Introduction: The Rise of Meaning-Based Bible Translation
especially with Eugene Nida, the United Bible Societies and Wycliffe Bible Translators
(SIL), flourished both in the English speaking world and in the world of international
Bible translation. Nida originally referred to his method as "dynamic equivalence," later
adopting the more appropriate "functional equivalent."
Good News Bible [GNB]). The New Testament, translated by Robert Bratcher under the
auspices of the American Bible Society, was published in 1966 as Good News for
Modern Man. The whole Bible followed in 1976. Even before the TEV, various
attempts had been made to produce translations which reflected contemporary English
idiom. A number of such versions appeared in the early twentieth century, including The
New Testament in Modern Speech (1903), produced by Richard Weymouth, The
Twentieth Century New Testament (1904), a committee production, The New Testament:
A New Translation (1913, 1926) by James Moffatt, and The New Testament: An
American Translation (1923) by Edgar J. Goodspeed. All of these sought to translate the
Bible into clear and contemporary English. Goodspeed, in a statement with remarkable
affinity to later dynamic equivalent theory, wrote "I wanted my translation to make on
the reader something of the impression the New Testament must have made on it earliest
readers."
Living Bible, Paraphrased (1967, 1971). For many readers, Taylors dynamic and
idiomatic renderings brought to life what had previously been a closed and
incomprehensible book.
on a continuum between form and function. The New International Version (NIV; 1973,
1978), the most popular version in the English speaking world, claims to be a middle-of-
the-road or mediating version between these two translation theories. Indeed, most
contemporary English versions profess to seek the perfect balance between accuracy and
readability. Terms like "complete equivalence" (NKJV), "optimal equivalence" (HCSB),
"literal-idiomatic" (ISV), and "closest natural equivalent" (God's Word) are frequently
coined by Bible translators to express this balance.