Daily Retreat 09/30/06
2006 Sep 30 Sat: Jerome, p, dr M
Eccl 11: 9 – 12: 8/ Ps 89(90): 3-4. 5-6. 12-13. 14 and 17/ Lk 9: 43b-45
From today’s readings: “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth.... In every age, O Lord, You have been our refuge.... They were afraid to ask Him about this saying....”
The Words in our Ears
Too often, our modern translations tone down colorful phrases in scripture, evidently assuming that today’s listeners and readers lack the intelligence to understand what is actually written. But are we really that dense?
In America, for instance, surely everyone understands Paul Harvey when he occasionally invites his radio audience to “wash your ears out with this....” Centuries ago, Jesus emphasized the importance of His personal prophecy with a similar lead-in (Luke 9:44), “Put these words in your ears!”
It’s pretty clear what He meant from that simple and literal translation, isn’t it? Yet the New American Bible and most other contemporary versions needlessly abstract the concrete and vivid imperative, rendering the verse along the lines of “Pay attention to what I am telling you.” Even the venerable King James Version reads, “Let these sayings sink down into your ears....”
Every modern language version of the Bible, of course, involves compromises and choices that result in a less-than-perfect translation. For this reason, it’s often helpful to compare different translations when reading and studying scripture. In our boastfully literate culture, there’s just no excuse for being biblically illiterate! St. Jerome, one of the earliest and greatest scripture scholars, keenly insisted that “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ!” True indeed, for, if we fail to put the Lord’s words in our ears, we’ll soon find them plugged up with nothing more than the insipid soundbites and the absurd cacophony of modernity.
Eccl 11: 9 – 12: 8/ Ps 89(90): 3-4. 5-6. 12-13. 14 and 17/ Lk 9: 43b-45
From today’s readings: “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth.... In every age, O Lord, You have been our refuge.... They were afraid to ask Him about this saying....”
The Words in our Ears
Too often, our modern translations tone down colorful phrases in scripture, evidently assuming that today’s listeners and readers lack the intelligence to understand what is actually written. But are we really that dense?
In America, for instance, surely everyone understands Paul Harvey when he occasionally invites his radio audience to “wash your ears out with this....” Centuries ago, Jesus emphasized the importance of His personal prophecy with a similar lead-in (Luke 9:44), “Put these words in your ears!”
It’s pretty clear what He meant from that simple and literal translation, isn’t it? Yet the New American Bible and most other contemporary versions needlessly abstract the concrete and vivid imperative, rendering the verse along the lines of “Pay attention to what I am telling you.” Even the venerable King James Version reads, “Let these sayings sink down into your ears....”
Every modern language version of the Bible, of course, involves compromises and choices that result in a less-than-perfect translation. For this reason, it’s often helpful to compare different translations when reading and studying scripture. In our boastfully literate culture, there’s just no excuse for being biblically illiterate! St. Jerome, one of the earliest and greatest scripture scholars, keenly insisted that “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ!” True indeed, for, if we fail to put the Lord’s words in our ears, we’ll soon find them plugged up with nothing more than the insipid soundbites and the absurd cacophony of modernity.
posted by FrPitstick | 9/25/2006
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