The one sentence cliff-notes-translation is this: the verb often translated 'mercy and grace will follow' in Psalm 23:6, I think is mistranslated; instead, like its normal usage in contexts of chasing and catching enemies, the verb should be more active as 'pursue.' I pick up on this issue from John Piper who has mentioned it from the pulpit several times.
Une Méditation Sur Psaume 23:6
Le sens du mot
Le verbe que je voudrais cibler dans le texte est "s'accompagneront"; parce que je ne pense pas que ce mot soit traduit correctement, ni en français ni en anglais, ma langue maternelle. "S'accompagneront" est une traduction beaucoup moins forte que l'originale. Ce verbe est la traduction du mot Hébreu radaph qui veut plutôt dire "poursuivre" ou "chasser" comme dans la Genèse quand Abraham a poursuivi ses ennemis et les ennemis de Lot afin de les attraper et les attaquer. Il n'y a pas de manuscrit Hébreu qui est contraire à cette conclusion.
La Poésie Choquant
Ce verset dans la poésie du Psaume 23 est la seule fois où on voit quelque chose d'impersonnel faisant radaph, donc dans le Psaume 23, la grâce nous chasse. Oui, ça c'est un peu bizarre et choquant, mais je pense que ce verset dit que Dieu - Dieu est symbolisé par les mots "le bonheur et la grâce" - que Dieu va nous poursuivre avec intensité. Il est le Grand, Tout-Puissant Chasseur qui va tout faire pour trouver et toujours sanctifier ses enfants, par sa grâce et son bonheur, avec la même niveau d'intensité quand il chasse ses ennemis.
Proposition: Poursuivre
Pourtant le français n'est pas ma langue maternelle, je vous propose qu'on traduise le verbe "poursuivre."
Well, French may not be your "langue maternelle", but you've done a convincing job of arguing for a different translation for radaph in French (I read French fairly well; just don't speak it). I'm impressed that you folks' French is this good given the short time you've been studying it. The Lord is surely answering prayer.
ReplyDeleteOne question: do you think this (mis)translation is more of a theological problem than a language problem?
Grace,
Ibukun Olowu
Two thoughts:
ReplyDelete1) One of our school's profs suggested to us the word 'traquer' which carries the same connotation of intensity implied in the original, the idea of intensely tracking someone or something. So both this word and 'poursuivre' test as good French choices here by native speakers.
2) To directly answer your question, Ibukun, I don't think that this is simply a language problem. The translators of my French Bible used the word 'poursuivre' for this same Hebrew word in Genesis (and in several other places), so they had the word as an option. Seems to me translators consider this more of a theological problem. I noticed that at least one resources I referenced says (without any evidence, explanation, discussion) that this word has the sense of 'accompany,' an interpretive decision made by someone.
How did we not know that you knew how to read French? Hyper cool!
Hmmm...that still leaves the question of why translators feel the need to soften the verb. Maybe the thought of God chasing after anything sounds too undignified to them. But then again, seems like God does a lot of "undignified" things in the Bible: holding out His hands "all day long to an obstinate and rebellious people", for instance. Or singing loudly over His own (Zeph 3.17), or...dying on a cross. So maybe they had some other reasoning.
ReplyDeleteAs to French: you'd never written to me in French before! :-)