mass, and so on. I thought of the other text as a mere curiosity.

At the present time I am translating Psalm 17 (18). It's quite long, and I'm about two-thirds of the way through. Translating this long psalm has been a wonderful test case where various translations are concerned. It has shown me that, already in Jerome's time, there was institutional bias to go along with the institutional "softening" that I've mentioned previously. When faced with a choice between something like "discipline," and something like "gentleness," the institutional Church, already an ally or agent of the Roman government, would invariably choose the harsher, the more negative, the less good. This trend has continued into modern times, and can explain the suppression of the word "mercy" in modern translations, among other examples (which I've also written about previously).

Another thing that I've learned in the course of this exercise is that the very best translation I've found of the Psalms into a modern language is in the French "Version Synodale," which goes back to 1910 and before. I had already decided some years ago that it was the most beautiful Bible translation that I had found. Now, it turns out to be also one of the most accurate. It is better than any translation in English that I've found. Why not just translate the Synodale into English? Well, it is tempting, and I'd do it if it were not for one thing: in some places it is a little loose for my comfort.

Bottles on the Beach

Bottles on the beach.
No notes.
Same message.

Just A Dream, Of Course

I had a dream last night
in which Dad had a new car.
I might not recognize him
in it, he said,
because it was a slightly
lighter color.
He gave me a key to it,
too, but why?
I handed the bottle
of celebration wine
to Mom, who looked
as young as in my
childhood, but a little
different.
This will be complicated,
because I have to move
my car before he
can bring his home.
I found his old car,
from the 1920s,
parked in front of
my boyhood home.
I got in, but it didn't respond
to the controls.
His new car
may become mine
after I dispose of
the one I have.
The bonds of family
go back very far.

A POLITICAL ACT

Just as the willful, tendentious censoring of the Psalms (and other books of the Bible) since 1945 has been a political act, so also will be the restoration of its original meanings in a new translation. I'll do my best to restore the strength and vigor of the earliest texts. I'll not care if, in the process, their offensiveness to the wealthy and to those in power is also restored. In this new translation of a book that people may be expected to turn to in troubling times, "mercy" will still be "mercy," and I'll never spin it into the vaguer and less visible, less accountable "steadfast love." "Truth" will still be "truth," the opposite of falsity and falsehood, and I'll never drain the blood out of it or minimize it by turning it into "fidelity." The poor, once "set on fire" because of the arrogance of the wealthy, but in recent translations only "vexed," will have the injustices done to them reported less abstractly and more honestly. In these and in countless other ways, this new and honest translation of the venerable Psalms will indeed be a very political act.

 It was never more needed than it is today.

PSALM 16 (17)

Hear a just cause, O Lord,
be attentive to my cry.

Give ear to my prayer,
it comes from lips that
are without fraud.

May my judgment issue forth
from your presence,
may your eyes see
my integrity.

You have tried my heart,
You have visited by night
and tested me,
and in me was found
no iniquity.

That my mouth might not speak
of the deeds of humans,
due to words
from your lips,
I kept to
difficult ways,.
Restore my steps
to your paths,
that my feet
may not falter.

I have invoked You
that ou might hear me,
O God,
incline your ear
to me,
and hear
my words.

Make your mercy
marvelous,
You who save
those who hope in You
from those who resist
your right hand.

Guard me as the
pupil of your eye,
protect me
in the shade
of your wings
from the wicked who
have afflicted me.

The enemies of my soul
have surrounded me,
closing ranks with their bulk
and their bragging mouths,
they have taunted me,
advancing against me
they surround me,
their eyes set on
throwing me to the ground.

They are like a lion
ready to attack,
like the lion cub
who waits in hiding.

Rise up, O Lord,
meet and overthrow them,
save my soul
from the wicked
by your sword,
by your hand
from these men
of the world,
whose only happiness
is in this world,
whose stomach You have filled
with your treasure,
so that their sons are
satiated and they
have sent the rest
to their infants.

But I shall appear
in justice
before your sight,
I shall be filled
with the appearance
of your glory.

Translation © 2017 by Donald C. Traxler

NATURE'S POETRY

PSALM 15 (16)

Protect me, O Lord,
because I have hoped in you.

I said to the Lord
You are my Lord
because I have no
welfare apart from You.

As for the holy ones who are
on his earth,
he made wondrous
all his will
in them.

Infirmities are multiplied
for those who run after
other gods.

I shall not offer
their libations of blood
nor place their names
upon my lips.

The Lord is my portion of inheritance
and my cup.
It is You who
restore my inheritance
to me.

Boundary lines dropped for me
in the most excellent places
and therefore my inheritance
is most special  to me.

I shall bless the Lord
who has given me
understanding,
and by night
my heart
gives me instruction.

I shall keep the Lord
always in my sight,
for with Him at my
right hand,
I shall not
be shaken.

Because of this,
my heart rejoices
and my tongue exults,
and my body shall
live in hope,
for You will not
abandon my soul
to hell,
or let your devoted one
see corruption.

You have made known to me
the path of life.

You have filled me with joy
with your presence,
in your right hand
are delights
forever.

Translation copyright © 2017 by Donald C. Traxler

Why Another Translation of the Book of Psalms?

The main reason we need another translation of the Book of Psalms is to eliminate many mistranslations (often willful ones, it appears) and faults (e.g. missing verses) that have accrued over the past four hundred years. Are the latest translations the best? Quite the contrary, and in fact they represent a tendentious watering-down of the original texts.

I know that I've made quite a claim in the above paragraph, but I'm prepared to back it up with examples. In fact, I've already done so in a recent blog entry entitled "The Book of Psalms and its Various Translations," which is also available (and has been since 2011) as a Facebook Note. I provided more evidence in another recent blog entry entitled "Where is Mercy?" Please read both of them if you are interested in seeing and evaluating the evidence.

I know it sounds harsh, but I believe the last honest English translation was the KJV (1608). Unfortunately, its beautiful English is now about as well understood by most people as that of Shakespeare, which is to say somewhat poorly.

The KJV claimed to be based on the "original Hebrew," which unfortunately was not extant then, nor is it now. What was used was the Masoretic Hebrew, which includes many incorrect readings (usually noted in the text) and some actual omissions, even of whole verses.

The Masoretes did most of their work between 400 and 600 CE. They did a splendid job overall, but were afraid to change "a jot or a tittle" of the text that they had before them. Fortunately, the entire Hebrew Bible had already been translated into Greek in Alexandria in about 200 BCE. That work is traditionally said to have been done by seventy scholars, hence its name "Septuagint," abbreviated as "LXX."

In about 400 CE, Saint Jerome produced his Latin translation of the entire Bible, which came to be known as the "Vulgata," or "Vulgate," since Latin was the common language of the time. In the case of the Book of Psalms, he gave us not one, but two translations: one that was based on the Greek of the LXX, and another that was based on a Hebrew text very similar to the Masoretic Text that we have today. These are, in my opinion, the best texts available in a language with which I am well familiar.

Although I can read Greek and Hebrew (with a lot of recourse to a dictionary), it is far easier for me to translate from Jerome's Latin. This, then, has become my settled methodology, and I consult directly with the LXX Greek and the Masoretic Hebrew in cases of doubt.

What I have found is that since about 1945, in Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish translations, there has been a movement toward "softened" meanings that are less accusatory toward the wealthy and less offensive to those in power. A passage that says that the poor man is "set on fire," now says that he "is vexed." "Mercy" is now translated as "steadfast love," and "truth" is now only "fidelity," to cite just a few examples. "Peace" is now the more abstract "wholeness."

My translations will not participate in this obscurantist spinning and textual manipulation. There will be room in them for "mercy," for "truth," and for "peace." Where the Masoretic text is defective, the missing words will be supplied from the Greek translation, which is more than five hundred years older and based on a better Hebrew text that is no longer extant. Words will have their real meanings.

Yesterday brought a new single-day record for visits to the poetry blog: 258 visits. You all can rest easy, though: the psalm flood is now over, at least for the time being. The first 15 psalms have now been entered to the blog, and that's all I have translated so far. That was basically done in one intense month in 2015. I've now translated 10% of the total, so I should be able to have them all done in nine more months. Phase Two of the project starts now. The goal is to have a first draft ready by February 1 2018.

PSALM 14 (15)

Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent,
who shall dwell on your holy mountain?

They who walk immaculately and do justice,
who speak truth in their hearts,
and have no slander on their tongues;
who do no evil to their friends
nor take up reproach against their neighbors;
who despise reprobates,
but honor those who fear the Lord;
who stand by their oaths and do not renege,
who do not lend money at interest,
nor accept bribes against the innocent.

Those who do these things
shall not be moved forever.

Translation © 2015 by Donald C. Traxler

PSALM 13 (14)

The fool says in his heart:
"There is no God."
They are corrupt,
their actions abominable,
there is none who does good.

The Lord looks down from heaven
upon the sons of men,
to see whether there is anyone
who understands and seeks God.
All have turned aside and are depraved.
There is no one who does good,
not even one.
Will they never learn,
those who do injustice,
who devour my people
as they would bread,
and do not call upon the Lord?

There they will tremble with fear,
for God is with a righteous generation.

You confound the plans of the poor,
but the Lord is their refuge.

May the deliverance of Israel come out from Zion!

When the Lord overturns the captivity of his people,
Jacob will exult, and Israel will rejoice.

Translation © 2015 by Donald C. Traxler

PSALM 12 (13)

How long, O Lord, will you completely forget me?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long will I bear pain in my soul,
and grief every day in my heart?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?
Look at me, answer me, O Lord, my God!

Give light to my eyes, lest I sleep unto death,
and my enemy say "I have prevailed over him,"
and my foes rejoice when I have been shaken.

But I have trusted in your mercy,
my heart will rejoice in your deliverance.
I will sing to the Lord, who has been good to me.

Translation © 2015 by Donald C. Traxler

PSALM 8

O Lord, our Lord,
how great is your name
throughout the earth,
you who have spread
your majesty
above the heavens.

Out of the mouths of infants
and nursing babies, you
have prepared songs of praise
against your enemies,
that all foes be put down.

When I look at the heavens,
the work of your hands,
the moon and stars
that you established,
what is man, that you
remember him,
or the son of man,
that you care for him?

You have made him
a little less
than the angels,
with honor and glory
you have crowned him.
You have given him power
over the works of your hands,
you have laid all things
under his feet:
all sheep and cattle,
and all beasts of the field,
the birds of the sky
and the fish of the sea:
whatever travels
the paths of the seas.

O Lord, our Lord,
how great is your name
through all the earth!

Translation © 2015 by Donald C. Traxler

PSALM 7

I take refuge in you,
O Lord my God,
save me from all those
who persecute me,
liberate me,
lest they seize me
as would a lion,
tearing me apart,
with no one
to rescue me.

O Lord my God,
if I did this,
if there is injustice
on my hands,
if I repaid my friend
with evil, then may I
be ineffective against
my foes, and may they
overtake me, trample
my life to the ground,
and lay my honor
in the dust.

Rise up in your wrath,
O Lord, stand against
the fury of my oppressors.
Stand up for me in the
judgment you've decreed,
let the assembly of nations
surround you, and you sit
on high above them.
The Lord is the judge
of the peoples.
Judge me, O Lord,
according to my justice,
according to the innocence
that is in me.

Let the evil of sinners end,
and confirm the righteous,
you who inspect
hearts and minds,
O righteous God.

My shield is God
who saves the upright
in heart.
God is a just judge
who rages every day.
If one does not turn back,
he will sharpen his sword,
bend his bow,
and aim it.
He will prepare
missiles of death,
his arrows fiery shafts.

Behold, the wicked one
conceives injustice,
is pregnant with evil,
and brings forth deceit.
He has dug a pit, but
he has fallen into it.
His malice falls back
on his own head,
his violence returns
there too.

But I will praise the Lord
on account of his justice,
and will make music
to the name
of the most high Lord.

Translation © 2015 by Donald C. Traxler

PSALM 6

Do not rebuke me,
O Lord,
in your anger,
or sweep me away
in your fury.
Have mercy on me,
O Lord,
for I am weak.
Heal me, O Lord,
for my bones are troubled
and my soul is sorely
distressed.
But you, O Lord--
how long?

Turn to me, O Lord,
snatch up my soul,
save me in your mercy,
for who remembers you
in death,
or praises you
in Sheol?

Nightly I water
my bed with my weeping,
I drench the bedclothes
with my tears.
My eyes are dark
from bitterness,
aged by my enemies.

Away from me
all who work injustice,
for the Lord has heard
the sound of my weeping.
The Lord has heard
my petition,
The Lord has accepted
my prayer.
May my enemies blush
and be much disturbed,
quickly retreating
in their shame.

Translation © 2015 by Donald C. Traxler

PSALM 5

Hear my words, O Lord,
give heed to my cry,
hear the sound of my prayer,
my King and my God,
for it is to you
that I pray.

In the morning you hear
my voice, O Lord,
at daybreak I plead
my case, and wait.

For you are not a God
who is pleased by iniquity,
nor can evildoers
dwell with you,
nor the impious
stand in your sight.
You have hated all
who practice injustice,
you doom those who lie.
The Lord abhors
the bloodthirsty and
the deceitful.

But I, by your great grace,
will enter your house,
I will prostrate myself
toward your holy temple,
in awe of you, O Lord.
Lead me in your righteousness
because of my enemies,
and make straight your way
before me.

For in the mouth of these
there is no sincerity,
their heart is full of malice,
their throat is an open grave,
with their tongue they practice deceit.

Punish them O God,
let them fall by their own counsels.
Drive them out for their many crimes,
for against you
they have rebelled.

But let all those rejoice
who take refuge in you,
may they be forever joyful.
Protect and give joy
to those who love
your name.
For you bless the just, O Lord,
you surround them
with your favor
like a shield.

Translation © 2015 by Donald C. Traxler

PSALM 4

Hear me when I call upon you,
O God of my vindication,
who supported me
in my anguish.
Have mercy on me
and hear my prayer.

People, how long
will you be foolish?
Why do you love vanity
and follow lies?

But know that the Lord
distinguishes his
devout ones.
The Lord will hear me
when I call upon him.

Tremble, and do not sin,
ponder it in your hearts,
in your beds,
and be silent.
Make offerings
of righteousness,
and trust
in the Lord.

There are many who say,
"Who will show us good things?"
Raise over us the light
of your face, O Lord!
You have given more joy
to my heart
than abundance
of grain and wine.

In peace I will lie down
and sleep,
for you, O Lord,
have made me safe.

Translation © 2015 by Donald C. Traxler

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PSALM 3

O Lord, how many they are
who oppress me!
Many rise up
against me.

Many say of me,
"there is no salvation
for him in God."
But you, O Lord,
are my shield,
my glory,
he who lifts
my head high.

My voice cried out
to the Lord,
and he answered me
from his holy mountain.
I lay down, and slept.
I rose again,
for the Lord supports me.
I shall not fear
the myriads of people
arrayed against me.

Rise up, O Lord!
Save me, my God!
For you have struck
the cheek of every
adversary, and broken
the teeth of sinners.

Salvation is the Lord's.
May your blessing
be upon
your people.

Translation © 2015 by Donald C. Traxler