Saturday 19 April 2008

Giving Priority to Romans in Bible Translation

I've been listening to John Piper's sermons on a book, which, due to it's theological significance, one of the 16th century Bible translators (Martin Luther) had deemed "the very purest gospel."

This morning I listened John's message on Romana 1:18, entitled "The Wrath of God Against Ungodliness & Unrighteousness." In his message, Piper outlines 3 ways in which God expresses his wrath against ungodliness & unrighteousness: universal death, universal futility & misery, and the degradation of human behaviour. John then explains how these expressions are to be understood in terms of the non-Christian and in light of the Believer's relationship with God.

I could not help thinking about the importance of giving priority to Romans in Bible translation. Indeed, it isn't one of the easiest books to translate; however, if it is, as Luther argued, "the very purest gospel," shouldn't translators make an extra effort to make it available to the bibleless peoples of the world?

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