© 2004 by T.L. Hubeart Jr.
An interesting comment on the
incident at Ephesus that is found in Acts 19:23-41 occurs in Richard Kevin
Barnard's God's Word in Our Language: The Story of the
New International Version (Grand Rapids: Lamplighter Books/Zondervan, 1989), where the author argues that the NIV's
translators "were able to add new clarity to their translation of the
Scriptures" by "understanding the ancient languages and
cultures" of Bible times (p. 39). One of those involved in translating the
NIV, Donald Burdick, is reported as giving as an example the present story of
Demetrius and the other silversmiths, which Burdick terms "a labor union
rally in the marketplace" of Ephesus. Barnard goes on to comment as
follows:
"All of those who translated the passage had
walked on that very ground. They knew that the marketplace was right across the
street from the theatre and that all around the marketplace were the
silversmiths' shops. So in a sense, archaeology helped them. They translated with that background in mind, so they didn't
have the buildings in the wrong place. They recognized that the theatre was
located right across from the marketplace. Their background information,
gathered from archaeology, helped in translating the words." (pp. 40-1; emphasis mine.)
To
a superficial reader, all of this might seem very impressive. But when one
turns to the text of this story in Acts 19--in fact, when the respective
translations of the NIV and the KJV are compared in these verses--, one
discovers with surprise that there is no discernable
impact on the newer translation that makes it differ from the older one
with respect to the scene in which the story occurs. The best way of
demonstrating this is simply to set the two versions side by side. (I have
adopted the paragraphing of the NIV in both texts for convenience, since
otherwise the texts would not run parallel to each other in the table below.)
|
Acts 19:23-41 (KJV) |
Acts 19:23-41 (NIV) |
|
23 And the same time there
arose no small stir about that way. 24 For a certain man named
Demetrius, a silversmith, which made silver shrines for Diana, brought no
small gain unto the craftsmen; 25 Whom he called together with the workmen of
like occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our
wealth. 26 Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost
throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people,
saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands: 27 So that not only
this our craft is in danger to be set at nought;
but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and
her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth. 28 And when they heard these
sayings, they were full of wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is
Diana of the Ephesians. 29 And the whole city was filled with confusion: and
having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul's companions in
travel, they rushed with one accord into the theatre. 30 And when Paul would
have entered in unto the people, the disciples suffered him not. 31 And
certain of the chief of Asia, which were his friends, sent unto him, desiring
him that he would not adventure himself into the theatre. 32 Some therefore cried one
thing, and some another: for the assembly was confused; and the more part
knew not wherefore they were come together. 33 And they drew Alexander out of
the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander beckoned with the
hand, and would have made his defence unto the
people. 34 But when they knew that he
was a Jew, all with one voice about the space of two hours cried out, Great is
Diana of the Ephesians. 35 And when the townclerk had appeased the people, he said, Ye men
of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not how
that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana,
and of the image which fell down from Jupiter? 36 Seeing then that
these things cannot be spoken against, ye ought to be quiet, and to do
nothing rashly. 37 For ye have brought hither these men, which are neither
robbers of churches, nor yet blasphemers of your goddess. 38 Wherefore if
Demetrius, and the craftsmen which are with him, have a matter against any
man, the law is open, and there are deputies: let them implead
one another. 39 But if ye enquire any thing concerning other matters, it
shall be determined in a lawful assembly.
40 For we are in danger to be called in question for this day's
uproar, there being no cause whereby we may give an account of this
concourse. 41 And when he had thus spoken, he dismissed the assembly. |
23 About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way. 24 A silversmith
named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in no little
business for the craftsmen. 25 He called them together, along with the
workmen in related trades, and said: "Men, you know we receive a good
income from this business. 26 And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has
convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in
practically the whole province of Asia. He says that man-made gods are no
gods at all. 27 There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good
name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be
discredited, and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the
province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty." 28 When they heard this,
they were furious and began shouting: "Great is Artemis of the
Ephesians!" 29 Soon the whole city was in an uproar. The people seized
Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul's traveling companions from Macedonia, and rushed
as one man into the theater. 30 Paul wanted to appear before the crowd, but
the disciples would not let him. 31 Even some of the officials of the
province, friends of Paul, sent him a message begging him not to venture into
the theater. 32 The assembly was in
confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some another. Most of the people did
not even know why they were there. 33 The Jews pushed Alexander to the front,
and some of the crowd shouted instructions to him. He motioned for silence in
order to make a defense before the people. 34 But when they realized he was a
Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: "Great is Artemis
of the Ephesians!" 35 The city clerk quieted
the crowd and said: "Men of Ephesus, doesn't all the
world know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the
great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven? 36 Therefore, since
these facts are undeniable, you ought to be quiet and not do anything rash.
37 You have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed temples nor
blasphemed our goddess. 38 If, then, Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have
a grievance against anybody, the courts are open and there are proconsuls.
They can press charges. 39 If there is anything further you want to bring up,
it must be settled in a legal assembly. 40 As it is, we are in danger of
being charged with rioting because of today's events. In that case we would
not be able to account for this commotion, since there is no reason for
it." 41 After he had said this, he dismissed the assembly. |
If
the attentive reader can find anything in the above in either translation that
specifies the background at all, other than incidental hints such as "at Ephesus" (v. 26) and "they rushed with one accord into the theatre" (v.
29), I would be grateful to know what it could be. Much less is there any sign
of an improved placement of buildings in the NIV as opposed to the KJV.
Plainly it was not part of the purpose of Luke (or of the Holy Spirit Who inspired Luke) to refer to the arrangement of the
buildings in the text. No doubt the Greek vacations enjoyed by the NIV's
translators were very therapeutic, but the net effect of these travels on the
resulting NIV treatment of the story's setting is exactly nil.
Of course one could excuse Barnard
for this kind of writing, in that his book appears to have been largely a
promotional "puff" piece written to place the NIV in the most
beneficial light, were it not that the Word of God is too important to be
treated in such a frivolous manner. Barnard elsewhere asserts, in a
similarly misleading way, that
"A
modern translator, working with the treasury of ancient literature now
available, is like a sculptor. By looking at his model from many different
angles, the sculptor is able to produce an accurate, well-rounded,
three-dimensional figure. The King James
translators were more like painters. Though highly skilled for the day in
which they lived, they did not have the tools to enable them to study the
ancient biblical documents from many different viewpoints. They painted a rich
and beautiful canvas that served Christians for many generations, but they were
never able to provide the extra dimension of depth" (p. 27; italics in
Barnard).
After such a
ridiculous statement, it is well to compare the words of Leland Ryken, who worked as a literary stylist on the ESV, in his
important book The Word of God in English
(Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2002). In discussing the need for a translation to
evoke the world of biblical times, rather than to try to make a simplistic
conversion into contemporary equivalents, Ryken
remarks that
". . . although I do not use the King
James Version for my regular Bible reading, I do read it occasionally. One
of several reasons for doing so is that when it comes to
transporting us from our own time and place to another time and place, one
cannot beat the King James translation. As a result, reading the KJV has
the salutary effect of reminding us that the world of the biblical text is,
in fact, a world in which much is strange" (pp. 184-5; emphasis
mine).
It
seems clear, then, in the light of this extremely credible and disinterested
verdict by a literary expert (as opposed to the assertions Barnard makes here
and elsewhere in his book, which are patently designed to promote the
NIV), that the only people who cannot find "the extra dimension of
depth" in the KJV are those who are too uninformed or uncaring to
allow themselves to perceive it.