Freddy Boswell works as a Senior Translation Consultant for SIL. He has served in a variety of SIL Global leadership roles, including Executive Director/CEO from 2008-2016, and International Translation Coordinator from 2000-2005. His field work experience has been based in Solomon Islands in the South Pacific, where he helped the Cheke Holo team complete their full Bible translation in 2022, and the Gao language finish their New Testament and Psalms in 2024. He currently assists various language groups and consultants-in-training in Eurasia, and he serves on the faculty of Dallas International University and the Canadian Institute of Linguistics. He is also the managing editor SIL’s Journal of Translation. He earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Biblical studies from Oral Roberts University, and a Ph.D. in Linguistics from Leiden University. He lives in Alabama, USA, and is married to Bekah. They have three married children and 3 grandchildren.
The Paraphrase: Where Ethics Meets Form, Theory, and Audience
Abstract
The publication success of the Paraphrase is unquestioned. Sales of the Living Bible, for example, which had the word “Paraphrase” embossed on its cover, have exceeded 42 million copies. New readers of the Bible, introduced to Scripture through this groundbreaking paraphrase, extolled their avenues of exciting insights and engagement. More recently The Message has had a parallel impact.
Even so, what is in question regarding the Paraphrase is its authenticity and integrity. Can translation scholars, priests, and ordinary readers ethically consider it to be “the Word of the Lord”? If they should do so, how do they respond when critics say they are in error—perhaps even mortal error?
This paper considers the form and function of the Paraphrase, contrasted with what many would consider to be traditional, and acceptable translations of Scripture. Where are the boundaries, guidelines, and pitfalls of the Paraphrase? When a reader engages with its message, is there a “bridge too far” that disconnects the reader from the “Word of God”, and thus the conclusion is that it is unethical to consider it to be holy writ?
While perhaps raising more questions than answers on a topic with a wide range of opinions, and written and unwritten norms of acceptability, the author brings the success, impact, and wide distribution of this particular “translation genre” to the consideration and debate of the academic translation community. Important for the debate are the authorial intentions of the translators, and these are presented and explained from research by the presenter.
About the Author
SIL Global