Customer Reviews

The Inclusive Bible: The First Egalitarian Translation (Sheed & Ward Books)

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4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(4)

 

 

One does not generally sit down and read the Bible like a novel or non-fiction work, but this translation gives us a whole new experience. It is an excellent translation and reflects top flight scholarship. If you want a Bible that lets you escape from gender exclusive language, this is it. If you want a Bible that does not indulge in the patriarchal view of God as a male deity, this is it. God is God: not male, not female. We can begin to recognize that when we speak of the divine, we can only speak in metaphor that is constrained by our own human experience. This is a must have Bible for any thinking Christian.

First of all, I have to confess that I have not read The Inclusive Bible in its entirety. That would take months. But I have poked through it enough to get a sense of where it is going.

I picked up this translation after a fellow worshipper at my Church stated that using it, he was able to get through the book of Job for the first time. I thought this was odd, in that Job, concerned as it is with the mystery of evil, is not a particularly sexist book. In any event, the authors of "The Inclusive Bible" have several goals that could be considered laudable. One is to provide a reasonable paraphrase of the biblical text that is accessible to modern ears and idioms. In Job 40:7, for example, the Lord's command that Job "gird up your loins" is replaced with "hitch up your belt." This is rather imperfect, because hitching up one's belt is not usually performed in preparation for work or battle. But then "saddle up your ponies" would be even worse. Anyway, close enough for biblical scholarship, as they say.

Another of the translators' goals is to insert "YHWH" into the text where it was found in the originals. YHWH, of course, is the name of the Deity, and is usually not pronounced when reading, the word "Lord" (Hebrew "Adonai") being substituted in its stead to preserve the sanctity of the Holy Name. I am on board with this change, in that it a) respects Jewish sensibilities (not that Jews are likely to read a paraphrased Bible that contains the New Testament) and b) moves us closer to the original texts. I also am appreciative of the attempt to reduce the demonization of "the Jews" in John's gospel, especially in the Passion and post-resurrection narratives. In John 20:19, rather than having the disciples hiding from "the Jews" after the death of Jesus, they are in hiding "for fear of the Temple authorities." While this rendition makes the assumption that among the Jews only the Temple authorities were feared, at least it eliminates the absurd ideas that the Jewish disciples were hiding from themselves. But whether such changes should be made to the Scriptures themselves or limited to the Bible-based documents used during liturgies is a valid question that needs more debate.

Most notably, especially in light of the title of this work, is the translators' attempt to widen the use of gender-neutral language in the Bible. This sometimes seems fine, or at least tolerable. In Mark, the *man* with the withered had becomes the *person* with the withered hand. The *father* whose *son* is possessed by a demon becomes a *parent* whose *child* is thus afflicted. OK. But there are some times when genders are retained, for not altogether cogent reasons. The *woman* with the hemorrhage could have become a *person*, but this blunts the issue that her bleeding (which is menstrual in nature) rendered her ritually impure in a way that bleeding from a man might not have. But what of the Syro-Phoenician woman with the demon-possessed daughter? Why not make *them* a parent/child combo? Sometimes, the translators split the difference, as when in Matthew 7, instead of a father offering his son a stone or a snake, "you" offer the stone to a newly-minted daughter and the snake to a son.

When it came to Jesus' admonishment against divorce, he is heard to state that "God created male and female, and this is why one person leaves home and cleaves to another" This verse can be read, in an era of homosexual marriage, as appropriately ambiguous regarding gender -- the male and the female in question might not have left home to marry each other, but some other male and/or female who have left their own homes. But in the preceding verses, Jesus specifically speaks of heterosexual divorce, which the quotation about males and females is supposed to clarify. It seems that the translators are trying to have it both ways. The inconsistency of method for dealing with gender -- sometimes keeping it, sometimes concealing it and sometimes expanding it -- was distracting. Maddeningly, it was never clear to me when changes were being made. In Matthew 8, where two demoniacs are discussed, I suspected that the translators had invented one of them in order to allow use of the gender-neutral "they" rather than "him." As it turns out, Matthew does speak of two demoniacs. In this case, my suspicion of the translators' hand was unfounded.

The translators sometimes take paraphrase way too far. The "Son of Man" -- an apocalyptic figure with biblical roots -- becomes in this translation "The Promised One." This is not only terrible translation but is also very misleading. Gone are the relationships to the apocalyptic figure of in the book of Daniel and the link to the Aramaic reflective idiom meaning "me, myself." Some attempts at gender neutrality are silly, as in the story in Luke of the paralyzed "person" whose genderless friends schlep him up to the roof, cut through it and lower the him (I mean, the sick "person") into the house where Jesus as teaching. Anyone who thinks that these folks are women has more imagination than I. And what's up by not neutralizing the gender of the woman in Luke who sweeps her house looking for a lost coin? Men can sweep too, ya know! And while paraphrasing "Amen, amen, I say to you" as "The truth of the matter is" lends clarity to the original idiom, it is clumsy and faintly ridiculous to have Jesus state (Matthew 10:38) that "those who will not carry with them the instrument of their own death -- following in my footsteps -- are not worthy of me." Such inept paraphrasing made me cross!

Well-meaning and bias-weary non-scholarly readers may find comfort in this translation of the Bible. Personally, though I found it easy to read and understand, I wondered what I was missing. And I wondered how much I could trust the translators. What agendas were they following, and how consistent were they? I also wondered why they were not even more thorough in their attempt to erase every gender distinction. If that kind of thing is important to you, go all the way and make Mary and Joseph a genderless, agnostic couple; make Jesus' gender ambiguous; have Jesus pray to his Parent who art in heaven.

But, your mileage may vary, and this may be the Bible you have been waiting for. It may appeal to priests and religious educators who tire of having to explain every third word of scripture to those ignorant of Scripture's subtleties and historical setting. It may also appeal to those who have been hurt by discriminatory gender-based policies, customs and laws. For me, I would rather read the words the authors actually wrote, and adjust for gender and religious bias on my own. I would also like to remember that even the authors of the Bible were human beings with faults and biases, and that God chose to work with and through them in spite of their shortcomings. Besides, who is to say that the gender of the person with the withered hand is not as vital to the story as that of the unnamed house-sweeper?

This easy to read translation is perfect for Lectionary use in worship. It doesn't infantilize the readers/hearers like most paraphrases tend to do (perhaps b/c it is actually a translation), nor does it insist that patriarchal idioms are the sacred part of the text. This translation preserves the liberating and hopeful message of scripture without privileging maleness, whiteness, or heteronormativity. For those who want to make scripture accessible to all people, this is the version to use.

I've been a pastor for nearly 20 years now, and can't believe I JUST found this awesome translation! Working to make each week's lessons "inclusive" is a chore, especially for one who's not a linguist. Oh, I come up with a readable piece of material, but I had no idea some group of religious scholars had already done the work in a way that's theologically sound and true to the original meanings and texts. In the introduction, the Priests for Equality expain why they chose each alternative and it's especially good to see their rationale for each choice that pertains to God, to the eschatological Messiah, etc. If you want a translation that is faithful to the theological intention of the original writers, but free of the patriarchal language, expecially the patriarchal language about God, this is the one for you! It reads smoothly and can easily be used in worship as well as for private reading and devotions. I will be recommending it to all my clergy colleagues who believe in the goal of inclusive language!

This is the best translation I have found for including all women, people with disabilities, and as much of degendering of God as scholars can. It is my Bible of choice to read from as part of the lgbtqia community.

I purchased this as much out of curiosity as anything. It is much better than I had feared. Now, that is not really damning with faint praise. One of the problems I have had with "egalitarian" translations of almost anything is the painful lack of poetics in the text. This edition flows very well and for the most part has avoided the tortured translations of pronouns and terms that all to often render "non-sexist" translations unreadable. This is a very readable version of the Bible that has not lost the tone of other older versions. Not a perfect translation but quite good. I would be happy to use in as a lector. My only problem was the tiny typeface. I would have liked a large print edition.

I like this version of the Bible because it reads more easily than, say, the King James Bible. You can actually sit down with this book and understand what is going on because the interpreters try to convey the same message in a way that us in the 21st century can understand, yet still be faithful to the meaning of the text.

many years ago i purchased the New Testament put out by the Quixote Center and, later, the Psalms. the translations are fresh and dynamic; passages flow and one does not really notice that the language is different. i can forget my animosity towards sexist language -- which has created sexism in the church. (the adage "sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me" is NOT true. names/words have tremendous power and are often used to hurt, humiliate, and bind groups of people; in religion, words are used to exclude women.)

i would give this bible 5 stars, but for a paperbound bible, it is VERY heavy. i have oxford study bibles which are hardbound and weigh less than this one. otherwise, a wonderful bible.

First rate modern American English translation which isn't "contemporary" just because it can be. Serious scholarship went into this translation. For anyone interested in the Bible, this is one translation worth having in your library.

This Biblical translation of Hebrew and Christian scriptures offers an honest, accurate, poetic, and progressive version of the Bible that is a transformative approach to these sacred texts. I would recommend this Biblical translation to anyone who is weary of the patriarchal distortions of previous translations, looking for an accurate translation, and still desires a version that reads with a poetic aesthetic.