One of the best-known passages in the New Testament is the Lord’s Prayer. Catholics often refer to this prayer as the “Our Father.” There are a number of differences between the way I would choose to translate this prayer and the common English text of the prayer. One such difference falls in …

Have you ever considered a prayer as a form of barter? Perhaps no translation issue is more relevant to our Christian lives today than the idea of prayer expressed in the Gospel According to Matthew 5:44. I’ve translated this verse as: “I say to you, ‘Love your enemies and offer prayers on …

This week I’ve chosen to translate the Gospel According to Matthew 5:37 as: “Let your word yes be yes and no be no. More than these things is from wickedness.” The word I chose to translate as “wickedness” sometimes also is translated as “the Evil One” due to an ambiguity in the …

The Gospel According to Matthew 5:28 (NABRE) contains a New Testament teaching on lust: “But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” The adverb that here is translated as “with lust,” in Greek is the …

In the Gospel According to Matthew we continue to see a fascinating theme expressed—the contrast between the word of God and other forms of speech. The prologue to the Gospel According to John (NABRE) takes as a major theme Jesus as the word of God, using the word logos to describe …

It’s common for artists and writers to present the spirit of God as a dove. One of main points on my mind this week is an idea consistent with the spirit behind Lost in Translation—that a fair approach to translation of the Scriptures requires a certain degree of irreverence. An easy …

A few interesting translation questions arise related to the magi who appear in the second chapter of the Gospel According to Matthew. Perhaps the most intriguing is found in the Gospel According to Matthew 2:10: “And when they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.” There’s not much …

Can you define anathema? In the Letter to the Romans 9:2–3 (NABRE), we encounter one of the more difficult passages in the New Testament. Paul writes that he has great sorrow and anguish because “I could wish that I myself were accursed and separated from Christ for the sake of …

Jesus’ life as ransom is a difficult idea for many people to grasp. It relies on understanding the concept of redemption, and on accepting that humanity was in need of such redemption. In the Gospel According to Matthew 20:26–28 (NABRE), Jesus teaches his disciples what the path to greatness looks …

In this week’s reading from the Gospel According to Matthew 8:23–27 (NABRE), Jesus rebukes the winds and seas, and everything calms. Exactly what is it that Jesus did? What is it about Jesus’ rebuke that even the winds and seas would obey? The Greek word translated as rebuke is ἐπιτιμέω (epitimeo). This …