Translating the New Testament
It’s not every day that you get to interview someone who has translated the
New Testament. Nick King SJ (NK)talks exclusively to Jesuits and Friends (JaF)
JaF: Nick, what made you do this translation?
NK: It all started by accident, really. When I came back from South Africa in December 2001, I had some time on my hands, for the first time in years; and I was due to give some lectures at a summer school on the Gospels of Mark and John. Therefore I did something I had always wanted to do: I translated both gospels into English, straight off. The idea was just to ‘get inside’ the text before writing my lectures. So there was my translation of the two gospels; and obviously there was no point in throwing it away, so I handed it out to the classes I was teaching. It turned out that one member of my class was Barbara Mayhew, Kevin Mayhew’s wife. The next thing I knew, Kevin was on the phone asking me to translate the whole Bible! So I agreed to translate just the New Testament - and here we are.
JaF: Once you had decided to do it, what was your approach?
NK: Normally translations are done by committees, and their tendency is to smooth things down, so that all 27 books of the New Testament sound pretty well the same. Hence I was trying to give the reader some sense of what it was like to hear the message proclaimed for the first time; to give them a feel for the freshness and energy of the good news about Jesus and his Resurrection. I also wanted them to feel the difference or approach between each author. I’m not sure whether I’ve succeeded.
JaF: Did you learn anything from doing the translations?
NK: It was an extraordinary experience and, even if it never appeared in print, I have learnt so much from it that it was all worthwhile.
JaF: What did you learn?
NK: One of the things that I learnt was how little I really know about the New Testament - even after all these years.
JaF: What criticisms do you think people will have about your translation?
NK: I’ll be very interested to find out, of course. But two things seem likely. Firstly, the Bible exercises a very powerful hold over us, and we tend to get very irritated when we read a different translation of a favourite passage. The second thing is that I wanted to cut out ‘chapter-and-verse’. My reason was that verse numbering was not part of the original, and only appeared in the 16th century. However, it was pointed out to me that people have to find their way through the text, so now it is divided into sections. The chapter and verse is at the beginning of each section, then at the end of each section I give a commentary to explain some of the things that readers might find puzzling. But I notice that not having these numbers in the text makes it quite difficult to find a particular word or phrase and I expect that this will irritate other readers as well.
JaF: According to the dust jacket of your translation you are currently working on a translation of the Old Testament. Is this true?
NK: Yes - well, I think that Kevin Mayhew would like that; but realistically it would probably take the rest of my life. We’ll have to see how this one goes, and then decide - along with my superiors - what is the best use of my available time. But I hope that your readers enjoy the translation of the New Testament.
JaF: What are you working on at present?
NK: Well, in addition to teaching here in Oxford, I’ve been given the job of Vocations Promoter for the British Province. I’m also working on one or two writing projects to do with the relation of Christian faith and the academic reading of the gospels - plus the link between Scripture and the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius.
JaF: Nick, what made you do this translation?
NK: It all started by accident, really. When I came back from South Africa in December 2001, I had some time on my hands, for the first time in years; and I was due to give some lectures at a summer school on the Gospels of Mark and John. Therefore I did something I had always wanted to do: I translated both gospels into English, straight off. The idea was just to ‘get inside’ the text before writing my lectures. So there was my translation of the two gospels; and obviously there was no point in throwing it away, so I handed it out to the classes I was teaching. It turned out that one member of my class was Barbara Mayhew, Kevin Mayhew’s wife. The next thing I knew, Kevin was on the phone asking me to translate the whole Bible! So I agreed to translate just the New Testament - and here we are.
JaF: Once you had decided to do it, what was your approach?
NK: Normally translations are done by committees, and their tendency is to smooth things down, so that all 27 books of the New Testament sound pretty well the same. Hence I was trying to give the reader some sense of what it was like to hear the message proclaimed for the first time; to give them a feel for the freshness and energy of the good news about Jesus and his Resurrection. I also wanted them to feel the difference or approach between each author. I’m not sure whether I’ve succeeded.
JaF: Did you learn anything from doing the translations?
NK: It was an extraordinary experience and, even if it never appeared in print, I have learnt so much from it that it was all worthwhile.
JaF: What did you learn?
NK: One of the things that I learnt was how little I really know about the New Testament - even after all these years.
JaF: What criticisms do you think people will have about your translation?
NK: I’ll be very interested to find out, of course. But two things seem likely. Firstly, the Bible exercises a very powerful hold over us, and we tend to get very irritated when we read a different translation of a favourite passage. The second thing is that I wanted to cut out ‘chapter-and-verse’. My reason was that verse numbering was not part of the original, and only appeared in the 16th century. However, it was pointed out to me that people have to find their way through the text, so now it is divided into sections. The chapter and verse is at the beginning of each section, then at the end of each section I give a commentary to explain some of the things that readers might find puzzling. But I notice that not having these numbers in the text makes it quite difficult to find a particular word or phrase and I expect that this will irritate other readers as well.
JaF: According to the dust jacket of your translation you are currently working on a translation of the Old Testament. Is this true?
NK: Yes - well, I think that Kevin Mayhew would like that; but realistically it would probably take the rest of my life. We’ll have to see how this one goes, and then decide - along with my superiors - what is the best use of my available time. But I hope that your readers enjoy the translation of the New Testament.
JaF: What are you working on at present?
NK: Well, in addition to teaching here in Oxford, I’ve been given the job of Vocations Promoter for the British Province. I’m also working on one or two writing projects to do with the relation of Christian faith and the academic reading of the gospels - plus the link between Scripture and the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius.