It was an honor to be interviewed recently on the topic of what it means to be a Bible translation consultant. Thinking through the questions was a great opportunity to reflect on how I view myself as a consultant. Who am I? What am I doing?

Here’s an excerpt:

Can you share about a time when you realized you were wrong and what you learned from it?

Increasingly aware of my own situatedness and limits, on several occasions I have had to repent of taking for granted my understanding of the source or target language. It is a humbling experience to study technical commentaries equipping oneself with the conclusion that a certain passage is inscrutable only to have long-suffering translators reveal that it already makes perfect sense to them. Such has been the case with avnayim (“stones” Ex 1:16) and virkayim (“knees” Job 3:12). May I always be happy to be informed.

Check out the full interview on the home page of SIL Translation Services.

How about you? Ever been a time when you realized that you were wrong? What did you learn from it? Do you have a personal philosophy?