Nida School of Bible Translation - Translating the Bible as Literature

Each year, the Nida Institute, in cooperation with the Pontificia Università Urbaniana and the Bible Society of Italy, offers an annual seminar which aims to engage students in an exploration of the contemporary theory and practice of Bible translation, through focus on a particular topic or problematic within the field. The thematic focus of this year’s seminar will be “Translating the Bible as Literature.”

Throughout history, countless scholars and writers have recognized the literary richness of the biblical text, replete with vivid passages in a full range of genres, styles and poetic forms. In the course of their work, translators of the Bible need also strive to produce translations that reflect this richness and variety in the voices and cadences of the receptor language. This seminar is designed to help students explore the richness of ancient biblical discourse and consider how this knowledge can be practically applied to a translation process that aims to produce translated texts that are both aesthetically expressive and communicatively natural, effecting a clearer, richer understanding of the Biblical message.