As we discuss Bible translation, we really ought to stop a minute and pay our respects to the concept of “dynamic equivalence.” The concept of dynamic equivalence was developed by linguist Eugene Nida. It describes the attempt to translate (specifically the Bible) via “thought by thought” rather than “word by word” translation.

While Nida gave name to the concept and was largely responsible for popularizing it, dynamic equivalence did not begin with Nida. Translations as old as the Septuagint (translation of the Old Testament into Greek that was done before the time of Christ) made use of this very practice. Nida made the use of dynamic equivalence intentional, with the goal of better expressing the thoughts behind the text and not just the words themselves.

An alternative to dynamic equivalence is formal equivalence, which seeks to maintain, where possible, the original word order, verb tenses, idiomatic expressions, etc. Beyond formal equivalence is a literal translation, which holds strictly to word by word translation.

Versions like the New American Standard Bible are translated using formal equivalence. The Today’s English Bible (also known as the Good News Bible) is the best example of dynamic equivalence, especially because of the large role Nida and his theory played in the translation. Most translations fall in between these two extremes. Even stricter than the NASB would be versions like Young’s Literal Translation; among versions that are freer than the TEV we find paraphrases like The Message and The Living Bible.

We’ll continue talking about Bible translation this week; feel free to share your ideas on any of these theories or any others that you know of.