I recently acquired a copy of Robert Alter’s translation of the Hebrew Bible, and I have to say, there is no translation quite like it! It echoes the elevated literary style of the King James, but with modernized language and greater precision in rendering certain aspects of the Hebrew language. I’ve never read a translation that succeeds so well in replicating the structure and literary force of the Hebrew text, especially with regard to features of the language that have been largely ignored by other English translations, such as rhythm and wordplay. Alter’s attention to these details has produced a work that is fresh and exciting to read.
“I’ve never read a translation that succeeds so well in replicating the structure and literary force of the Hebrew text.”
One verse that highlights Alter’s skill as a translator is 1 Sam 8:3. Here it is in the King James:
KJV: “And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment.”
The two verbs in bold, ‘turned aside’ and ‘perverted,’ come from the same root, נטה. The basic sense of the word is ‘to stretch out,’ ‘to turn,’ or ‘to bend.’ The first instance occurs in the qal stem. Here the sons themselves are turning, in this case in the direction of lucre. The second occurs in the hifil with the direct object מִשְׁפָּֽט. Here the sons are causing justice or judgment to bend.
The dual use of the verb in this verse highlights the idea that the sons of Samuel twisted justice because they themselves were twisted. The faults inherent in their own character and actions caused the execution of their responsibility as leaders to be faulty. In Hebrew, this point is hard to miss. But most English versions make no attempt to preserve it in translation:
KJV: “And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment.”
ESV: “Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice.”
NIV (1984): “But his sons did not walk in his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice.”
NLT (2007): “But they were not like their father, for they were greedy for money. They accepted bribes and perverted justice.”
Robert Alter’s translation brilliantly succeeds where others have failed:
Alter: “But his sons did not go in his ways and they were bent on gain and took bribes and twisted justice.”
Alter’s use of the English idiom “bent on” nicely fits the idea of turning aside after gain while also preserving a semantic connection with the following verb, “twisted.” The effect is subtle, but it allows the wordplay in the Hebrew text to shine through. This is quite simply a brilliant move and it exemplifies the kind of creativity and mastery of language that a translator needs, no matter what kind of translation is being produced.
Finding the Right Words 