Bogoslovska smotra, Vol. 95 No. 2, 2025.
Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.53745/bs.95.2.9
A Plea for the Preservation of the Human Weakness of God’s Words in the Translation of Scripture. Theological and Exegetical Observations
Miljenka Grgić
orcid.org/0000-0002-3608-6761
; Catholic Faculty of Theology, University of Split, Split, Croatia
Abstract
The paper advances the thesis that the human weakness of God’s words in Scripture is a part of God’s choice in composing Scripture, and thus should be preserved in the biblical translation. The thesis is based on the Dei Verbum doctrine and supported by relevant examples in translations of Scripture. The first part of the paper presents the doctrine of Dei Verbum on the divine-human nature of Scripture, which affirms the human weakness of Scripture as salvific, and it outlines Dei Verbum’s guidelines for interpreting and translating Scripture, which imply the preservation of the human weakness of Scripture in the biblical translation. The second part of the paper presents examples of the removal of the human weakness of God’s words in ancient and modern translations of Scripture – theology updates (biblical polytheism > monotheism; God the Father who tempts >protects from temptation), scandal removal (Isaiah’s mission of hardening > assertion of hardening; Jesus’ harshness > seriousness), clarification of ambiguities (Adam’s side > rib; Ecclesiastes’ wisdom > vanity) and refining literary expression (Christian courage > manliness) – and it points out the far-reaching negative effects of such biblical translations on the ecclesiastical and the theological field (Wirkungsheschichte). The conclusion summarizes the main results and presents the Masoretic preservation of the consonantal lectiones difficiliores as a model of respect and preservation of God’s words and an incentive to preserve the human weakness of God’s words in the translation of Scripture.
Keywords
biblical translation; condescensio; Dei Verbum; lectiones difficiliores; Wirkungs geschichte
Hrčak ID:
335024
URI
Publication date:
5.9.2025.
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