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Use of ( ), [ ] and italic letters in Bible Text
Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2005 12:05 am
by Ajay Parmar
In the Bible text translators use a parentheses and Brackets. Like in
1. John 7: 50 KJV reads: “Nicodemus saith unto them, (he that came to Jesus by night, being one of them,)”
2. John 8:24 KJV reads: “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.”
3. Matthew 18:11 HCSB reads: [For the Son of Man has come to save the lost.]
My question is why they wrap texrt in ( ), [ ] and italic text?
What do these symbols mean to original bible canon text?
Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2005 12:13 am
by Anonymous
translating Hebrew and Greek is difficult and in the process some of the meaning can be lost. The italics and brackets are meant to help convey the meaning that existed in the hebrew texts without adding extra words I believe.
Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2005 10:50 am
by Jac3510
vvart is basically right. Each translation uses its own system of notation. But, as a standard rule of thumb, brackets are usually used to indicate text not found in the original manuscripts, but rather text that was added in (I've not read the HCSB). The use of parenthesis and commas typically follow standard English grammar. For instance, in the previous sentence, I used parenthesis, but I could have started a new sentence, used a dash, broke it off with commas and some sort of conjoining phrase like, "although I can't speak for the HCSB . . ."
What the translator has to decide is what is the main point of the text. In both Greek and Hebrew, sentences are constructed in such a way that there is a main point and then every phrase modifies it in some way to help the reader better understand the idea. English is like this to a great extent as well. The problem in translating is the question: which phrase is the main idea? This leads to the question, how does this phrase modify that one? In some cases, you'll find phrases that a parenthetical, so you mark them off by some grammatical system (parenthesis, commas, brackets, whatever).
In any case, those aren't found in the manuscripts these translators worked from. It's all a matter of translating not only the words but also the grammar.
Hope that helps
