Quote:
Originally Posted by maximus83
No disagreement on this at all. Altho, I could've sworn I already said something like "As science stands on the shoulders of those who came before, so does the art and science of translation." Did you somehow get the feeling I was denying that translation quality had advanced in modern times?
Alter's point, and mine, was about the beauty and the impact of the translation, not its claim to absolute fidelity or use of the latest manuscripts. My original post already acknowledges the KJV has numerous mistakes.
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I completely accept what you're saying; I just wanted to make a distinction between the KJV's unquestioned merit as a cornerstone of English literature (few literary works have been more influential) and its rather questionable value today as a useful translation. If someone wants to know what the original text(s) actually say, I honestly can't recommend using the KJV as a way of ascertaining that, beautiful though its prose is.