What is your litmus test?

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David Colo
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What is your litmus test?

Post by David Colo »

For those of you who are interested in English translations of the Hebrew Bible, I wonder if you have any particular verses you turn to right away to gauge the quality of a particular translation (I use the term "translation" rather loosely, of course, because most English "translations" are actually revisions of someone else's work). For example, I sometimes like to see how translators deal with שׁבעות מטות אמר in Hab 3:9, בית־לה in Ezek 1:27, or כלם in Mic 1:2--if they do at all.
Kenneth Greifer
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Re: What is your litmus test?

Post by Kenneth Greifer »

Deuteronomy 6:4. Do they say "Hear, O, Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord" or "the Lord is our God, the Lord is one." Or some other translation.
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Jason Hare
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Re: What is your litmus test?

Post by Jason Hare »

Kenneth Greifer wrote: Sat Apr 02, 2022 8:42 pm Deuteronomy 6:4. Do they say "Hear, O, Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord" or "the Lord is our God, the Lord is one." Or some other translation.
What other translation could it possibly be?
Jason Hare
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יוֹדֵ֣עַ צַ֭דִּיק נֶ֣פֶשׁ בְּהֶמְתּ֑וֹ וְֽרַחֲמֵ֥י רְ֝שָׁעִ֗ים אַכְזָרִֽי׃
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Kenneth Greifer
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Re: What is your litmus test?

Post by Kenneth Greifer »

Jason Hare wrote: Sat Apr 02, 2022 9:06 pm
Kenneth Greifer wrote: Sat Apr 02, 2022 8:42 pm Deuteronomy 6:4. Do they say "Hear, O, Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord" or "the Lord is our God, the Lord is one." Or some other translation.
What other translation could it possibly be?
Sometimes, instead of "one" they say "is alone." Some say "The Lord is our God" or "the Lord our God" without "is." Different combinations of "one" or "alone" or with "is" or without "is." I think "one" is interpreted differently than "alone", but I am not sure if they see the words as having different meanings. I don't like if they say "is one Lord."
Kenneth Greifer
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Jason Hare
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Re: What is your litmus test?

Post by Jason Hare »

Kenneth Greifer wrote: Sat Apr 02, 2022 10:39 pm Sometimes, instead of "one" they say "is alone." Some say "The Lord is our God" or "the Lord our God" without "is." Different combinations of "one" or "alone" or with "is" or without "is." I think "one" is interpreted differently than "alone", but I am not sure if they see the words as having different meanings. I don't like if they say "is one Lord."
Is there a reason that this is troublesome to you? Have you tried to consider why they might translate it that way?
Jason Hare
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Kenneth Greifer
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Re: What is your litmus test?

Post by Kenneth Greifer »

I don't think it can say "one Lord." Do you?
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ducky
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Re: What is your litmus test?

Post by ducky »

It is said: (Y=the name of God)
Y is our Lord, Y is one

(Can you offer another reading?)
David Hunter
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