The New Testament A translation

Book - 2017

"David Bentley Hart undertook this new translation of the New Testament etsi doctrina non daretur, "as if doctrine is not given." Reproducing the texts' often fragmentary formulations without augmentation or correction, he has produced an often pitilessly literal translation of the early Christians' sometimes raw, astonished, and halting prose, one that captures the texts' frequent impenetrability and unfinished quality while awakening readers to an uncanniness that often lies hidden beneath doctrinal layers. This rendering also challenges the idea that the New Testament affirms the kind of people we are. Hart reminds us that the first Christians were a company of extremists, radical in their rejection of the v...alues and priorities of society not only at its most degenerate, but often at its most reasonable and decent. "To live as the New Testament language requires," he writes, "Christians would have to become strangers and sojourners on the earth, to have here no enduring city, to belong to a Kingdom truly not of this world. And we surely cannot do that, can we?""--Jacket flap.

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Subjects
Published
New Haven : Yale University Press [2017]
Language
English
Other Authors
David Bentley Hart (translator)
Physical Description
xxxv, 577 pages ; 25 cm
ISBN
9780300186093
Contents unavailable.
Review by Choice Review

Modern translations of the Bible fall into two basic categories: formal equivalency (rendering the original Hebrew and Greek biblical texts as literally as possible in English) and dynamic equivalency (giving readers the gist of what is being said while making concessions to readability and/or doctrinal traditions). Hart (fellow, Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study) has produced a rendition that falls decidedly in the former camp. Hart offers a New Testament (NT) as it actually reads and sounds in Greek, preserving ambiguities in the text and even rendering poor Greek grammar (e.g., in Mark and Revelation) as poor English grammar. Some of his word choices are unconventional, and theologians will debate whether all are as doctrinally neutral as he claims (for example, he renders "eternal" as "in/of the Age"). That said, Hart's translation gives nonreaders of biblical Greek a clear sense of the NT's actual voice. Offering a fresh take on familiar biblical passages, this volume will be required reading for those in biblical studies programs. Summing Up: Essential. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates; graduate students; general readers. --Stephen Fahrig, St. John's Seminary

Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Patristics scholar Hart (Atheist Delusions) explains in a lengthy introduction his reasons for what he calls a "reconstructive" translation of the New Testament: "to help awaken readers to mysteries and uncertainties and surprises" that he has found. The resulting text is indeed different; gone are many familiar terms, such as Messiah and devil. Hart also occasionally switches to present tense in gospel narratives, following the original Greek. From a literary point of view, the text is graceless, as the translator almost cheerfully admits. From the point of view of biblical studies, Hart has produced a deconstructive challenge to much received theological and hermeneutical wisdom, particularly about Paul's letters; on that topic Hart joins a large and lively scholarly conversation. Another distinctive aspect of this translation is Hart's insistence that scriptural condemnation of wealth is a consistent theme meant to be taken seriously. This necessary, brilliantly presented translation reads like taking a biblical studies class with a provocative professor. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

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Review by Library Journal Review

Hart (fellow, Notre Dame Inst. for Advanced Studies; The Experience of God; Atheist Delusions; The Story of Christianity) produces a one-person translation of the New Testament that attempts to capture the immediacy and nuances of the original Greek. The stated intention is to produce a translation unaffected by later church doctrine. Rather than a committee determining a common denominator, the author's singular voice and decisions come through clearly. For instance, Hart has chosen to render a common Greek phrase in its literal form as "the life of the age" rather than eternal or everlasting life. He also captures the choppiness of the narrative rather than smoothing it out as a literary production. His introduction, footnotes, and postscript reveal some of the thinking behind his language decisions, but the majority of the text remains undeclared owing to space constraints. Readers who are familiar with other translations will find a fresh voice in this version. VERDICT Academic readers, particularly those with some knowledge of Greek, will find this a useful resource, as will readers looking for another source on the Bible beyond the common translations. Recommended for academic and large public libraries.- Ray Arnett, Fremont Area Dist. Lib., MI © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.