By Mark D. Taylor, NLT Bible Translation Committee
In both the Old and New Testaments we find many references to weights and measures of various types. For example, Noah’s ark is described as being 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high. But how are we to understand these dimensions, since we don’t use cubits today?
We know from various ancient sources that a cubit was approximately equivalent to what we call 1.5 feet (or 46 centimeters). So Noah’s ark was around 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. Many translations simply use the Hebrew term “cubits,” even though very few readers would understand the size of the ark when it is described in cubits. If you read Genesis 6:15 in the KJV, NKJV, NASB, RSV, NRSV, ESV, or NIV2011, you will find the word “cubits.” But some translations, including the NLT, CSB, NIV1984, and The Message, list the ark’s dimensions in terms of feet. (Note that the earlier NIV text—published in 1984—used feet, but their translation committee decided to revert to cubits in their 2011 edition.) The few translations that use feet do so to give the reader terminology that is instantly understandable.
Similarly, let’s look at Ezekiel 46:7, where we find measures of volume. Most translations render it this way (as in the ESV): “As a grain offering [the prince] shall provide an ephah with the bull and an ephah with the ram, and with the lambs as much as he is able, together with a hin of oil to each ephah.” As with cubits, we ask ourselves, “What is an ephah or a hin?” This terminology is used in the KJV, NKJV, NASB, RSV, NRSV, ESV, and NIV. But the NLT, CSB, and The Message use this kind of terminology: “With the young bull he must bring a basket of choice flour for a grain offering. With the ram he must bring another basket of flour. And with each lamb he is to bring whatever amount of flour he chooses to give. With each basket of flour he must offer one gallon of olive oil” (NLT). The few translations that use “basket” or “bushel” and “gallon” do so to give the reader terminology that is instantly understandable.
Now let’s look at a New Testament passage: In Matthew 10:29, Jesus makes reference to a Roman coin—an assarion. The KJV translates this by using an old British coin—a farthing (which was equal to one-quarter of a penny). The NASB simply transliterates it as “assarion.” The RSV, NRSV, ESV, NIV, and CSB all use “a penny”: “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care” (NIV). The NLT and NKJV both use “a copper coin.” An assarion was actually worth much more than a penny in today’s terms. It was equal to 1/16 of a denarius, a denarius being the standard day’s wage for a laborer. If we think of a day’s wage today as around $120, an assarion would be equivalent to 1/16 of that value, or $7.50. The translations that use “a penny” give the reader an incorrect understanding of the value of the coin as Jesus used it. “Copper coin” is a more flexible term that still gives the impression of a relatively small amount, which is the point of Jesus’ statement.
Finally, let’s look at the term “denarius” itself, which was a Roman coin. In Jesus’ parable about the workers who worked all day, half a day, or only an hour (Matthew 20:1-16), the laborers are each given a denarius, regardless of how long they worked. As indicated above, the denarius was the typical day’s wage for a laborer, which might be the equivalent of around $120 in today’s American economy. Most translations simply transliterate the term “denarius” (NKJV, NASB, RSV, NRSV, ESV, NIV, CSB), which does not give the reader any sense as to the value of the wage that is given to the laborers. The NLT renders a denarius as “the normal daily wage” (with a footnote that reads “Greek a denarius, the payment for a full day’s labor”). So the reader of the NLT gets an instant understanding of how much the landowner gives the workers.
In a sense, the specific value of the denarius is not important, since the point of Jesus’ parable is that the landowner will give each laborer a fair wage. But the all-day laborers complained that it was unfair for those who worked only one hour to receive a full day’s pay. The landowner replied, “Friend, I haven’t been unfair! Didn’t you agree to work all day for the usual wage? Take your money and go. I wanted to pay this last worker the same as you. Is it against the law for me to do what I want with my money? Should you be jealous because I am kind to others?” (Matthew 20:13-15, NLT). Jesus then makes the connection to the Kingdom of Heaven when he says, “So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last” (Matthew 20:16, NLT).
As the NLT translation team discussed these issues, our consistent decision was to render Hebrew or Greek weights and measures in terminology that would be instantly understandable to the reader. Translation accuracy involves more than simple word-for-word, literal correspondence or transliteration of ancient terms. A translation is fully accurate only when it makes sense to the reader.