Santiago DO
Puritan Board Freshman
How important is it to study the Bible in my native language (Spanish) in order to achieve a correct grammar-historical interpretation?
Thank you in advance
Thank you in advance
Study the Bible in a language different than my native one
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Ben Zartman
Puritan Board Junior
It depends on how competent you are in whatever other language you're studying in. You have a beautiful resource in the Reyna-Valera 1960 translation of the Scriptures: precise, majestic, and powerful. It would be a great shame if, being able to read it, you chose not to.
I find that Spanish is structured more like Greek than English is, so phrases that were altered to render them readable in English, appear more closely ordered to the Greek in Spanish.
As for achieving correct interpretation, well, there's lots of people far smarter than you or I who still come up with bad interpretations: that has less to do with language and more with falling in with false teaching and lacking the discernment to reject it.
I find that Spanish is structured more like Greek than English is, so phrases that were altered to render them readable in English, appear more closely ordered to the Greek in Spanish.
As for achieving correct interpretation, well, there's lots of people far smarter than you or I who still come up with bad interpretations: that has less to do with language and more with falling in with false teaching and lacking the discernment to reject it.
Jake
Puritan Board Senior
I've found value in reading the Bible in Spanish, which I can generally follow well enough, though it's not a native language for me. I try to incorporate at least some Spanish Bible reading to help practice my Spanish and because it will often strike me differently than how I've read it many times before in English. But for intense study I'm not equipped to do in any language besides my native tongue.
Andrew35
Puritan Board Sophomore
This question is even more interesting than it first appears.
I recall some friends in China discussing about how they didn't read parts of the Bible like Romans in Mandarin, even though it was their native language, because the Chinese was "too philosophical." They preferred reading it in English.
My brother is in the IMB, and he talks about how pervasive the notion of a "heart language" is among the people there. In my experience internationally, similar to what I've mentioned above, the reality is far more nuanced.
I recall some friends in China discussing about how they didn't read parts of the Bible like Romans in Mandarin, even though it was their native language, because the Chinese was "too philosophical." They preferred reading it in English.
My brother is in the IMB, and he talks about how pervasive the notion of a "heart language" is among the people there. In my experience internationally, similar to what I've mentioned above, the reality is far more nuanced.
Andrew35
Puritan Board Sophomore
To the OP, I would agree that depends on you and your facility with each language.
My grandmother read a Spanish Bible all her life, even though she lived most of her life in an English-speaking environment, because she never really assimilated to the culture and language--by choice, I suspect. If that's you, obviously a good Spanish translation would be preferable. While if your Spanish is weaker than your English, probably not much point.
My wife dislikes reading the Bible in her native language because she says the translation is bad--but she doesn't have much attachment to her native language anyway, in defiance of those stereotypes about "heart language" that I mentioned earlier.
So in the end, I guess... depends?
My grandmother read a Spanish Bible all her life, even though she lived most of her life in an English-speaking environment, because she never really assimilated to the culture and language--by choice, I suspect. If that's you, obviously a good Spanish translation would be preferable. While if your Spanish is weaker than your English, probably not much point.
My wife dislikes reading the Bible in her native language because she says the translation is bad--but she doesn't have much attachment to her native language anyway, in defiance of those stereotypes about "heart language" that I mentioned earlier.
So in the end, I guess... depends?
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Charles Johnson
Puritan Board Junior
I usually read the Reina Valera. It's a higher quality translation than the modern English bibles, and it's less archaic and has better style than the King James bible, in my opinion. A lot like the Geneva Bible, actually. But you don't have to read the Bible in your native language. Paul wrote to the Romans in Greek, and not Latin, for example.
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