The Old Testament

This second volume of my personal translation of the Old Testament covers the Major and Minor Prophets. Translating the prophets is a lot more challenging than translating the narratives found in the books of the Torah and Former Prophets. The reason why is because the prophetic books for the most part are written in the form of poetry, whereas narratives are in prose. The prose of narrative is fairly straightforward: David went out to Goliath and said such and such-the action is linear, and the story goes from point to point, and it is therefore easy to follow. But the poetry of the prophets is filled with shocking and violent imagery, metaphors, and similes; and it jumps from condemnation of sin in one verse, to promises of restoration in the next, and then back to oracles of judgment a few verses later. On top of that, the lives of some of the prophets spanned several decades during which the cultural and political contexts changed considerably, so if you don't know the historical situation in which these prophecies were uttered, then you can easily find yourself even more lost. Nevertheless, translating the Major and Minor prophets has been a very rewarding and fulfilling experience. Although I do not consider this translation to be in the same league with the official translations like the NRSV and ESV, it nevertheless reflects the tone and intensity that I feel when I read the prophets. If there is one thing true about the prophets, it is this: they are not "nice." The Old Testament prophets were men on fire: they raged against injustice, they howled in grief over the oppression of the poor, they verbally assaulted the unrepentant and unfaithful with descriptions of judgment and horror, and then they turned around and spoke words of healing and comfort with some of the most beautiful and tender poetry anywhere in the world. There was nothing half-measured with the prophets. They were intense and passionate about everything. In regards to my translation, I think the most obvious way that intensity is seen is in my use of exclamation points. I admit it, I use them a lot. That should give anyone a clue to how I read the prophets in my head. I don't hear them calmly making their pronouncements like they were news anchors on the BBC. I hear them shouting, pleading, and raging. So if you get the feeling that the prophets are shouting at you as you read my translation...they are!