Featured What Is "Literal"?

In his book Bible: The Story of the King James Version, Gordon Campbell wrote: "The translation, however, aspires to literal accuracy rather than majesty, and on occasion leaves the job of translation half-done. Here is a verse in which the Hebrew is translated word for word, but the translation is stylishly incomprehensible" (p. 81).

After quoting Isaiah 37:36 in the KJV, Campbell commented: "The notion that the Assyrians got up in the morning before noticing that they were dead is exceedingly unhelpful" (p. 81).

 

The Kjv best point is how it sounds/read, its way it states the King's English, not in its accuracy overall!

 

How true! Yet some here espouse this myth nevertheless.

 

A sobering reminder.

 

Acts 15:7 is the passage in question, and even N.T.Wright's "The Kingdom New Testament has the word 'brothers' here.

 

Rippon, this from that Manhood/Womanhood outfit suggests the NIV there is to be regarded as gender-inclusive regardless:

cbmw.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/2-3.pdf
p.13

 

Literal is an unfortunate word to use in regards ti the trustworthiness of Scripture

The Bible uses all types of linguistics to get across the Bible Message ie Metaphors etc

Do we really believe that Jesus is a door and a vine? Yes it is true in one sense in that it conveys that Jesus is the way of salvation but He is not literally a door or a vine. These are the 2 easiest ways to convey what I mean herr

 

Formal is still the preferred translation method!

 

Can use the term formal instead, still the truth remains the same!

 

Literal to me just means formal method of translation, as preferred to more dynamic!

 

I really do not know if the following fits this thread,
but here is something I pulled from LEXICO,
an Oxford Dictionary/Thesaurus website.

*****

Synonyms and Antonyms of "literal" in English

1: ‘those who believe in the literal truth of the biblical Genesis’

SYNONYMS
strict, factual, plain, simple, bare, exact, straightforward, stark
unvarnished, unexaggerated, unembellished, undistorted, unadulterated
objective, narrow, correct, true, truthful, faithful, accurate, genuine, authentic, veritable, veracious, gospel

ANTONYMS
metaphorical, figurative, loose, approximate

2: ‘a literal translation’

SYNONYMS
word-for-word, verbatim, line-for-line, letter-for-letter
exact, precise, faithful, close, strict, to the letter, undeviating, true, accurate
rare literatim

ANTONYMS
loose, liberal, vague

*****

 

Agree but remember that there are people who would use that term as a trap to try and make us look stupid

 

It has its positives and negatives as does functional equivalence. That's why mediating is the best of both worlds.

 

So you support the Nkjv for "optimal equivalence?"

 

agreed, but we must do our best to make sure that literal is not used in a "wooden" way, but as just meaning the plan intending meaning of the scriptures!

 

The word 'so' as you are using it means consequently. But the subject you are bringing up has nothing to do with anything
I was speaking about.

 

You stated both formal and dynamic gives problems, so why that leave available just that optimal option?