Harper’s Standardized Study Bible Translation Philosophy

Which Translation Methodology Is Best?

Definition of Terms

Formal Equivalence. The terms formal equivalence and dynamic equivalence are used to describe two entirely different methods of translating the Bible. Formal equivalence sacrifices readability in order to adhere more closely to the meaning of the original text. Hence, formal equivalence is required in diplomacy and sometimes in business.

Dynamic Equivalence. Dynamic equivalence seeks to produce a more readable translation by not adhering to the lexical details and grammatical structure of the original text.

Examples of Formal and Dynamic Equivalence

Formal Equivalence. The best known example of formal equivalence is the King James Version and its many revisions. Two of the latest revisions of that translation are the Revised Standard Version and the New American Standard Bible.

Dynamic Equivalence. The New Jerusalem Bible and the New English Bible are examples of translations based on the use of dynamic equivalence.

Moderate Dynamic Equivalence. The translators of the New International Version and Today’s New International Version sought to find a balance between formal equivalence and dynamic equivalence.

Extreme Dynamic Equivalence (paraphrase). The best known example of extreme dynamic equivalence is The Living Bible.

The Strength and Weakness of the Two Approaches

Formal Equivalence. The strength of the formally equivalent approach to the translation of the Bible is the production of a text that, in most cases, allows the reader to see the grammar and syntax of the original text. Its weakness is the production of a text that is not easily readable.

Dynamic Equivalence. The main strength of the dynamically equivalent approach to translation is the production of a text that is easily readable. Its primary weakness is, the translation produced by this methodology not only prevents the reader from seeing the grammar and syntax of the original text, it also allows the translator to import his own interpretation of the text into his translation.

The Basic Weakness in Both Approaches. Both of these two approaches to translating the Bible fail to take into account the fact that the message of the Bible is based on an understanding of the meaning of Hebrew idioms that speak in terms of imagery inherent in the mythology of the era in which it was written. Consequently, neither approach allows the reader to see all of the instances in which the Hebrew idioms occur; and they further obscure the meaning of the biblical text by not translating the constituent parts of the idioms consistently. The following dynamic equivalence translations of 2 Samuel 7:8–13 are a classic example.

2 Samuel 7:8–13

8“So now, say this to my servant David: ‘This is what the Lord of hosts says: I took you from the pasture and from your work as a shepherd to make you leader of my people Israel. 9I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have destroyed all your enemies before your eyes. Now I will make your name as famous as anyone who has ever lived on the earth! 10And I will provide a homeland for my people Israel, planting them in a secure place where they will never be disturbed. Evil nations won’t oppress them as they’ve done in the past, 11starting from the time I appointed judges to rule my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. Furthermore, the LORD declares that he will make a house for you—a dynasty of kings! 12For when you die and are buried with your ancestors, I will raise up one of your descendants, your own offspring, and I will make his kingdom strong. 13He is the one who will build a house—a temple—for my name. And I will secure his royal throne forever.’”
(2 Samuel 7:8–13) —New Living Translation

8“Now then, tell my servant David, ‘This is what the LORD Almighty says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, and appointed you ruler over my people Israel. 9I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men on earth. 10And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning 11and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies. The LORD declares to you that the LORD himself will establish a house for you: 12When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. 13He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.’”
(2 Samuel 7:8–13) —New International Version

An accurate understanding of what God promised David in 2 Samuel 7 depends on the reader’s insight into the meaning of three Hebrew idioms. All three idioms mean the same thing and are based on imagery inherent in both the Old Testament practice of levirate marriage and the Canaanite myth related to the worship of Baal.

The three idioms that Nathan used while speaking to David are “build/make a house,” “make/raise up a name,” and “raise up a seed.” All three idioms mean “engender a son.” That is obvious from the way they are used in Genesis 38, Deuteronomy 25, and Ruth 4. But if one does not know that, and one cannot see where those three idioms occur elsewhere in the biblical text, one has no way to see through the translators’ mistaken understanding of 2 Samuel 7:8–13.

God’s promise to David in 2 Samuel 7 had nothing to do with Solomon, as the translators of the two excerpts above assume. His promise was that He would engender a Son for David—if David ever needed one—after David died, and God did that through the Virgin Mary. Here is my interim translation of the same passage:

2 Samuel 7:8–13

8“[But now], [this is what] [You must say] [to My Slave], [to David], ‘[This is what] [His [Supreme] Majesty] [said]: “[I] [took You] [from] [The Habitat], [from following] [The Flock], [to be] [a Leader] [over] [My People], [over] [Israel]. 9[And I have been] [with You] [every] [where] [You have gone], [and I have cut off] [all] [Your Enemies] [from before You]. [And I will make] [a [great] Name] [for You], [like {the} Name] [{of} The Great Ones] [who] {are} [on {the} Earth]. 10[Then I will assign] [a Place] [for My People], [for Israel], [and I will plant Him]; [and He will reside] [in His place] [and [not] be disturbed] [again]. [And [{the} Sons] [{of} Deviance] will [not] continue] [to humiliate Him] [just as] [earlier]— 11[even from] [The Day] [when] [I gave a command to] [Judges] [over] [My People] [Israel]. [And I will give [You] rest] [from all] [Your Enemies]. [But [His Majesty] must tell] [You] [that] [His Majesty] [will make] [a House] [for You]. 12[When] [Your Days] [are fulfilled] [and You lie down] [with] [Your Fathers], [then I will raise up] [Your Seed] [after You]—[Who] [will come out] [from Your Abdomen]—[and I will prepare] [His Kingdom]. 13[He] [will build] [a House] [for My Name], [and I will prepare] [{the} Throne] [{of} His Kingdom] [as long as] [a Burning Eternity].”’”
(2 Samuel 7:8–13) —my interim translation
(with brackets and other indicators)

A Formal-Dynamic Equivalence. The translation methodology that one favors in regard to the Bible will most likely depend on the importance they attach to an accurate understanding of what the Bible actually means rather than how easy it is to read the translation. But a translation that adheres as closely as possible to both of the current methodologies would be best. That is precisely what Harper’s Standardized Study Bible seeks to do. Just keep in mind it is a “study” Bible, intended for those who want to see what the original text says rather than read someone’s interpretation of it.

The translation methodology represented in Harper’s Standardized Study Bible threads the needle between the formal equivalence and dynamic equivalence approaches to translation so as to produce a translation that is both dynamically equivalent and formally equivalent.

Harper’s Standardized Study Bible produces a formally equivalent translation by first defining and refining the meaning of the terms in the original text so that each term in the text can be assigned a unique word or phrase in the English language that is formally equivalent to the word in the original text. It then translates every noun, adjective, adverb, pronoun, and particle, as well as every use of the verb, in the same way every time.

The translation methodology represented in Harper’s Standardized Study Bible differs dramatically from most formally equivalent translations in that, while the translators who use that approach focus on maintaining the grammar and syntax of the original language, they have a wide range of “acceptable” English words that may be used to translate a word in the original text. In some cases, such translations translate a single word in the original text more than fifty different ways in the English text. And the translators quite often use one English term to translate several different words in the original text. Those same two flaws can be found in dynamically equivalent translations. Such is not the case in Harper’s Standardized Study Bible.

To the greatest extent possible, Harper’s Standardized Study Bible assigns every word in the original text a unique English word or phrase that accurately encompasses the wide range of meaning that word has in the original language. When it is not possible to restrict the translation of a term in the original text to only one word or phrase, it defines the term according to its usage in specific contexts. It then produces a dynamically equivalent translation by rearranging the translation of the morphological units found in the original text so that the result is a readable and understandable translation that accurately reflects what the author actually said. In that way, it maintains the original grammatical and syntactical relationship between those morphological units and adheres to the formally equivalent method.

A Formal-Dynamic Equivalence

The translation methodology represented in Harper’s Standardized Study Bible threads the needle between the formal equivalence and dynamic equivalence approaches to translation so as to produce a translation that is both dynamically equivalent and formally equivalent.

Harper’s Standardized Study Bible produces a formally equivalent translation by first defining and refining the meaning of the terms in the original text so that each term in the text can be assigned a unique word or phrase in the English language that is formally equivalent to the word in the original text. It then translates every noun, adjective, adverb, pronoun, and particle, as well as every use of the verb, in the same way every time.

The translation methodology represented in Harper’s Standardized Study Bible differs dramatically from most formally equivalent translations in that, while the translators who use that approach focus on maintaining the grammar and syntax of the original language, they have a wide range of “acceptable” English words that may be used to translate a word in the original text. In some cases, such translations translate a single word in the original text more than fifty different ways in the English text. And the translators quite often use one English term to translate several different words in the original text. Those same two flaws can be found in dynamically equivalent translations. Such is not the case in Harper’s Standardized Study Bible.

A Timeline of English Translations of the Bible

View a timeline that will show how biblical translations have changed through the years. This will help you to better understand why Larry Dee Harper created his very own translation.

Learn More

To the greatest extent possible, Harper’s Standardized Study Bible assigns every word in the original text a unique English word or phrase that accurately encompasses the wide range of meaning that word has in the original language. When it is not possible to restrict the translation of a term in the original text to only one word or phrase, it defines the term according to its usage in specific contexts. It produces a dynamically equivalent translation by rearranging the translation of the morphological units found in the original text so that the result is a readable and understandable translation that accurately reflects what the author said. That methodology maintains the original grammatical and syntactical relationship between those morphological units so as to adhere to the formally equivalent methodology.

Comparison of Translation Methods

Matthew 13:1–2

1That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore.
—New International Version (Moderate Dynamic)

1That day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea. 2And large crowds gathered to Him, so He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach.
—New American Standard Bible (Formal)

1[On] [That] [very] [Day], [after [Jesus] came out] [{of} The] [House], [He was sitting] [by] [The] [Sea]; 2[and] [huge] [Crowds] [were gathered] [before] [Him]. [So then], [after getting in] [to] [a Boat], [He] [was sitting {in it}]; [and] [The] [whole] [Crowd] [was standing] [on] [The] [Shore].
—Harper’s Standardized Study Bible (Formal Dynamic)
(with brackets and other indicators)

Hebrews 9:13–14

13The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. 14How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
—New International Version (Moderate Dynamic)

13For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, 14how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
—New American Standard Bible (Formal)

13[For] [if] [The] [Blood] [of Goats] [and] [Bulls] [and] [{the} Ashes] [of a Heifer*] [sprinkling on] [those who] [have had sexual intercourse] [makes {them} holy] [with regard to] [The] [Cleanness*] [of The] [Flesh], 14[how much] [more] {will} [The] [Blood] [of The] [Anointed One]—[Who], [via] [an [eternal] Spirit], [brought and presented [Himself] to] [The] [{Living} God] [unblemished]—[cleanse] [our] [Conscience] [of] [dead] [Works] [so as] [to] [serve [a [living] God] as priests]?
—Harper’s Standardized Study Bible (Formal Dynamic)
(with brackets and other indicators)

Harper’s Standardized Study Bible Methodology

Translation Conventions (HSSB Desktop Application Only)

Translation Standards