With New Year's Day falling on a Sunday, the first official function of the year for many folks was a church service. This morning's text for the first sermon of 2012 was Ephesians 5:15-17. For those of you who do not have total recall, it goes like this:
15 So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. 16 Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. 17 Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.
At least, that is the way it goes in the New Living Translation (Tyndale House).
I am going to go out on a limb here and say that those who love the NLT probably did not add a Word-A-Day vocabulary builder to their start page as part of their New Year's resolutions. The NLT is generally listed as a sixth-grade reading level. (I think that is being generous, but I am not selecting curriculum today, and it works for the purpose of today's blog.)
I understand that there are a gazillion solid reasons for choosing a Bible version that is easy to understand. Tyndale House Publishing has even trademarked the catchphrase The Truth Made Clear in order to promote that idea for the NLT. But take a look at the New King James Version:
15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
In verse 15, "be careful" does not begin to capture the tenor of "see that you walk circumspectly." Walking circumspectly is thinking carefully. It is knowing how to avoid distress. It is prudence, watchfulness, and deliberation. Noah Webster's 1828 dictionary defined Circumspection as, n. Caution; attention to all the facts and circumstances of a case, and to the natural or probable consequences of a measure, with a view to a correct course of conduct, or to avoid danger.
Verse 16 is downright dangerous as a standalone statement in the NLT: Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days! That is not the same thing as making the most of your time because the days are evil.
Therein lies the rub.
Using a simpler translation in an effort to be clearer has muddied the meaning instead. If I am to walk circumspectly and redeem the time, I should not be crippled with low-literacy scripture. (If I were teaching students who are learning to read, or had it been a family service rather than an adult audience, or if the scope was a "big picture" view that involved distance reading, I would concede that the NLT might be appropriate.) When I am ardently seeking the face of the omniscient Creator and expecting an answer, I want the advantage of every overtone, every innuendo, and every extra shade of meaning that I can muster. The challenge of this passage is to be sensible and not act like simpletons in seeking the will of the Lord. Using a less precise translation is so not walking circumspectly!
Q. Which translation leaves you more empowered, directed, and energized? In other words, which one is more relevant?
(a) So be careful how you live. (It’s a rough world out there.)
(b) See then that you walk circumspectly. (Put your antennae up; use the time.)
Answer Key. Notice the shift in focus. Answer (a) subtly introduces fear. It is all about being careful for your own self. Answer (b) shifts the focus to "looking watchfully" for the will of the Lord. It offers the hope that wisdom will get you through.
