Paradise Lost Book 7 – A Comparison Between the King James Version and the Kingante Bible Translations
For those of you that have read the earlier Paradise Lost books, you know that when Mary and Joseph encounter a mountain-town named Hydra, in the opening pages of the novel they immediately have an encounter with an apparition that turns out to be another apparition of Jesus Christ. Jesus was being visited by several other visitors, including his foster-father, Joseph, and his cousin, reporting on a recent vision in which he cast many spells on a man named Gabriel. There is no way to predict just what this man will do next, but he does turn out to turn into Jesus Christ. What is this story all about? Are there hidden meanings, ancient secrets, or can we trust this account? Is the whole story meant to be some sort of symbolism or Christian message?
Well, like most of Kingante’s tales, the main theme of Paradise Lost Book Seven focuses on heaven. The motifs run throughout the entire book, from the animals of the place, to the color of the garments Jesus wore on the mount, and even to the way Mary and Joseph carried their bags through the desert. It almost seems as if God is attempting to teach the readers a lesson about the nature of man, about why it is important to forgive others who have hurt us, and about how forgiveness can lead to only one person, the one who has forgiven others, to eternal life with Him. It is up to the reader to make their own interpretations.
But the main question is whether or not Kingante was able to successfully pull off this very difficult task. Some people have criticized his attempt at a literary translation, because while the story is easily readable, the actual messages are lost somewhere along the line. I personally thought that some of the messages were lost in translation, but then I didn’t read the whole book, so I cannot say for certain. However, I did enjoy the book, and I would definitely recommend it to other readers who would like to try to understand the meaning behind the images and the stories in this book.
https://eccthai.com/tag/tac-gia/
In terms of actual translations of the Bible into Spanish, the work has been met with mixed reviews. Many people have found that while some of the stories are true to life, others seem designed to attract the Latin speaking masses rather than the English reading public. Others have found Kingante’s work to be accurate and easy to understand. One major problem encountered was the fact that in the Spanish text there is often a tendency to use the very old Spanish language words for things that aren’t familiar to English speakers. For example, one of the main characters in the Bible, Methuselah, is referred to as Beni, which is an old Hebrew name, but it is never used in the Spanish version of the Bible.
As with everything else, there are those that prefer to leave things the way they are, and that’s fine. If you haven’t read the original Bible, or if you haven’t read Kingante’s version of the Bible, I suggest you do that first. The Spanish translation is an excellent complement to the original text, and it will give you a wonderful opportunity to learn more about the Bible. While the Bible is God’s word, we still need to make sure that we are reading what God’s original words said. By using the Kingante Bible translation in conjunction with the King James Version of the Bible, you will have the ability to bridge the gap between the original languages and those of today.
While I have enjoyed studying the Kingante Bible translation, I have to admit that there are times when I don’t quite understand some of what the translator is saying. On several occasions I have asked the translator to explain why he or she did something, only to find that they were wrong. That being said, this book is an excellent companion to the Bible. Don’t pass it up.