take it in

. . . a part of the drafting process . . .

How many times do you need to read or hear something before it becomes familiar?  Once?  Twice?  A dozen?

One of the vital steps to creating a good first draft in translation is to take the time to really ingest the content.

Read it.
Listen to it.
Act it out.
Meditate on it.
Research it.

It doesn't always take the same form for everyone, but it is important to not skip the step.  When you're drafting Biblical text, you have the added benefit of multiple versions and languages.  We often will read the passage in five to eight different versions and/or languages before we begin drafting.

Here is a group of translators acting out the parable of the seeds falling on different kinds of soil.

Translations and versions vary along the scale of literal to dynamic, choosing to say things different ways.  It can be really valuable to look at more than one kind of translation as it helps to give an idea of the range of freedom in translating a particular word, phrase, or section.

Here's an example of a verse we recently examined in our team checking, Luke 6:1 --

ESV
On a Sabbath, while he was going through the grainfields, his disciples plucked and ate some heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands.

NIV
One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and his disciples began to pick some heads of grain, rub them in their hands and eat the kernels.

NLT
One Sabbath day as Jesus was waking through some grainfields, his disciples broke off heads of grain, rubbed off the husks in their hands, and ate the grain.

GNB
Jesus was walking through some cornfields on the Sabbath.  His disciples began to pick the ears of corn, rub them in their hands, and eat the grain.

CEV
One Sabbath when Jesus and his disciples were walking through some wheat fields, the disciples picked some wheat.  They rubbed the husks off with their hands and started eating the grain.

NRSV
One sabbath while Jesus was going through the grainfields, his disciples plucked some heads of grain, rubbed them in their hands, and ate them.

NASB
Now it happened that He was passing through some grainfields on a Sabbath; and His disciples were picking the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands and eating the grain.

Buk Baibel (Tok Pisin)
Long wanpela de Sabat, Jisas i wokabaut namel long ol gaden wit.  Na ol disaipel bilong en i kisim ol pikinini bilong wit, na ol i rapim long han bilong rausim skin bilong wit, na ol i wok long kaikai.

Our draft (Tigak)
Lo saxaai gaan ina aaius na Iesu nari riga pasaal inaang lo laana tang maatang wit, e tangina naalaxex ina aaxalxalit riga vuaki tangina vuai e rig soxsox gavaani tang pikui pana mitiri, e rig ngani tang xex ina.

--- Things to note ---

* The CEV introduces both Jesus and the disciples walking through the grainfield.  Some languages need to have both parties introduced such because if the text only says Jesus was walking through them and then talks about the disciples picking heads of grain it becomes confusing.

* The GNB refers to the grain as corn and the CEV and the Buk Baibel use wheat.  Some languages need the grain to be specific or something understood.

* The NLT, CEV, and Buk Baibel describe the disciples as rubbing off the husks in their hands, rather than just rubbing them in their hands.  This additional information can help in the areas of the world where this type of crop isn't grown.

* The NASB chooses to translate the Greek egeneto de "now it happened," which is a marker of new information.  Some languages need to use this type of transitional information to make the progression of the story natural or clear.

* The ESV and NASB choose to use the pronoun "he" instead of "Jesus."  It is important to know what is most natural in the language you're translating into for instances such as this; some languages need to be very clear about who is the subject in each new section.

* The GNB, CEV, and Buk Baibel choose to break this verse into two sentences rather than one long sentence.  Again, some languages do not use long convoluted sentences naturally and others do.

* You can also see that the different versions choose slightly different orders for the progression of the disciples actions: plucking, rubbing off the skin, eating.  And some are more explicit about what they eat: the kernel, the grain, them.


That's one, relatively simple verse, but look at all the small things you can discover simply by looking at multiple versions and translations.  And this isn't even a complete list.  Expound that to the more complex issues such as key terms, rhetorical questions, and more and you can see why this is such a valuable step.