Bible based on original languages set for release in Norway
Scandanavian Bible. Photo Bible.no
Northern Europe
A former Catholic priest in Norway became the first to translate the Bible on its own into Norwegian from its original languages, Hebrew and Greek.
Kjell Arild Pollestad said to Dagen that translating the entire Bible became one of the “biggest projects of his life.” Many Norwegians have translated the New Testament, but the Old Testament remained the biggest hurdle as it is 3-4 times bigger and comes with greater interpretation challenges.
Pollestad also said that after seeing many gender-neutral and “politically correct” editions released within his country, he believed that it was time to get back to the original translations. According to the more “politically correct” translations, “brothers” became “siblings” and “sons” became “children”.
Corrosion
“This is politically correct rearing its head. In our time, no one is a teacher anymore and no one is an Indian. And now no one who lived 3000 years ago will be a leper anymore. Then all the drama disappears. Leprous was a word in the same category as cancer or corrosion,” he said.
While working on the new translations, Pollestad said that it was also important to preserve the rhythm and rhyme within the Bible’s poetic language. According to Pollestad, a 2011 translation of a proverb in 2 Peter 2,22 lost its poetic significance: “No sooner is the pig washed than it wallows in the mud.” However, his newer translation became closer to the original: “Newly washed sows roll over in the mud.”
Musical touch
“Several translations lack the musical touch. You see it, among other things, in the Bible 2011. The rhythm is bad. It cannot be like this if the poetic power is to be intact. And the Bible deserves it,” he said in a Vart Land report.
According to Dagen, Pollestad said that his translation project came from an initiative under the Norwegian Academy of Language and Literature. He also consulted many experts in the Hebrew language to ensure accuracy.
“I set aside five years for the work. I am retired, so I have plenty of time. But the purely technical aspect of production also takes time. In any case, it has been a fantastic task to get on with.”
Pollestad finished the translation last autumn and plans to publish it sometime in 2023 under Forlaget Press.
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