Translation for transformation

Lawson Stone is still talking about translation theory. If you haven't been following this series, you should. He really hits the translation nail on the head today:

So we finally arrive at the question…which translation is best. The answer is essentially this: the one that most effectively does to the receiving reader what the original did for its reader. Notice this is not about word-for-word or thought-for-thought. It’s about impact. A translation should offer an equivalence of experience. Any equivalences about words or constructions must be subservient to this.

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I have never heard it put that way before, but that is exactly what translators are aiming for—or at least, should be.

By the way, I love this little line: "the old 1901 American Standard Version…about which I always say it is the most literal translation there, but is not yet available in English!" I have to agree. I tried the ASV for a while in college, before I learned Greek. I might as well have been reading Greek!
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