Where’s the committee?

At least two popular Bible podcasters believe that a Bible translation can only be done by a committee, presumably meaning a collection of well-financed, highly-educated Hebrew and Greek scholars. Of course, they’re welcome to their opinions and we have no doubt that it’s well-meaning, but it rather ignores two things:

1. There’s a long history of Bible translations primarily done by single authors (although of course, most would have had help with proof-reading and checking, if not more). You can find the stories of all of the following (and more) on the internet:

   1. John Wycliffe (1328-1384): English from Latin

   2. Martin Luther (1483-1546): German (New Testament in eleven weeks and still used in Germany today)

   3. William Tyndale (1494-1536) Executed for his translation work

   4. Miles Coverdale (1488-1553): Produced the Great Bible (relying on much of Tyndale’s work)

   5. Young’s Literal Translation (1862)

   6. J.N. Darby’s Bible (1890)

   7. J.B. Phillips translation (1958)

   8. Kenneth N. Taylor: The Living Bible (1971)

   9. David H. Stern: The Complete Jewish Bible (1998)

   10. Eugene H. Peterson: The Message (2010)

   11. Robert Alter: The Hebrew Bible (2019)

   12. N.T. Wright: Many Bible portions

2. If a Bible translation requires a large number of Ph.D scholars, then of course it’s very expensive to produce, but also, it may not gain the benefit of the insights of the ‘ordinary’ people that may be its intended readers. Or in other words, there can be a tendency to produce academically acceptable Bible translations that may not reach the average reader well.

All to say that we admire the works of large, well-educated committees, but we don’t feel intimidated that it’s the only way to do a modern Bible translation.

Robert Hunt, https://OpenEnglishTranslation.Bible