Hermeneutics Session 5: How Translation Is Interpretation

The Bible has traveled across centuries, cultures, and languages, yet God has preserved His Word so it can still be understood today. Learning how translation works helps us read Scripture with confidence rather than confusion, and with depth rather than assumption.

Consideration

Reading the Bible in translation is like listening to a conversation through an interpreter. The message is real, accurate, and trustworthy, but the wording reflects careful choices made to communicate meaning clearly across languages. Most readers assume translation is simple word replacement, but language does not work that way. Words carry range, tone, and cultural meaning that do not transfer neatly from one language to another. Understanding this reality trains us to read with humility and care.

Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law. –Psalm 119:18

Information

What Translation Is

• The Bible was originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.
• Translation exists because God intended His Word to be accessible to all peoples, not locked in one language or culture.
• Translation carries meaning across languages, not just vocabulary.

• There is no one-to-one word equivalence between languages.
• Every translation involves interpretive decisions.

Three Translation Emphases

Material (Word-for-Word)

• Prioritizes the structure and wording of the original text
• Aims to preserve phrasing, grammar, and verbal connections
• Strength: precision
• Tradeoff: can sound wooden or unfamiliar
• Translations: English Standard (ESV), New American Standard (NASB), King James (KJV)*
  • *Like all major English Bibles, the KJV was translated from Hebrew and Greek, though its English style reflects influence from the Latin Vulgate and earlier English versions.

Meaning (Thought-for-Thought)

• Prioritizes conveying the idea behind the words
• Translates phrases into natural equivalents in the receptor language
• Strength: clarity
• Tradeoff: more interpretation is involved
• Translations: Christian Standard (CSB/HCSB), New International (NIV), New Revised (NRSV)

Mood (Feeling-for-Feeling)

• Prioritizes the emotional tone and impact of the text
• Focuses on how the passage is meant to land
• Strength: accessibility
• Tradeoff: least tied to original wording and most reliant on translator’s interpretive judgment
• Translations: The Message (MSG), New Living (NLT), The Passion (TPT)

Demonstration

1 Corinthians 7:36

Key Insights

• The Greek text allows for more than one legitimate interpretation.
• English translations reflect different scholarly conclusions.
• The Greek word parthenos means virgin or unmarried woman.
• The interpretive challenge is who Paul is referring to, not the word itself.

Two Main Interpretations

Father–Daughter View

• A father deciding whether to give his virgin daughter in marriage
• KJV, NKJV

Engaged Couple View

• A man deciding whether to marry his fiancée
• ESV, NIV, CSB, NRSV

Observation

• Scripture remains authoritative even when translations differ.
• Understanding translation decisions deepens confidence rather than undermining trust.

Summation

Translation reminds us that Scripture has come to us faithfully, but not effortlessly. God preserved His Word through real languages, real cultures, and real people, which means careful reading matters. Differences between translations do not signal uncertainty in God’s Word, but the complexity of human language. When we understand how translation works, confusion fades and confidence grows. 

The next session moves us from translation to interpretation by asking a foundational question that every reader must face: when Scripture is read, who actually determines what it means?

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