April 5, 1999 (David W. Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, Michigan 48061, fbns@wayoflife.org) – What do the Living Bible, the New International Version, and Wycliffe Bible translations have in common? Much! They all incorporate the faulty dynamic equivalency method of Bible translation, and they all use the "eclectic" Greek New Testament that was developed by 19th-century rationalistic textual critics.

Dynamic equivalency is a new concept of Bible translation that was popularized over the past four decades and that has dramatically affected the kind of Bibles being produced throughout the world. It is also called "common language translation," "idiomatic translation," "impact translation," "indirect transfer translation," and "thought translation." While some would make a distinction between these methods, for the most part they are used interchangeably.

In English, two examples of this are the Today’s English Version (Good News for Modern Man) and the Living Bible. These dynamic equivalency translations illustrate the type of versions being produced by Wycliffe Bible Translators, the United Bible Societies, Living Bibles International, and the International Bible Society, publisher of the New International Version. (The NIV incorporates dynamic equivalency principles, though not as radically as the TEV or Living Bible.) These are the most influential groups in Bible translation work today. (In 1992, the International Bible Society and Living Bibles International merged.)

The United Bible Societies (UBS) yokes together 135 national Bible Societies, and they are deeply committed to dynamic equivalency. I received the following statement from a representative of the British & Foreign Bible Society in 1987: "...virtually all translations being carried out at present directly by UBS are CLT’s [common language translations]."

Many who are familiar with the Today’s English Version and the Living Bible think of them only as "paraphrases" or commentaries and do not take them seriously. Yet, these versions are being called the best Bible translations in the English language by many professional translators and well-known Christian leaders and they are being used as models for translation work throughout the world.

Of the Living Bible, for example, well-known Evangelist Luis Palau represents the thinking of many when he said: "Throughout the world, there is a need for clear and understandable Scriptures. That is why I am sold on the work of Living Bibles International and the kind of Scriptures they are producing. ... The beauty of the Spanish and Portuguese living translations, produced by Living Bibles International, is that they are good translations, trustworthy in content" (Front Line, Living Bibles International: Volume 3, No. 1, 1988, pp. 1,8).

John Beekman, translations coordinator for Wycliffe Bibles International, says, "The Living Bible is the most readable and the most natural English translation available" (William F. Kerr, The Living Bible--Not Just Another Version, Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 1975).

Thus, the frightfully corrupt Today’s English Version and Living Bible are considered accurate English versions and are used as models for translation work in all languages.

The kinship between the Living Bible, Wycliffe Bible Translators, and the New International Version was plainly illustrated in 1992 by the merger of Living Bibles International with the International Bible Society, the publisher of the NIV. The International Bible Society’s Light Magazine noted:

"The 1992 merger with Living Bibles International brought together the NIV efforts, the Wycliffe/SIL partnership, and IBS and LBI projects worldwide. Partnership with Wycliffe Bible Translators/SIL has helped meet the needs for the world's smaller language groups, and has resulted in the publication of 166 New Testaments and 1283 Scripture publications in 506 languages" (Light Magazine, Special Edition, 1997).

In 1997, the International Bible Society and Wycliffe announced "an expansive global Scripture distribution program" called "Let There Be Light." Scheduled to run to the year 2002, it is intended to be "a unifying global vision all Christians can proclaim." During the six years of the program they intend to jointly produce 50 first edition New Testaments and 150 Scripture portions. All of these will be dynamic equivalency versions along the lines of the Today's English Version/Living Bible model.

Dynamic equivalency aims to translate general thoughts rather than words. It aims to adapt the Bible to modern earthly cultures. The dynamic equivalency translator looks upon a literal version of the Bible as dull and lifeless. He proposes to create a lively Bible by his clever rephrasing of Scripture into colloquial language. "Equivalency" no longer means that the translator strives as perfectly as possible for an equal transfer of the words and structure of the original. Rather, the emphasis is on a general (even vague) equivalency, with the translator having great freedom to restate, change, add to, and take away from the original text.

Following are some examples of dynamic equivalency translations produced by professional Bible translators throughout the world. All of these examples are taken from publications of the United Bible Societies and Wycliffe Bible Translators:

Matt. 3:16 -- "dove" is translated "gigi bird" (Ulithian language of the South Pacific)
Isaiah 1:18 "snow" is translated "inside of a coconut" (UBS translation)
Matt. 8:20 – "foxes" is translated "coyotes" (Mazahua language of Mexico)
Mark 4:21 – "on a candlestick" is translated "on a grain bin" (Korku language of India)
Matt. 20:22 – "the cup" is translated "pain" (Copainala Zoque of Mexico)
Gen. 22:7 – "lamb" is translated "seal pup" (Eskimo translation)
Matt. 8:20 – "son of man" is translated "older brother" (Makusi language of Brazil)
Matt. 21:19 – "fig tree" is translated "banana tree" (Wycliffe translation)
Romans 3:25 – "blood" is translated "death" (Today’s English Version)
Rev. 5:5 – "Root of David" is translated "great descendant of David" (Today’s English Version)
John 14:6--"I am the way, the truth and the life" is translated "I am the way by which people come to know God and so obtain real life" (Indonesian Common Language Bible).
James 1:17--"the Father of lights" is translated "God, the Creator of the heavenly lights" (Today’s English Version)

From these few examples, you see how far-removed the "dynamic equivalency" rendering can be from the original text. Dynamic equivalency allows translators the strange liberty to change, delete from, and add to the Word of God.

Those using dynamic equivalency do not hesitate to change God’s Words in order to relate to modern cultures, but we must remember that God is the Author of History. God was not caught off guard when the Scriptures were given in a certain period of history to a certain people within a certain culture. God ordained that His Word would be delivered through the cultural and historical situations in which it was given.

The cultural terminology of the Bible, such as that pertaining to farming and slavery, is to be translated carefully from the original text as God gave it, then it is to be explained by evangelists and preachers. It is not the job of the Bible translator to become the evangelist and preacher in the process of his work as a translator. Of course, the translator can add explanatory footnotes if he so desires and by this means give definitions of the words used in the translation. He can also make dictionaries and commentaries and other teaching tools to be used in conjunction with his Bible translation. This is certainly wiser than presuming the liberty to change God’s Word, and it is the method followed by godly translators of old.

Dynamic equivalency is a frightfully proud concept. Man is saying that that the Word of God is dry, stuffy, unintelligible to modern man, locked in ancient cultural language that no longer holds import to today’s cultures. Man is saying that the Bible translator’s job is to unlock the hidden treasures of this dry book and make it LIVE for TODAY’s people. Hence, we have versions called the LIVING Bible and the TODAY’S English Version that is advertised as "The Word of God Alive and Active." This attitude is seen in the words of Kenneth Taylor, author of the Living Bible:

"We take the original thought and convert it into the language of today. ... We can be much more accurate than the verbal translation. ... Once you get the real meaning of the Scriptures, they are life-transforming. ... I felt such a thrill at my own privilege of stripping away some of the verbiage. ... being a co-worker with God in that respect. ... I flipped open my Bible and began to experiment with this new method of translation" (Kenneth Taylor, Evangelism Today, Dec. 1972).

The dynamic equivalency translator looks upon the words of the Bible as mere "verbiage" which can be "stripped away" through his experimentation. How foolish to think that a man who strips away some of the Bible’s words is "a co-worker with God." All of the words of the Bible in the Greek and Hebrew texts were inspired by God! That is God’s own "verbiage." The Bible was not inspired merely in its general thoughts, but in its very words. The Lord Jesus Christ taught us to respect the very jots and tittles of Scripture as the holy Word of God. A translator has no right to strip away or change any of those holy words. His job is to faithfully translate all of the words into the receptor language. That is what the faithful translators of old did for the needy people of this world. William Tyndale did this in English; Martin Luther in German; Robert Olivetan in French; Adoniram Judson in Burmese. They cherished the Bible as the holy, supernatural, verbally-inspired Word of God and they translated it with trembling hands and reverent hearts, crying out to God for wisdom to be able to give the people an accurate translation of His blessed, preserved Word. They would have rejected "dynamic equivalency" with disgust.

My research into dynamic equivalency is contained in a report entitled "Dynamic Equivalency: Death Knell of Pure Scripture." It is available at the Way of Life web site under the Bible Version section of the End Times Apostasy Database.

At the Way of Life web site is also a list of churches and organizations that are faithfully publishing literal or formal translations of the Bible. See "Bible Printing Ministries" under the "Pastor/Missionary Information Treasure Chest."

Way of Life Literature web site
http://www.wayoflife.org/