St Luke's Church Eccleshill - Articles from "The Link"

The injustice of bible translation

Are you sure what Jesus meant when he said, ‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness’ (Matthew 5:5)? I ask because Bible translations make it difficult. So you could be in for a surprise. And for having your eyes opened about why the poor come so far down the Church’s agenda.

The problem is the word translated ‘righteousness’ could equally and more accurately be rendered ‘justice’. And, for most of us, the two have very different meanings.

The word ‘righteousness’ comes deeply loaded with connotations like ‘virtue’, ‘morality’, ‘decency’, ‘uprightness’ and ‘rectitude’. This list (from the Microsoft synonym generator) shoves us firmly in the direction of a narrow moral focus and inward looking agenda.

We think of other words Jesus spoke, about our righteousness needing to out-do that of the Pharisees. And, with our clear picture as to what Pharisees stood for, we figure what Jesus asks for here is more of the same. A scrubbed clean inner life of personal morality and a bunch of finger pointing at those who don’t match up.

But now head for the word that ought to be here – ‘justice’. And start thinking of the associations this has. Things like ‘fairness’, ‘impartiality’, ‘fair dealing’ and ‘even-handedness’. This time we are turned outward rather than inward. Passionately seeking the good of others rather than the goodness of ourselves.

This translation comes about 700 times in the Bible – 500 in the Old Testament and 200 in the New. Is this why the Church is in such a froth over issues of personal morality, from sex to stealing; but remains almost blind to the need for justice for those who’s lives are trapped in poverty due to a lack of it?

For years we have had a Church big on the sins of the bedroom but not of the boardroom. A Church shining its searchlight endlessly at a world out of line with the holiness of God. But not a Church in agony over the ‘justice’-chasm between what life ought to look like and how life is for billions; and what keeps it that way.

Could there perhaps, one day, be a new translation of the Bible, where the 700 'righteousnesses' are replaced with 'justices'? And, until then, could we not try to live as though they were already there? Which means other words of Jesus, like ‘Blessed are those who are persecuted because of justice’ will help us see things in a very different light.

Peter Meadows (Church Action, World Vision UK.) Adapted with permission from World Vision's free e-mail newsletter WorldView - www.worldvision.org.uk/church .

	*St Luke's Church, Eccleshill - The Link* magazine** The Link is published monthly at 40p (Senior Citizens 35p), and we deliver free within the parish and post copies (at the reader's expense) to those who request it. Please contact us if you would like a free copy for a trial period. June 2003, Page 2.
Home Page. Index of articles. Bible & Sermons: index, The cross, 1 Peter, Read Mark, Without Jesus? Injustice. In this issue: (June 2003) Vicar's Letter, Injustice, Budget, CTNB, Unchurched.	The injustice of bible translation Are you sure what Jesus meant when he said, *‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness’* (Matthew 5:5)? I ask because Bible translations make it difficult. So you could be in for a surprise. And for having your eyes opened about why the poor come so far down the Church’s agenda. The problem is the word translated *‘righteousness’* could equally and more accurately be rendered *‘justice’. And, for most of us, the two have very different meanings. The word ‘righteousness’* comes deeply loaded with connotations like ‘virtue’, ‘morality’, ‘decency’, ‘uprightness’ and ‘rectitude’. This list (from the Microsoft synonym generator) shoves us firmly in the direction of a narrow moral focus and inward looking agenda. We think of other words Jesus spoke, about our righteousness needing to out-do that of the Pharisees. And, with our clear picture as to what Pharisees stood for, we figure what Jesus asks for here is more of the same. A scrubbed clean inner life of personal morality and a bunch of finger pointing at those who don’t match up. But now head for the word that ought to be here – *‘justice’. And start thinking of the associations this has. Things like ‘fairness’, ‘impartiality’, ‘fair dealing’ and ‘even-handedness’. This time we are turned outward rather than inward. Passionately seeking the good of others rather than the goodness of ourselves. This translation comes about 700 times in the Bible – 500 in the Old Testament and 200 in the New. Is this why the Church is in such a froth over issues of personal morality, from sex to stealing; but remains almost blind to the need for justice for those who’s lives are trapped in poverty due to a lack of it? For years we have had a Church big on the sins of the bedroom but not of the boardroom. A Church shining its searchlight endlessly at a world out of line with the holiness of God. But not a Church in agony over the ‘justice’-chasm between what life ought to look like and how life is for billions; and what keeps it that way. Could there perhaps, one day, be a new translation of the Bible, where the 700 'righteousnesses' are replaced with 'justices'? And, until then, could we not try to live as though they were already there? Which means other words of Jesus, like ‘Blessed are those who are persecuted because of justice’* will help us see things in a very different light. Peter Meadows (Church Action, World Vision UK.) Adapted with permission from World Vision's free e-mail newsletter WorldView - www.worldvision.org.uk/church .
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