Pre-Script

Finding meaning in translation is a tricky thing. I tend towards wanting to preserve the words people use because words in and of themselves contain nuances of meaning. For example, try explaining what a word means and you will find yourself composing a recipe. 'Oh, it means such-&-such and so-&-so with a hint of this-or-that.' This recipe is part of capturing an overall sense of the meaning of a word. In my view, anyway. I know that this is a debated point. I would also maintain that rhetorical devices also communicate meanings.

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Take one of the examples the CEV gives as a guide to its rationale in the translating process. The NIV of Jer 23:23 says

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"Am I only a God nearby," declares the LORD, "and not a God far away? Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?" declares the LORD. "Do not I fill heaven and earth?" declares the LORD.

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The new, 'improved' CEV says (note the subtle use of quotes that, as a grammatical device, adds a spice of irony to the adjective before CEV)

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"I am everywhere-- both near and far, in heaven and on earth. There are no secret places where you can hide from me."

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Now the translators proudly maintain this is a reliable rendering. In one sense they have given a reliable rendering but in my personal opinion here at this point (which remember is an example they are giving of their approach to the text) they have stripped it of some of its potency. It is my opinion that a rhetorical question posed by the Lord should elicit the correct answers with an accompanying sense of awe. Here no such opportunity remains; and some of the spice in the text is lost asa result.

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Plain English? Yes. Plain meaning? Perhaps (and debatable). Plain insight? Coming up short as a result. Spice? Totally missing.

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