Some interesting comments by Lewis Alvin Foster, who was a translator on both the NIV and NKJV. He wrote a book titled Selecting a Translation of the Bible. The bulk of the book consists of his going through nine English translations, giving some history, pro & cons, and recommendations. Concerning the “Weaknesses” of the New King James Version, he writes:
“The choice to follow the Greek text of the King James Version (1611) gives unwarranted precedence to the Textus Receptus (see above). Although much careful work has gone into the publishing of the Majority Text, the real use of this study has been thwarted by following whatever the King James reads whether supported by the Majority Text or not (for example, over 15 instances in the Gospel of Luke). Whether one agrees with advocates of the Majority Text in their consistent preference for its readings, one must recognize the healthy corrective that has been imposed on the Westcott-Hort tradition and long accepted assumptions in this area of textual criticism.” (Lewis A. Foster, Selecting a Translation of the Bible, Cincinnati, OH: Standard Publishing, 1983, pp. 123-124)
Foster makes an intriguing charge of dispensational bias in the translation of Matthew 24:33, in changing changing “it” to “He”.
“Some changes that do appear in the NKJV cannot be explained by a difference in the Greek text, or by what was in the 1611 version, or by the demands of contemporary usage. Only the favoring of a particular interpretation has been served. Giving but one example, a passage reflects the dispensational view—when ‘it is near’ is changed in the NKJV to ‘He is near’ (Matthew 24:33).” (p. 125)
I wish he had given more examples of his belief that they followed doctrinal bias. This example is outdated. It was initially translated and published as “He”. “He” as in the 1979 NKJV NT was at some point changed back to “it”. Maybe someone noticed their bias was showing! The 1982 print edition of the whole Bible NKJV that I own has “it” but with a footnote that says “Or, He.”
2 comments:
Appreciate all your work on the NKJV. It could be a very helpful resource if published altogether in one book. J. Grassi
Thanks for the comment and suggestion. I'll kind of put that in the "to do" future possibilities.
Your comment makes me think I may owe you an email reply. I need to check. Sometimes only thinking about doing something makes me later think I did it!
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