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Anonymous
2016-02-18 20:17:33 Post No. 7712898
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Anonymous
2016-02-18 20:17:33
Post No. 7712898
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Is he right? Is the King James Bible the only mainstream translation that isn't awful? Reading his introduction to his Genesis translation, he certainly makes a strong case for it, critiquing both Christian and Jewish translations. He makes out that Biblical prose style (Biblical verse style is quite different) is similar to Cormac McCarthy's prose, and the King James is definitely the closest to that. He also says the King James is much, much more uniform in translation for things like "seed", which is vital to seeing symmetry and allusion in the Bible.
He says the King James also has a lot of errors and a lesser understanding of Hebrew than modern Jewish and Christian translators, but he says it is better because the translators didn't try to "translate context" as much into it, and more importantly because he says they had a better grasp of English.
Here is Alter's compared to the King James
>and she came down to the spring and filled her jug and came back up. And the servant ran toward her and said, "Pray, let me sip a bit of water from your jug." And she said, "Drink, my lord," and she hurried and tipped down her jug on one hand and let him drink. And she let him drink his fill and said, "For your camels, too, I shall draw water until they drink their fill." And she hurried and emptied her jug into the trough, and she ran again to the well to draw water and drew water for all his camels.
This is the same passage from the King James
>and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up. And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher. And she said, Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink. And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking. And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels.
