It did pay off eventually ...

In the 1970’s and 1980’s I objected against the precedent which the NIV set in its ‘translation’ in Mark 15:42, “evening approached” in stead of “now when eve was come” in the KJV—in the 1933 Afrikaans Translation of the Bible, “And when it had become evening”.

The translators reacted to my objections in ‘Die Nuwe Afrikaanse Bybel’ of 1983, with translating, ‘late noon’ [“laat die middag”--Afrikaans], clearly having decided in favour of the NIV against my proposals.

In 2014 I again objected, this time against the 1983 NAB’s ‘late noon’ instead of the 1933 Afrikaans Translation which read, “And when it had become evening” [“En toe dit aand geword het”].

My objections this time were the same as during the 70’s and 80’s more than forty years ago.

Again my objections included reference to the word ‘ehdeh’—“already” in the Greek Text.

I expected my theorem again to be rejected and overborne.

The ‘Direkte Afrikaanse Vertaling’ New Testament has been published this year of 2014. Mark 15:42 in it, reads, “Toe dit reeds aand was”—“When it already had been evening …”.

Whatever may have been the real motivating factor for the translation committee to return to the first Afrikaans translation of 1933 and to go further than it and apply the word “already” which the 1933 translation omitted, I cannot know. All I know is that I was the only objector in the 70’s-80’s and that I again was the only objector during the translation process which led to the ‘Direct Translation’ of this year.

But I am sure the translators do not themselves realize exactly what they have done or the implications of what they have done. Only time will tell.