Translational Clarity v Scriptural Clarity (Perspicuity) by Ben Kuwitzky

Friend and colleague Ben Kuwitzky has presented at the BT Conference (2017) and continues to think about the issue of clarity, arguing for a distinction between translational clarity and Scriptural clarity. 

He writes:

Our doctrine of Scripture has a tremendous impact not only on how we read and interpret the Bible, but also on how we translate it. We don’t – and shouldn’t –  translate the Bible like any other book. Because the Bible is God’s inspired, authoritative word to us, translation is a very serious endeavor. It can and often does leave translators shaking in their boots, because the stakes are high. God’s inerrant truth is on the line, and we do not want to be responsible for adding to or subtracting from it. 

One of the things we believe about Scripture is that is it clear. And as many translators seek to adhere to the highest standard, clarity has become one of the key evalutaive [sic] concepts that we use to determine the benchmark for a good translation. But I have observed that clarity as a theological concept is not at all the same as the clarity we talk about in the domain of translation. In Bible translation, it is easy to blend these two conceptions of clarity together as we are dealing with both translation and Scripture at the same time. But I will suggest here that it is quite helpful to keep them separate, to approach them as related, but distinct concepts. Remembering the clarity of Scripture as a theological concept may in fact serve to ease some of the burden that translators feel to communicate the full message of Scripture.  

We will first need to explore and compare these two types of clarity. I will refer to them as translational clarity and Scriptural clarity.

(Read the whole thing on his blog here or see responses at MAP here)

For more on the perspicuity, or clarity, of Scripture from a biblical theological perspective, see Mark D. Thompson's A Clear and Present Word.