Thayer Thursdays – servants or slaves?
The Bible wasn’t originally written in English.
It was written in three different languages over the course of about 1500 years.
Therefore, to make it accessible to readers today, scholars work hard to translate the Bible from those 2000+ year old languages into languages we know and understand today. This task is not always easy.
Just as the word ‘book’ can have different meanings depending on its context (i.e. “Please hand me that book off the shelf” or “Please book a hotel room for the family”), words used in the Bible can have different meanings depending on how they’re used, despite being spelled the same.
Perhaps even harder is that one audience might understand a translation perfectly while another might not understand it at all (for instance much of the “King James” English makes absolutely no sense to me, but my father understands it clearly).
Take Galatians 5:13 for example. When we look at two different translations side by side, we see the following:
NIV (1984)
13 You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.
NRSV
13 For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another.
As you can see, the NIV and the NRSV translate these two passages differently, though they are both translating it from the same language and words. Each translates the Greek verb δουλευτε (pronounced “doo-loo-teh”) differently. The NIV chooses to translate it as “serve,” while the NRSV chooses to translate it as “become slaves.”
Why?
Well, there are a number of possible reasons.
The NIV may have made this decision because slavery is a sensitive topic in 21st century America. When we think of slaves, our minds don’t gravitate to 1st century Roman society; they gravitate instead to some of the darkest moments in our history – to the slave trade, segregation, and lingering racism that still exist today.
Or they might translate it as ‘serve’ to highlight the figurative way in which Paul is communicating.
The NRSV, on the other hand, probably chooses to translate it as “become slaves” because it keeps the original force of what Paul said. In the 21st century ‘serving’ is generally taken to mean “helping somebody else when I feel like it.” This, however, is the antithesis of what Paul is saying. Paul tells the Galatians to put others above themselves, not the other way around.
Second, throughout his letter, Paul tells the people that they are no longer “slaves” or “δουλος” (pronounced “doo-las”) to the law. They have been set free. Then, in language meant to contrast being a ‘slave to the law’ he tells them to be slaves to each other.
So which is it? Which is correct?
Both.
Each of these translations highlights something important about the text. It’s a judgment call for the translator(s) to make. Translation is not an easy procedure. The men and women who do it work extremely hard to make sure that we have an accurate reflection of what the writers of the Bible gave to us.
Should this cast doubt on its reliability? Not at all.
Neither one of these decisions change the ultimate meaning of the text. Each of them brings in different nuances, but ultimately the point is the same.
It does, however, serve as a good case study for understanding translation and gives us incentive to peel back some of the additional layers that can be found in Scripture when we dig deeply.
Chris Thayer
[For an accompanying sermon on this passage visit http://www.gsumc.org/Media_Resources.ihtml?id=686621]
Categories: Biblical Theology, Blog, Ministry, New Testament