In speaking of the Bible, Edgar Goodspeed once noted, "It has been truly said that any translation of the masterpiece must be a failure." That insight did not, however, keep Goodspeed from trying, nor does it stop any number of our own day from attempting new and updated translations.

Such activity demonstrates the continuing interest in and vitality of the scriptures. Nearly two millennia since the completion of the canon, there continues to be enormous energy and scholarship devoted to the translation and study of God's Word.

As preachers, we can be thankful that we live in an era unprecedented for the availability of quality translations of scripture, along with useful commentaries and other references which shed light on the Word. If faithful biblical preaching is not taking place in every pulpit in the land, it is not for lack of resources!

As we do each year in this issue, Preaching now surveys the landscape of biblical resource material added to the preacher's bookshelf during the past year.

Bibles

By far the most controversial new publication is The New Testament and Psalms: An Inclusive Version (Oxford University Press), which has been dubbed the "politically correct version" of the Bible by many critics -- and not without justification. (For a lighter look at this version, see "Back Page Pulpit" on page 80 of this issue)

The introduction to the volume spells out the efforts of the editorial committee (half men, half women) to make the language of scripture more "gender inclusive" through such means as eliminating masculine pronouns relating to God or Christ. Among other changes, language is softened so that "slaves" are now "enslaved people," "lepers" are now "people with leprosy," and so on.

If you are the kind of person who thinks Paul intended to say "Grace to you and peace from God our Father-Mother" (2 Cor. 1:2), or that Romans is more accurately rendered "Will not God, who did not withhold God's own Child, but gave up that Child for all of us" (Rom. 8:32), then this is the "translation" for you. On the other hand, if the accurate translation of the text is important to you, you would be advised to look elsewhere.

On a more orthodox note, a new volume called God's Word was published this year (World Publishers) based on original translation work done by God's Word to the Nations Bible Society. The translators used the same method employed by a variety of mission organizations (like Wycliffe Bible Translators) in translating the Bible into various languages and dialects around the world. Using both biblical scholars and linguists, the translation team used this linguistically-based translation paradigm which seeks to express the meaning of one language in another language, using the closest natural equivalence.

Another method used to clarify meaning is in the graphic presentation of the text on the page. The biblical text is presented in a single-column format -- typical of any other book we would read -- and uses frequent topical headings. As with the NIV, the text is arranged in paragraphs, and poetic material is arranged in verse format. The translators have used brackets to explain the meaning of foreign terms or names where needed, and half-brackets to identify words which are implied by the text, but which do not literally appear in the text.