Review
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Title: The New Testament: A Translation for Latter-day Saints, Revised Edition
Author: Thomas Wayment, Translator
Publisher: Greg Kofford Books
Genre: Religion
Year Published: 2022
Number of Pages: 510
Binding: Paperback
ISBN: 9781589587861
Price: $29.99
Reviewed by Kevin Folkman for the Association for Mormon Letters
For a number of years, my wife taught an English Language Learner Sunday school class for Cambodian and Vietnamese refugees who had joined the church but still struggled with understanding basic scriptures. The class was structured as choral reading from the standard works and asking questions about the meaning of words and phrases. For many of us, when we read the 17th-century language of the King James Version of the Bible (KJV), we have more in common with those Asian refugees than we are willing to admit. Over some four hundred years, language usage has changed dramatically. Such words as hath, thither, doeth, and others are not familiar to present-day readers. We now use predestined rather than predestinated. Corn as referenced in the KJV refers to grain, as corn was unknown in Old and New Testaments times in the Middle East. Meat refers to food generally, and not always the cooked flesh of animals. Many modern readers forget that the italicized words in the KJV are English additions added for clarity or to replace Hebrew or Greek words that have no English equivalent. Even the KJV of the Bible was intended to make the language more understandable than Tyndale’s and other early English translations from the 16th century, where usage had already changed in less than one hundred years. [1]
Thomas Wayment, professor of ancient scripture at BYU, has tried to bridge this linguistic gap with The New Testament: A Translation for Latter-day Saints. There have been many attempts to update the KJV for modern readers. Most importantly, the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls helped to bring greater clarity to early Biblical texts. Different translation models have been used; some employ a word-for-word approach, approximating the KJV style and language. Others use a conceptual approach, working what they perceive as the intent of the original into a translation that more resembles modern usage. All of these models will include inherent biases. A modern language version for Catholics will reflect a Catholic interpretation of doctrine, while American Protestants may prefer a translation that leans more toward Evangelical interpretations. Even our own Articles of Faith state that we believe the Bible to be the word of God “…as far as it is translated correctly,” leaving room for interpretation.
Still, as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it has been a matter of Church policy to use the KJV in church curriculum and publications since the early 1950s, mostly due to the influence of First Presidency member J. Reuben Clark.[2] With newer, more accurate translations available, the Church website acknowledges the use of alternate translations for personal study. In addition, some language translations published by the Church do not use the KJV as the source, such as the latest Spanish translation. There are instances where alternate translations have been quoted by LDS General Authorities in conference talks to promote understanding or emphasize a point of doctrine.[3]
Wayment initially published his new translation for LDS audiences in 2018 through BYU’s Religious Studies Center and Deseret Book. Four years later, Wayment has produced a revised edition with minor changes and is now published by Kofford Books. In his introduction, Wayment states one of his guiding principles:
“The four-hundred-year-old translation in use by English-speaking Latter-day Saints is an artifact of the 17th century and is no longer a living and breathing text…Therefore, I felt that it was time to invite the modern English speaker into the text anew.” [4]
Wayment’s introduction gives a short summary of how he adapted the translation, the texts he used, and the format of his book, all with an LDS doctrinal approach. His translation is meant to be read by average readers and is not a detailed academic examination of source documents and arguments over word choices. Wayment then jumps directly into his translation in a style that will be familiar to anyone who has used one of the popular study Bibles available. I personally use a 1991 Harper Study Bible version of the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) as my preferred alternate translation and find Wayment’s approach both familiar and easy to understand.[5]
For each book in Wayment’s translation, he begins with an introduction with notes about authorship, general information about the manuscripts used, and the structure and organization of each book. For example, Matthew is clearly identified as the author of the book bearing his name, reference is made to the earlier Gospel of Mark, and that Matthew was not writing a biography, but a personal account of the Savior’s life by a close eyewitness. For the epistles, Wayment adds a statement of the significance of the text to Latter-day Saint beliefs. Wayment also uses paragraphs, and quotation marks, and moves the traditional verse numbering to superscripts, enabling easier reading, a style similar to Grant Hardy’s 2003 The Book of Mormon: A Reader’s Edition.[6]
Every page in the text of the translation is heavily footnoted, explaining references where Old Testament scriptures are used, differences in names or spelling, and the context of a particular verse. Footnotes rather than endnotes allow the reader to immediately find the context and explanation for his choices and changes. I found myself reading the footnotes on each page just as often as the translation itself. Appendices give a synopsis of the four gospels in parallel format, and in Wayment’s 2022 revised edition, Old Testament scriptures quoted in the text are listed, along with a fourteen-page summary of New Testament scriptures quoted in other Latter-day scriptures (Book of Mormon, Doctrine, and Covenants, and The Pearl of Great Price). Footnotes are also in a slightly larger font in the new edition, enhancing their readability. Wayment also states that for various reasons, he has revised some 200 footnotes from the earlier edition. A detailed examination of those changes is beyond the scope of this review.
Ultimately, the choice of an alternate translation will be a personal choice. To help understand how The New Testament: A Translation for Latter-day Saints works, the following are samples of how Wayment’s notes and translations compare, along with the corresponding notes and passages from the KJV and NRSV.
Translations
Matthew 5:13
KJV: Ye are the salt of the earth; but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under the foot of men.
NRSV: You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled underfoot.
Wayment: You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt loses its flavor, how can it function as salt? It is no longer good for anything, but to be thrown out and walked on.
John 5:2-5
KJV: Now there was at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.
NRSV: Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate there is a pool called in Hebrew Beth-zatha, which has five porticoes. In these lay many invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.
Wayment: There is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool which is called Bethesda in Aramaic which has five colonnades. Among the colonnades lay a multitude of sick, blind, lame, and paralyzed individuals. There was a certain man there who had been disabled for thirty-eight years.[7]
Philippians 1:12
KJV: But I would ye should understand, brethren…
NRSV: I want you to know, beloved…
Wayment: I want you to know, brothers and sisters…[8]
[Reviewers note: Non-gendered language, in Wayment’s view, is not political correctness. Modern translations point to non-gendered language in the original manuscripts, possibly altered by the KJV translators.]
Notes on Authorship
Epistle of James:
LDS KJV: The writer is generally thought of as the Lord’s brother, the son of Mary…This instructive passage [James 1:5] inspired Joseph Smith to inquire of the Lord in 1820 as to the true church, and as a consequence the Father and the Son appeared to him, and the dispensation of the fulness of times was launched. Among other important teaching of James are those that have to do with faith and works… (LDS Bible Dictionary, James, Epistle of)
NRSV: The letter of James opens with the statement “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. This immediately establishes the author as James—the James who is none other than the brother of the Lord Jesus…James primary purpose in this letter was to set forth ethical standards of the Christian life. It was, therefore, an intensively practical letter and did not delve too deeply into other aspects of theology…Basically there is no difference between the teachings of Paul and James (on works versus grace). Both Paul and James believed that saving faith is always accompanied by good works…His final conclusion is that while faith without works is dead, it cannot be said that works of any kind are necessary to salvation or that works can save anyone.[9]
Wayment: Jacob—or James, as the name is most often translated—was thebrother of the Lord…One feature of the letter is that it emphasizes the balance between works and grace differently than the Pauline letters and thus probably appealed directly to Christian Jews, who had a heritage in the law of Moses. Gentile Christians may have found such teachings more difficult to accept, or they may have preferred Paul’s emphasis on grace…The most obvious connection to Latter-day beliefs, and indeed the most important connection, is the famous directive “If anyone lacks wisdom, let that person ask God who gives to everyone generously and without reproach it will be given to him.”
Hebrews
LDS KJV: It appears that soon thereafter, Paul wrote the epistle to the Hebrews to show them by their own scripture and by sound reason why they should no longer practice the law of Moses. The epistle is built on a carefully worked-out plan. Some have felt that the literary style is different from that of Paul’s other letters. However, the ideas are certainly Paul’s. (LDS Bible Dictionary, entry Pauline Epistles)
NRSV: We do not know with any certainty who the author of Hebrews was. No name is given, nor does the letter supply details which would enable anyone to make a positive identification. For these reasons, a number of different people have been suggested as authors…There was a need for a book like Hebrews to explain more fully how God’s plan moved from the O.T. to the N.T. and how Jesus Christ fulfilled the O.T. prophetic word. [10]
Wayment: Modern concerns with authorship have connected the importance of the epistle’s message with the question of authorship. In other words, if Paul did not write Hebrews, then somehow the message of the epistle is diminished or even of no value. Tradition suggests that Paul wrote Hebrews, which is a reasonable assumption; the evidence is fairly conclusive that an early Christian author who was connected with Timothy wrote this epistle with the intent of addressing the topic of Christ for a Christian audience…The language is elegant and well considered, suggesting that the author had in mind a powerful defense of his belief in Christ in light of differing opinions.[11]
1 Peter
Wayment: “…A variety of historical considerations have led scholars to question the authorship of I Peter. The major concerns are the Greek seems too sophisticated for a Galilean fisherman who was “uneducated,” according to Acts 4:13…Early Christians consistently attributed this book to Peter, that other methods and of writing and transcription could account for the elevated Greek…The practice of writing a letter on someone else’s behalf would be described by modern literary theory as manipulation and deception. However, the historical situation is much more complex than that and the document may have indeed been written by someone else on Peter’s behalf after that individual had compiled the available source documents, read the existing writings attributed to Peter, and put together what he or she felt was the most accurate representation of those ideas.
Connection to Latter-day Saint Beliefs
2 Corinthians
Wayment: Two teachings from 2 Corinthians have noteworthy connections to Restoration teaching and events…[such as] Paul’s use of the term third heaven (12:2)…The contents of what Paul saw is passed over without comment in the letter…Such a concept of three heavens must have been part of the groundwork that encouraged the revelation recorded as Doctrine and Covenants 76.
1 Timothy
Wayment: The Pastoral epistles [I and II Timothy, Titus, and Philemon] have not been overly influential in the Restoration, but Latter-day Saints will find in them support for the sixth article of faith: “We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors…These letters provide information about the organization of the early church. They indicate that bishops worked in conjunction with elders and deacons, and they provide information about how bishops were encouraged to conduct themselves among the saints.
1 Peter
Wayment: One of the more powerful connections to the Restoration is found in the second chapter where Peter compares the community of saints to the old system of priests and encouraged them to become a “holy priesthood” (2:5) that is capable of offering “spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” The language of this passage is not gender-specific and should not be taken as a directive only to male saints but to all saints who are to become like the priests of the Levitical order…First Peter also played a foundational role in the revelation of Doctrine and Covenants 138, when President Joseph F, Smith pondered the meaning of 1 Peter 3:18-20 and 1 Peter 4:6.
These examples may give you an idea of how Wayment’s The New Testament: A Translation for Latter-day Saints, Revised Edition reads. As for me, it will not replace my LDS KJV, nor do I think Wayment intended it as such. It will for me take an equal place alongside the KJV, my Harpers NRSV Study Bible, and one or two other New Testament study helps for this next year’s Come Follow Me curriculum. His new translation for LDS readers will help me to better understand the context, culture, and setting of the New Testament, an important step in a deeper understanding of the scriptures and Christ’s ministry.
[1] Daniel McClellan, Religious Educator, Vol. 20 No. 2, 2019, p59
[2] Clark, J. Reuben, Why the King James Version, ca 1952
[3] See, for just two examples, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2015/10/the-joy-of-living-a-christ-centered-life?lang=eng, Matthew 13:44, RSV; and https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2016/10/fourth-floor-last-door?lang=eng Hebrews 11:1, I Cor. 2:14, Romans 8:28, NIV.
[4] Notes to Reader, page x
[5] The New Revised Standard Version is an update of the Revised Standard Edition that incorporates scholarship and new texts such as the Dead Sea Scrolls that were not available when the RSV was first published. There are lots of other new translations available, but I like how the NRSV retains much of the rhythm and cadence of the KJV and sets apart the poetic verses in italics, a helpful feature not in the KJV. When quoting from the NRSV, the following copyright notice is implied:
“The Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”
[6] The Book of Mormon: A Reader’s Edition, 2003, University of Illinois Press, Grant Hardy, ed.
[7] Wayment adds the following footnote to these verses: “Waiting for the moving of the water is added by some late and inferior Greek manuscripts…Some inferior manuscripts add a verse that is confidently not original to the Gospel of John. That verse reads For an angel of the Lord went down at a certain time to the pool and moved the water. Whoever was first to step in after the moving of the water was made healthy.”
[8] Wayment’s footnote to this verse indicates that the use of brethren in Aramaic generically meant brothers and sisters.
[9] NRSV, Harper Study Bible, Study helps by Harold Lindsell, Verlyn D, Verbrugge, ed, Zondervan Publishing, Grand Rapids, MI, p 1805
[10] NRSV: p 1782
[11] Wayment, The New Testament: A Translation for Latter-day Saints, p401