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Understanding Ellen White - Contents
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    Translations, adaptations, and paraphrases

    When Jesus informed His disciples of their future mission of teaching all nations (Matt. 28:19, 20), He indirectly legitimized the translation of the gospel message into the languages of the respective audience. Shortly afterwards, the Holy Spirit equipped the disciples to preach the message in numerous foreign languages in order to give foreigners the chance of understanding and accepting the gospel (Acts 1:8; 2:4-12). Seventh-day Adventists began very early to publish some of their important tracts and books in the languages of various immigrant groups that they encountered in North America. 39Joseph Bates and Uriah Smith, “The Conference,” Review and Herald, May 27, 1858, 13; P. Gerard Damsteegt, Foundations of the Seventh-day Adventist Message and Mission (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1977), 281, 282. They considered this work as an exercise of the gospel commission. As the denomination spread to other continents, it also commissioned the translation of Ellen G. White’s writings into foreign languages. 40George I. Butler and A. B. Oyen, “General Conference Proceedings: Twenty Second Annual Session,” Review and Herald, November 20, 1883, 733; EGW, “Notes of Travel,” in Historical Sketches of the Foreign Missions of the Seventh-day Adventists (Basel: Imprimerie Polyglotte, 1886), 182; cf. Kaiser, “Ellen G. White’s Life of Christ,” 127-144. She frequently urged the translation of Adventist publications in general and her own writings in particular into multiple foreign languages. 41EGW, Testimonies for the Church, 3:204, 207; 6:474; 7:160, 169; 8:236; 9:26, 33, 34. To ensure the continuing influence of her writings after her death, she charged the original trustees of her estate to prepare new translations of her books and writings. 42EGW to F. M. Wilcox, October 23, 1907 (Letter 371, 1907); EGW, “Last Will and Testament of Mrs. Ellen G. White,” February 9, 1912 (Q&A 43-B-27), 3, 4. All church-sponsored translations are sent to selected readers before they are published to improve accuracy. Sometimes there is a need to do retranslation because of the change in the translation language or because a need to improve the quality.UEGW 124.3

    While translators generally intend to translate the original statements as literally as possible, sometimes the nature and development of languages make it necessary to prefer a thought translation to a strict literal translation. Thus the literal translation of a specific idiomatic expression into another language may render it meaningless, which necessitates the choice of an idiom that allows the reader to grasp the original idea. Similarly, the equivalent word in another language may carry negative connotations that are not present in the original English word, making the choice of a synonymous but less problematic term preferable. These aspects have bearing on one’s view of divine inspiration. If, as Ellen G. White suggested, it is the person and the thoughts that are inspired rather than the exact words, 43George I. Butler and A. B. Oyen, “General Conference Proceedings,” Review and Herald, November 27, 1883, 741; EGW to Uriah Smith, February 19, 1884 (Letter 11, 1884), published in EGW, Manuscript Releases, 3:257, 258; EGW, Selected Messages, 1:19-21; 3:96, 97. one may legitimately decide for a more “free” translation to allow for a better understanding of the meaning of the original statement. First, it should be noted that, unlike the original author, translators are not inspired and thus may make mistakes in their conversion of the message into another language. To really know what Ellen G. White intended to say, it is necessary to read the original English and its original context.UEGW 125.1

    It is with a similar intent that adaptations are produced. As the Bible was translated into multiple languages to allow people in need of salvation to understand and accept the saving message, it is necessary to adapt Ellen White’s nineteenth-century way of speaking into a language that may be comprehended by people living in the twenty-first century. With time, language changes and thus her writings contain a number of archaic terms—words that have a more limited or even a broader meaning today and words whose meaning has changed entirely. For example, while the term gay carried the meaning of merry, jovial, fine, and so on, during Ellen White’s time, its meaning has changed to refer to a homosexual lifestyle now. Similarly, today the word intercourse is used almost exclusively for sexual intercourse, whereas in the nineteenth century it denoted communication, commerce, and correspondence by letters, silent communication or exchange of looks and smiles, and so forth. Revisions and adaptations aim at reducing the likelihood of potential misunderstandings and offense to readers by such archaic or awkward expressions and sentence structures. They enable readers to understand what Ellen White was actually saying.UEGW 125.2

    However, beyond bridging this basic language barrier, adaptations may also help to attract a wider audience of readers, to present Ellen White using modern language and style to impress their minds more forcefully with the inspired message. 44Kenneth H. Wood, “Ellen G. White’s Books in Contemporary Language” (unpublished manuscript, February 22, 2000). Due to her dynamic view of inspiration, 45EGW, Selected Messages, 1:21. Ellen White felt comfortable with requesting revisions and adaptations of her writings during her own lifetime. The “updating” of the language in the Testimonies for the Church in 1883 and in The Great Controversy in 1911 is a historical precedent for language revisions. Another example is the children’s book Christ Our Saviour, which James Edson White prepared in 1896 from materials intended for the soon-to-be-published work The Desire of Ages. Shortly afterwards, Ellen White corrected Christ Our Saviour. The book narrates certain phases of Jesus’ life using vocabulary specifically suited for children. 46EGW, Christ Our Saviour, adapt. James Edson White (1896); Marian A. Davis to James Edson White, December 22, 1895; Kaiser, “Ellen G. White’s Life of Christ,” 144; “The Treasury of the Spirit of Prophecy,” Adventist Review, December 2, 1993, 9. To avoid confusion with the original works, the Ellen G. White Estate decided to give a new title to adapted editions of Ellen White’s books and to add the word “adapted” on the cover and the title page. Modern examples for adaptations are, for example, the 1991 edition of The Story of Redemption (prepared for the hearing impaired) and the book Steps to Jesus, which are based on the bestseller Steps to Christ. Steps to Jesus was also published under the title Knowing Him Better, a paperback edition specifically produced for evangelistic purposes that was well received by young people.UEGW 126.1

    Paraphrases differ from adaptations in the extent the text is modified. While adaptations attempt to update the language and/or provide a condensed edition of the same book, leaving most chapters intact and omitting chapters insignificant to the overall message of the book, paraphrases also condense sentences and paragraphs and render words and phrases in other words. Those producing the paraphrase nevertheless intend to stay faithful to the ideas, the content, and the principles set forth in the original work, without adding new thoughts foreign to it. Besides these editorial steps the editors of the book A Call to Stand Apart (2002), whose language was modernized and specifically geared toward contemporary young adults, prefaced each chapter by the testimony of a young adult who had experienced Ellen White’s writings as a personal blessing. 47EGW, A Call to Stand Apart: Challenging Young Adults to Make an Eternal Difference (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald®, 2002), 2, 3.UEGW 126.2

    The Ellen G. White Estate has also produced abridged and condensed editions of the Conflict of the Ages Series to make the most important material available in other languages where people have only a limited income. Thus an edition of The Great Controversy was prepared that was also translated into Danish, French, German, Japanese, and Swedish. An abridged edition of 419 pages was prepared for translation into Icelandic, Korean, Panayan, Russian, Tagalog, among others. Those preparing these adaptations and abridgements try to follow the historic guidelines laid down for the editorial work of Ellen White’s writings. Paragraphs were generally left intact, and entire chapters were used. Great care was taken to avoid any modifications to Ellen White’s thoughts and teachings. 48Wood, “Ellen G. White’s Books in Contemporary Language”; Arthur L. White, Ellen G. White: Messenger to the Remnant (Washington, DC: Review and Herald®, 1969), 77. See EGW, Steps to Jesus (1981); EGW, Knowing Him Better (1982). For the adaptation of the Conflict of the Ages Series, see EGW, The Beginning of the End, Conflict of the Ages, vol. 1 (2007); EGW, Royalty and Ruin, Conflict of the Ages, vol. 2 (2008); EGW, Humble Hero, Conflict of the Ages, vol. 3 (2009); EGW, Unlikely Leaders, Conflict of the Ages, vol. 4 (2010); EGW, Love Under Fire, Conflict of the Ages, vol. 5 (2011). The book True Education (2000) is an adaptation of the 1903 book Education; the book The Ministry of Health and Healing (2004) of The Ministry of Healing, and the volume Messiah: A Contemporary Adaptation of the Classic Work on Jesus’ Life, Desire of Ages (2002) of The Desire of Ages.UEGW 127.1

    Future changes to the English language may lead to further adaptations, paraphrases, or abridged/condensed editions, but they will never replace the original publications. The original nineteenth-century versions of Ellen White’s writings will always remain the authoritative source text. 49Burt, “Practical Hermeneutics,” 101-103. UEGW 127.2

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