When the Bible is translated into English, how do the translators decide what punctuation to use?

Answer

Modern languages typically incorporate punctuation marks, which are essential typographical symbols used to clarify the meaning of written content. While punctuation marks are usually silent when read aloud, they play a crucial role in guiding pauses and intonation. Punctuation marks can significantly alter the interpretation of a sentence. For instance, consider the difference between “My favorite things are cooking my friends and family” and “My favorite things are cooking, my friends, and family.” The inclusion of commas changes how the sentence is understood.

Many ancient languages, such as Hebrew and Greek, were originally written without punctuation marks. Hebrew even lacked written vowels initially. Subsequently, vowel points were added to aid reading, along with punctuation marks, to enhance clarity. These punctuation marks later influenced similar clarifications in English translations and other languages.

In ancient Hebrew and Koine Greek manuscripts, not only were punctuation marks absent, but there were also no spaces between words. Native readers of these languages could easily discern word and sentence breaks. For example, the English translation of Ephesians 1:7 in continuous writing appears as:

INHIMWEHAVEREDEMPTIONTHROUGHHISBLOODTHEFORGIVENESSOFSINSINACCORDANCEWITHTHERICHESOFGODSGRACE

Continuous writing, a format without spaces between words, was likely due to the scarcity of paper in ancient times. This style allowed for maximizing text on scrolls or pages with limited paper (or papyrus) resources.

Later Greek manuscripts began to add breaks for sections used in liturgical readings, as well as accent marks and punctuation. Many of these clarifications are included in the edited Greek New Testament texts used today by translators to render the Bible into English and other languages. However, even these marks are not sufficient for all translation issues. For example, although Ephesians 1:3–14 is one long sentence in the Greek text, most modern English translations break it into three sentences for clarity in reading. The three-sentence translation is not as “literal,” but the punctuation is added to aid understanding, since most English sentences are not nearly that long.

Regarding how a translator decides what punctuation to use, it all goes back to grammar. The rules of grammar and syntax dictate, in most cases, what punctuation mark should be used. For example, a question in English is brought to an end by a question mark. Galatians 3:1 says, in Greek, “tis hymas ebaskanen.” Literally translated, this means “who you has bewitched” in English. Since Paul is asking a question, the translators put a question mark at the end of the sentence. Also, the rules of English syntax specify a different word order: “Who has bewitched you?”

Another example: Matthew 9:4, in Greek, says, “kai eidōs ho Iēsous tas enthymēseis autōn eipen Hina ti enthymeisthe ponēra en tais kardiais hymōn.” The literal English translation is rather convoluted: “And having known Jesus the thoughts of them he said so that why think you evil in the hearts of you.” Rearranging the words to fit normal English syntax, we have the following: “And having known their thoughts, Jesus said, ‘Why do you think evil in your hearts?’” The rules of punctuation dictate that 1) we place a comma after introductory participial phrases, 2) we set off direct quotations with a comma, and 3) we end an interrogative sentence with a question mark.

Mark. (We also capitalize the first word of a direct quotation.) If the translators understand the passage and the rules of grammar, placing punctuation is easy.

While punctuation marks are not part of the original, inspired text of Scripture, they do generally assist our understanding of the words of Scripture. Most modern readers need delineated sentences and the clues punctuation provides in order to understand what they read. It would be possible to translate the original languages of the Bible without punctuation marks, but it would cause more problems than benefits for modern readers. We should be thankful for the diligent work of translators who know the grammatical rules of both the source language and the target language. The goal of a modern translation is to provide an accurate, accessible, and understandable copy of God’s Word, and punctuation is a necessary part of reaching that goal.