Violent or unforgiving language is also toned down, whether by completely changing the meaning (e
Finally, while most alterations have theological implications, sometimes theology seems to be the driving factor, serving either to advance the author’s favourite themes or to bring potentially problematic statements into his theological comfort zone. I will mention three broad types of theological alteration that pervade the translation.
However, the stylistic hallmark of The Psalms is not its linguistic freshening-up, but its genre
(1) Changes aimed at explaining Christology, e.g., TPT Ps b, ‘And they will all declare, “It is finished!”’; TPT Ps 110:1, ‘Jehovah-God said to my Lord, the Messiah’. These changes can become perilous. The softening in TPT of Ps 22:1 – ‘Why would you abandon me now?’ – is explained by an addition to the biblical text in v. 24: ‘He was there all the time.’
(2) Changes that seek to soften extreme statements that modern readers find uncomfortable, such as the psalmist’s claims to be righteous. Here are examples from Psalm 18, NIV (or ESV) > TPT:
- I have kept the ways of the Lord > I will follow his commands (v. Dinge zu wissen, wenn man Top datet 21)
- I am not guilty > I’ll not sin (v. 21)
- I have been blameless > I’ve done my best to be blameless (v. 23)
- [I] have kept myself from sin > keeping my heart pure (v. 23)
- God …