Apprentice 2 Jesus

Today I was reflecting on one of the words of Christ from the cross. We have a community Good Friday service every year and my text was Luke 23:43 — “Today you will be with me in Paradise.”

Interestingly, I went through this passage in TNIV and ESV and discovered how smooth the TNIV is compared to ESV. Verses 40-41 go like this in the TNIV:

23:40

But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence?

23:41

We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

Then, the ESV:

23:40

But the other rebuked him, saying, Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?

23:41

And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.

The phrase that threw me off was “and we indeed justly.” I had to read it several times, going “HUH?” each time, until I finally connected it to v. 40. Looking it up in Greek, I understand “punished” is supplied in English. Why? To smooth out the reading. Is it correct to do so? I do not doubt it.

Before we go off the deep end and say, “Well, the ESV is simply being completely accurate,” I had to look at other formal translations to see how they handled that verse.

NASB (my good ol’ standby):

23:40

But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?

23:41

“And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what ^F503 we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.”

They supplied “suffering.”

NRSV:

23:40

But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?

23:41

And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.”

They supplied “condemned.”

RSV (the prototype for the ESV):

23:40

But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?

23:41

And we indeed justly; for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.”

The RSV is clearly the pattern for the ESV here. Yet, two very fine formal translations felt the need to put in a word just to smooth out the reading. It was not a bad idea. It kept me from going, “HUH?”

I do not mind the ESV. I am still a fan of formal translations. The smoothing out for English reading is becoming more understandable to me as time goes by. The reading of public Scripture is so vital, and to have a text clunk like that is a shock to the system, especially if you are reading it publicly for the first time.

Again, I am finding the TNIV a more “dynamic equivalence” work, yet one that is more “formal” than the NIV, which I like very much.