Bible, Babel and Babble
The Foundations of Bible Translation

Section 5-5-4.
Martin Luther and Bible Translation

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Those of us working in the area of Bible translation draw wisdom and encouragement from Martin Luther, one of the greatest of Bible translators. His version had a tremendous influence not only on the German language itself, but also on other translations of Europe. Far from being a literalist, “Luther’s procedures are much in keeping with the modern principles of meaning-oriented Bible translation, even though they pre-date them by over four hundred years!”15

Here are a few of Luther’s principles.

It is more important to translate the meaning of the original than to replicate its form. Luther wrote:

I wanted to speak German, not Latin or Greek, since it was German I had undertaken to speak in the translation ... Therefore I must let the literal words go and try to learn how the German says that which the Hebrew [or Greek] expresses ... [W]ords are to serve and follow the meaning, not meaning the words.16

In the preface to Job, Luther writes:

… if it were translated everywhere word for word ... and not for the most part according to the sense, no one would understand it. ... We have taken care to use language that is clear and that everybody can understand, without perverting the sense and meaning.” 17

There is a corollary to the first principle: In order to communicate, a translation must change the linguistic form of the original. Luther wrote in reference to Psalm 68:

Whoever would speak German must not use Hebrew style. Rather he must see to it—once he understands the Hebrew author [hence the need for a careful exegesis!]—that he concentrates on the sense of the text, asking himself, ‘Pray tell, what do the Germans say in such a situation?’ Once he has the German words to serve the purpose, let him drop the Hebrew words and express the meaning freely in the best German he knows. 18

A translation should reflect the various literary genres in ways which are natural to the receptor language.

[Luther’s] translation is the German Bible rather than the Bible in German. The German language was like clay in his hands, like a violin played by a virtuoso. The sighs and sobs of some of the Psalms; the high hallelujahs of others; hymns to the God of salvation; the majestic cadences of Isaiah; the lamenting notes of Jeremiah; the profound depth beneath the simple diction of John; the tremendous power of the tense, stormy, telescopic style of Paul—Luther’s translation has all of these in German. 19

Translators must maintain close contact with their audience. Luther states:

We do not have to inquire of the literal Latin [the language of education and the church in Luther’s day –sm], how we are to speak German ... Rather we must inquire about this of the mother in the home, the children on the street, the common man in the marketplace. We must be guided by their language, the way they speak, and do our translating accordingly. That way they will understand it and recognize that we are speaking German to them. 20

The qualities of a good translator are not few. Luther boldly claims:

Translation is not an art for anybody, as the misled holy ones think. What is necessary is a fair, devout, faithful, diligent, pious, Christian, learned, well-versed, experienced heart. 21

Finally, Bible translation is possible but not simple.

Luther was one of the most learned men of his age—Doctor of Divinity, polyglot, professor and author. Despite his celebrated qualifications he confessed: I have also undertaken to translate the Bible into German. That was necessary for me; otherwise I might have died someday imagining that I was a learned man. Those who think themselves scholars should try to do this work. 22

This concludes Bible, Babel and Babble, The Foundations of Bible Translations by Dr. Scott Munger.

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