3 Pillars of Good Biblical Translation Highlighted

VATICAN CITY, NOV. 27, 2001 (Zenit.org).- John Paul II described the keys to the “difficult art” of translating Scriptures, when he met representatives of the Universal Biblical Alliance in audience Monday.

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<br> He congratulated them for the 10 million copies published over 25 years of the Interconfessional Translation of the Bible in Italian.

“The work of a translator is always a difficult art,” the Holy Father said when he met with the translators and editors of various Christian confessions.

“A good translation is based on three pillars that must contemporaneously support the entire work,” he added.

“First, there must be a deep knowledge of the language and the cultural world at the point of origin,” the Pope insisted. “Next, there must be a good familiarity with the language and cultural context at the point where the work will arrive.”

“Lastly, to crown the work with success, there must be an adequate mastery of the contents and meaning of what one is translating,” he added.

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