Friday, September 23, 2011

Analyzing Six Bible Translations: Part 14-Isaiah 6:5

Isaiah 6:5

ESV And I said: "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!"
NIV84 "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."
NIV "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."
HCSB Then I said: Woe is me for I am ruined because I am a man of unclean lips and live among a people of unclean lips, and because my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of Hosts.
NASB Then I said, "Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts."

NET I said, "Too bad for me! I am destroyed, for my lips are contaminated by sin, and I live among people whose lips are contaminated by sin. My eyes have seen the king, the LORD who commands armies."

Check a: “woe is me”
I admit the archaic sounding word “woe” is not in common use today. Finding a one-word equivalent is very difficult. A phrase would have to be used, like the NET Bible does, but “Too bad for me” is just an awkward, weird sounding expression that has literally made people laugh when they’ve read it. The goal of a functional equivalent translation is to have the same impact on the current reader as the original had on the ancient reader; the NET doesn’t do that in this text.

Part 2 running totals:

ESV
NIV84
NIV
HCSB
NASB
NET
Josh 15:18
1
1
1
1
-1
1
2 Sam 20:20
1
1
1
1
1
-1
Isa 6:5
1
1
1
1
1
-1
TOTALS
3
3
3
3
1
-1


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