The Uni-Verse of Translation. A Showcase of What is at Stake in the Translation of a Single Verse.

This essay aims at the heart of biblical scholarship: translation. Its objective is to answer the question: What is at stake when a single biblical verse is translated? In doing so, the very premises of translation are analyzed in detail. The conclusions of this analysis will serve as the basis for a case study: the translation of a single biblical verse. Two factors motivate this work: The first factor aims at an ecclesiastical realm, seeking to prevent misuse of biblical texts on the basis of claiming the one right translation , through practically showing the dynamics within biblical texts and their translation. The second factor aims at the field of biblical studies: the significance of the translation process seems to be underestimated, leading to a situation where many of the preliminary conditions are kept in the dark. Through the critical examination of this fundamental part of biblical scholarship, an effort is made to revitalize the scholarly debate concerning the very core of translation. The essay starts by considering the challenges of biblical translation in general, where historical conceptualization of the translator s role will be examined. Here, the importance of decisions in the translator s work emerges as an important theme. A consideration of textual criticism, preparing the source texts for translations, shows that also decisions made by text critics must analyzed in the same way as the translator s decisions. Through a consideration of the development within textual criticism and its objectives, the hermeneutical significance of biblical manuscripts will be addressed. Especially one approach, addressing the self-definition of textual criticism through an analysis of the role that text variants play, will be examined thoroughly. An examination of historical conceptualizations of translation will provide the tools and language to construct an understanding of translation that addresses and solves many of the previous uncovered issues. The sentence everything is target culture is descriptive for the approach that is being developed here. This approach will be the basis for a final case study: A detailed translation opens up for a critical examination of the previous won insights. This last chapter shows that by translating a single verse – and by seriously engaging with questions about the translation process along the way – not only the entire understanding and construction of the source text (and everything connected to it) is put at stake, but also the fundamental understanding and construction of the concept of translation