Alan Jacobs, a Professor of English at Wheaton College, is not alone in having a problem with most modern translations of Holy Scripture. However, he is quite precise about describing what irks him: "My complaint can be easily stated: the [translator] does not know the difference between an idiom and a metaphor. It is a distinction both simple and vital... an idiom [is] a common phrase lacking an evident literal meaning." On the other hand, the meaning of a metaphor "may not be immediately evident to the average reader; but the scholar who on those grounds removes it does not translate but interprets... What is really being revealed here is not clarity or forcefulness of translation, but the modern biblical scholar’s mistrust of figurative language. Some years ago Gerald Hammond noted that many recent translations of the Bible 'eschew anything which smacks of imagery or metaphor—based on the curious assumption, I guess, that modern English is an image-free language.' " The context of Prof. Jacobs observations revolve around Protestant translations of the Bible; but clearly, the Catholic biblical world is not immune to this disease.
