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Source: (consider it)
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Thread: German Bible Recommendation
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Adam.
Like as the
# 4991
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Posted
I'm going to be taking intensive German reading this summer as part of my return to academe. I'm looking for a good German Bible, probably more for keeping up my skills after the class is done than reading during it. I have a bunch bundled with Bibleworks 9, but I may end up buying a physical one. Whatever I do, I don't really know anything about the landscape of German translations like I do English. I guess I'd be looking for something reasonably formally equivalent, but which feels Germanic rather than 'translation-ese,' if that makes sense. Probably the equivalent of the RSV in English.
I've found this German lectionary website. Does anyone know what translation it uses? Anything about it?
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Ave Crux, Spes Unica!
Preaching blog
Posts: 8164 | From: Notre Dame, IN | Registered: Sep 2003
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Moo
Ship's tough old bird
# 107
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Posted
I would recommend Luther's translation, not necessarily as the only translation you use. It has shaped German theological language for centuries.
I think you also need another translation, but I know nothing about modern translations.
Moo
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Kerygmania host
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See you later, alligator.
Posts: 20365 | From: Alleghany Mountains of Virginia | Registered: May 2001
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IngoB
Sentire cum Ecclesia
# 8700
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Posted
The "official" translation in use by RCs in Germany is the Einheitsübersetzung ("unity translation", unity as in RCs and Lutherans together). It is for German RCs what the NAB is for US Catholics, and I think that's also a reasonable comparison as far as translation style and quality goes. It is also getting revised at the moment (at least by the RCs, the Lutherans dropped the ball), so within a few years there should be a (Catholic only) update to the current version. You can but this translation in many variants from various sources, e.g., from the Katholische Bibelwerk. The EÜ is however not what I would recommend as German bible translation, other than by virtue of being "official". It is basically in the state of NAB before its revision to the NABRE.
If you are looking for a (relatively) modern translation, I would recommend the so-called "Pattloch" translation. This is named after the main publisher of this translation, the actual translators were Vinzenz Hamp, Meinrad Stenzel and Josef Kürzinger (and sometimes you can find the translation under these names). It seems somewhat difficult to source this new now, and many of the used versions are "premium" bibles (with a lot of artwork, with fancy bindings, etc.). In bigger bookshops you may be able to find a version for sale because of that, even though it seems to be mostly out of print otherwise. You can also pay truckloads of money for some famous premium versions on eBay etc., as collectibles. A a nice version for a good price can be found here. This would be my suggestion of a "RSV equivalent" bible.
Another modern option, which is perhaps somewhat easier to source, is the "Herder" translation, once more named after the main publisher. It had various translators, but the version in print was a mild recent update by Johannes Franzkowiak. You can find it here. You are likely to find some version of this even in medium size bookshops. Interestingly enough, this particular translation used to be combined with the study commentary of the Jerusalem Bible in the past (though not now, I think). So I would call this my "NJB equivalent" bible. It is a decent choice.
If you are willing to dig deeper into the antiquarian book market, then two excellent RC older translations are on one hand the so-called "Schöningh / Paderborn" bible (after the publisher and the place of publishing) translated by Eugen Henne and Konstantin Rösch, and on the other hand the "Grünewald / Mainz" bible (publisher, place) translated by Paul Rießler and Rupert Storr.
The Granddaddy of good RC translations however would be the "Allioli" bible translated by Joseph Franz von Allioli. It is a translation from the Clementine Vulgate, but it is probably still "the" RC translation in terms of overall impact. So I guess you could call it a "Douai-Rheims equivalent" bible, though it was made much later. The NT has been republished in a Latin-German parallel version here, otherwise you have to go antiquarian. Augustin Arndt published an update of the Allioli bible with study commentary, which is a bit like the "Challoner equivalent" bible I guess. Good, traditional stuff, but very hard to find (and you need to be able to read Fraktur script).
If you would like to go for something ... different, then I would recommend the New Testament as translated by Fridolin Stier (edited by Eleonore Beck, Gabriele Miller and Eugen Sitarz) and the Old Testament by Martin Buber and Franz Rosenzweig. (Stier has also translated Job and some Psalms.) These are really edgy translations which can border on paraphrase, but unlike I guess most Anglo-Saxon "free" translations they are not dumbed down. At all. More the opposite... Another notable and fairly free translation of the NT is by Klaus Berger (well-known contemporary theologian) und Christiane Nord. This edition has the advantage of translating several other non-canonical early Christian texts, which you won't get otherwise.
Finally, there is a recent translation of the LXX. Unlike I think recent Anglo-Saxon efforts it's a full-blown academic project, and I have linked to the package including the academic commentary. But you can also get just the translation.
So in summary: if I were you, I would get some dirt cheap "Einheitsübersetzung", just so that you have the official liturgy text reference. But for personal reading I would go for either the Pattloch or the Herder bible, where I would prefer the former but the latter is slightly easier to source. And perhaps get either the Stier or the Berger NT for fun.
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They’ll have me whipp’d for speaking true; thou’lt have me whipp’d for lying; and sometimes I am whipp’d for holding my peace. - The Fool in King Lear
Posts: 12010 | From: Gone fishing | Registered: Oct 2004
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IngoB
Sentire cum Ecclesia
# 8700
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Posted
P.S.: You can get the Schönigh and Grünewald versions for free in an electronic version here. This software also includes (old!) Protestant translations like that of Luther, which I have not discussed above. The Luther translation is indeed a bit like the KJV for Germans, but that's also true in terms of being a bit ... archaic. I will leave it to some Protestant to go through the various more recent German Protestant versions. I think a "NASB equivalent" might be the Elberfelder, and a "NIV equivalent" the Schlachter. But I have little personal experience with Protestant German bibles...
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They’ll have me whipp’d for speaking true; thou’lt have me whipp’d for lying; and sometimes I am whipp’d for holding my peace. - The Fool in King Lear
Posts: 12010 | From: Gone fishing | Registered: Oct 2004
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Meike
Shipmate
# 3006
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Adam.:
I've found this German lectionary website. Does anyone know what translation it uses? Anything about it?
Adam, that would be the "Einheitsübersetzung", the one that Ingo described above. With Apokrypha as part of the Old Testament (catholic canon).
(Ingo, "unity” in this case stands for uniform Bible of all German-speaking Roman Catholic dioceses, not for RCs and Lutherans together, though. -> Wikipedia. I'm Lutheran, so I thought I'd mention it ![[Biased]](wink.gif) )
I highly recommend:
„Neue Zürcher Übersetzung“ (New Zurich translation), revised 2007 version. It's contemporary and it combines high readability and stylistic elegance with faithfulness to the text. Old and New Testament without Apokrypha. There’s no handy, lightweight paper edition available, AFAIK, so it’s unsuitable for travel.
Alternatively:
Luther (1984) is of course the classic, traditional version. Also recommendable but a little old fashioned, not really contemporary. Available with or without Apokrypha.
The "Gute Nachricht Bibel" (Good News Bible) on the other end of the spectrum is a very modern, accessible version, with fairly simple language. Maybe not a bad choice if you're mainly using it for keeping up your language skills.
There are so many different translations and I think this might be a good compilation with a very short description and sample texts:
https://www.die-bibel.de/online-bibeln/ueber-die-online-bibeln/
I'm not so familiar with English bibles, so I cannot tell the equivalent, unfortunately, but I hope this helps.
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“A god who let us prove his existence would be an idol” ― Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Posts: 250 | From: I like this place | Registered: Jul 2002
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Adam.
Like as the
# 4991
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Posted
Thanks, these are helpful pointers! I have access to a lot of these via Bibleworks, so I can play with them on that (knowing now a little of what I'm playing with), and see what works for me.
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Ave Crux, Spes Unica!
Preaching blog
Posts: 8164 | From: Notre Dame, IN | Registered: Sep 2003
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