NLT Preface (1996)

The translators have made a conscious effort to provide a text that can be easily understood by the average reader of modem English. To this end, we have used the vocabulary and language structures commonly used by the average person. The result is a translation of the Scriptures written generally at the reading level of a junior high school student. We have avoided using language that is likely to become quickly dated or that reflects a narrow subdialect of English, with the goal of making the New Living Translation as broadly useful as possible.

But our concern for readability goes beyond the concerns of vocabulary and sentence structure. We are also concerned about historical and cultural barriers to understanding the Bible, and we have sought to translate terms shrouded in history or culture in ways that can be immediately understood by the contemporary reader. Thus, our goal of easy readability expresses itself in a number of other ways:

• Rather than translating ancient weights and measures literally, which communicates little to the modem reader, we have expressed them by means of recognizable contemporary equivalents. We have converted ancient weights and measures to modem English (American) equivalents, and we have rendered the literal Hebrew or Greek measures, along with metric equivalents, in textual footnotes.

• Instead of translating ancient currency values literally, we have generally expressed them in terms of weights in precious metals. In some cases we have used other common terms to communicate the message effectively. For example, “three shekels of silver” might become “three silver coins” or “three pieces of silver” to convey the intended message. Again, a rendering of the literal Hebrew or Greek is given in textual footnotes.

• Since the Hebrew lunar calendar fluctuates from year to year in relation to the solar calendar used today, we have translated Hebrew dates in a way that communicates with our modem readership. It was clear that we could not use the names of the Hebrew months, such as Abib, which are meaningless to the modem reader. Nor could we use a simple designation such as “first month,” because the months of the Hebrew lunar calendar do not correspond with the months of our calendar. Thus, we have often used seasonal references to communicate the time of year when something happened. For example, “the first month” (which occurs in March and April) might be translated “early spring.” Where it is possible to define a specific ancient date in terms of our modem calendar, we use modem dates in the text. Textual footnotes then_ give the literal Hebrew date and state the rationale for our rendering. For example, Ezra 7:9 pinpoints the date when Ezra arrived in Jerusalem: “the first day of the fifth month.” This was during the seventh year of King Artaxerxes’ reign (Ezra 7:7). We translate that lunar date as August 4, with a footnote giving the Hebrew and identifying the year as 458 B.C.

• Since ancient references to the time of day differ from our modem methods of denoting time, we used renderings that are instantly understandable to the modem reader. Accordingly, we have rendered specific times of day by using approximate equivalents in terms of our common “o’clock” system. On occasion, translations such as “at dawn the next morning” or “as the sun began to set” have been used when the biblical reference is general.

• Many words in the original texts made sense to the original audience but communicate something quite different to the modem reader. In such cases, some liberty must be allowed in translation to communicate what was intended. Places identified by the term normally translated “city,” for example, are often better identified as “towns” or “villages.” Similarly, the term normally translated “mountain” is often better rendered “hill.”

• Many words and phrases carry a great deal of cultural meaning that was obvious to the original readers but needs explanation in our own culture. For example, the phrase “they beat their breasts” (Luke 23:48) in ancient times meant that people were very upset. In our translation we chose to translate this phrase dynamically: “They went home in deep sorrow.” In some cases, however, we have simply illuminated the existing expression to make it immediately understandable. For example, we might have expanded the literal phrase to read “they beat their breasts in sorrow.”

• Metaphorical language is often difficult for contemporary readers to understand, so at times we have chosen to translate or illuminate the metaphor. For example, the ancient poet writes, “Your eyes are doves” (Song of Songs 1:15). To help the modern reader, who might be confused or distracted by a literal visualization of this image, we converted the metaphor to a simile to make the meaning immediately clear: “Your eyes are soft like doves.” Here we also added the modifier “soft” to help the modem reader catch the significance of the metaphoric expression. A few chapters later, the poet writes, “Your neck is like the tower of David” (Song of Songs 4:4). We rendered it “Your neck is as stately as the tower of David” to clarify the intended positive meaning of the metaphor.

• We did not feel obligated to display all Hebrew poetry in English poetic form. Only the book of Psalms is set entirely in poetic lines. Other books, though poetic in nature, are set in prose for the sake of easier reading. Nonetheless, these prose renderings reflect the poetic language of the original Hebrew. Where a portion of text is explicitly said to be a poem or song, however, it has usually been set as such.

• One challenge we faced was in determining how to translate accurately the ancient biblical text that was originally written in a context where male-oriented terms were used to refer to humanity generally. We needed to respect the nature of the ancient context while also trying to make the translation dear to a modern audience that tends to read male-oriented language as applying only to males. Often the original text, though using masculine nouns and pronouns, dearly intends that the message be applied to both men and women. One example is found in the New Testament epistles, where the believers are called “brothers” (adelphoi). Yet it is dear that these epistles were addressed to all the believers-male and female. Thus, we have usually translated this Greek word “brothers and sisters” in order to represent the historical situation more accurately.
     We have also been sensitive to passages where the text applies generally to human beings or to the human condition. In many instances we have used plural pronouns ( they, them) in place of the masculine singular (he, him). For example, a traditional rendering of Proverbs 22:6 is: “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” We have rendered it: “Teach your children to choose the right path, and when they are older, they will remain upon it.” At times, we have also replaced third person pronouns with the second person to ensure clarity. A traditional rendering of Proverbs 26:27 is: “He who digs a pit will fall into it, and he who rolls a stone, it will come back on him.” We have rendered it: “If you set a trap for others, you will get caught in it yourself. If you roll a boulder down on others, it will roll back on you.” All such decisions were driven by the concern to reflect accurately the intended meaning of the original texts of Scripture.
     We should emphasize, however, that all masculine nouns and pronouns used to represent God (for example, “Father”) have been maintained without exception. We believe that essential traits of God’s revealed character can only be conveyed through the masculine language expressed in the original texts of Scripture.