I love Jesus' Great Commission in Matt 28:19-20, don't you?
And I enjoy reading this passage in as many different Bible translations as I can get my hands on. Well, today that translation was Adam Boyd's Text-Critical English New Testament. It offers an essentially literal (word-for-word) translation that nicely balances accuracy and readability. When, however, such literal renderings are "unclear, unnatural, confusing, and/or misleading," Boyd employs "a more dynamic approach" that requires "only minor adjustments to make the translation conform to natural English usage and style" (pp vi-vii). This is pure genius!
Here in Matt. 28:19-20, I did hit a couple of potholes while reading Boyd's translation, however. Three to be exact:
1. He writes, "Go and make disciples...." What happened to the Greek conjunction oun?
2. We read, "And behold ...." "Behold" seems a bit archaic to me.
3. Boyd has Jesus saying "I am with you always...." The Greek, of course, does not have "always" here. It reads "all the days."
Now as for oun, note the following:
- CSB: Go, then, and make disciples
- ESV: Go therefore and make disciples
- GNT: Go, then, to all people
- KJV: Go ye therefore, and teach
- LSB: Go therefore and make disciples
- NIV: Therefore go and make disciples
- NKJV: Go therefore and make disciples
- LBLA: Id, pues, y haced discipulos
- HOF: Deshalb geht hinaus
- LUTH: Darum gehet hin
- SCH: So geht nun hin
- VG: euntes ergo docete omnes gentes
- HWP: So you guys, go all ova da world
Perhaps Boyd just didn't see the oun? As for "behold," rightly or wrongly the word is considered archaic since it is used rarely in modern English and often appears only in older writings or formal/religious contexts. No, I'm saying that we never use the term. "If you ever visit Oahu, be sure to visit the Diamond Head Crater. It's a sight to behold." I'm just saying that other expressions might work better in contemporary English:
- CSB: And remember
- TLB: and be sure of this
- MOUNCE: And remember
Finally, "all the days" need not be rendered "always" when there are so many alternatives available to the translator today:
- AMPC: I am with you all the days
- CEB: I myself will be with you every day
- DARBY: I am with you all the days
- ISV: I am with you each and every day
- MSG: I'll be with you as you do this, day after day after day
- VOICE: And I will be with you, day after day
- LBLA: yo estoy con vosotros todos los días
- LUTH: ich bin bei euch Alle Tage
- NGU: Ich bin jeden Tag bei euch
- LSG: je suis avec vous tous les jours
- VG: ego vobiscum sum omnibus diebus
So there you have it. Take all this for what it's worth. One of the great joys we find as we dig into the Scriptures is that God is speaking directly to us. As you pore over the Scriptures and take them seriously, he will bless you in special ways. And Bible translations like this one by Adam Boyd can be of great to help to us in this process. Observation means carefully reading and thinking about what the Bible actually says. So as you do this, writing down notes and observations (like I've done in this blog post) can help clarify your thoughts. "Thoughts disentangle themselves when they pass through the lips and over the fingertips" (Dawson Troutman). True Bible study always involves a pen and pad!