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An Open Letter on Translating
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24 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1530
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About the author
Martin Luther
5,009 books797 followersMartin Luther (1483-1546) was a German monk, theologian, university professor and church reformer whose ideas inspired the Protestant Reformation and changed the course of Western civilization.
Luther's theology challenged the authority of the papacy by holding that the Bible is the only infallible source of religious authority and that all baptized Christians under Jesus are a spiritual priesthood. According to Luther, salvation was a free gift of God, received only by true repentance and faith in Jesus as the Messiah, a faith given by God and unmediated by the church.
Luther's confrontation with Charles V at the Diet of Worms over freedom of conscience in 1521 and his refusal to submit to the authority of the Emperor resulted in his being declared an outlaw of the state as he had been excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church. Because of the perceived unity of the medieval Church with the secular rulers of western Europe, the widespread acceptance of Luther's doctrines and popular vindication of his thinking on individual liberties were both phenomenal and unprecedented.
His translation of the Bible into the vernacular, making it more accessible to ordinary people, had a tremendous political impact on the church and on German culture. It furthered the development of a standard version of the German language, added several principles to the art of translation, and influenced the translation of the English King James Bible. His hymns inspired the development of congregational singing within Christianity. His marriage to Katharina von Bora set a model for the practice of clerical marriage within Protestantism.
Much scholarly debate has concentrated on Luther's writings about the Jews. His statements that Jews' homes should be destroyed, their synagogues burned, money confiscated and liberty curtailed were revived and used in propaganda by the Nazis in 1933–45. As a result of this and his revolutionary theological views, his legacy remains controversial.
Luther's theology challenged the authority of the papacy by holding that the Bible is the only infallible source of religious authority and that all baptized Christians under Jesus are a spiritual priesthood. According to Luther, salvation was a free gift of God, received only by true repentance and faith in Jesus as the Messiah, a faith given by God and unmediated by the church.
Luther's confrontation with Charles V at the Diet of Worms over freedom of conscience in 1521 and his refusal to submit to the authority of the Emperor resulted in his being declared an outlaw of the state as he had been excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church. Because of the perceived unity of the medieval Church with the secular rulers of western Europe, the widespread acceptance of Luther's doctrines and popular vindication of his thinking on individual liberties were both phenomenal and unprecedented.
His translation of the Bible into the vernacular, making it more accessible to ordinary people, had a tremendous political impact on the church and on German culture. It furthered the development of a standard version of the German language, added several principles to the art of translation, and influenced the translation of the English King James Bible. His hymns inspired the development of congregational singing within Christianity. His marriage to Katharina von Bora set a model for the practice of clerical marriage within Protestantism.
Much scholarly debate has concentrated on Luther's writings about the Jews. His statements that Jews' homes should be destroyed, their synagogues burned, money confiscated and liberty curtailed were revived and used in propaganda by the Nazis in 1933–45. As a result of this and his revolutionary theological views, his legacy remains controversial.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
July 20, 2025
20 Seiten Luther am Pöbeln. Habe viel gelacht beim Lesen.
„Wenn ich, D. Luther, mich hätte können des versehen, daß alle Papisten zusammen so kundig wären, daß sie ein Kapitel in der Schrift könnten recht und gut verdeutschen, so wäre ich wahrlich so demütig gewesen und hätte sie um Hilf und Beistand gebeten, das Neue Testament zu verdeutschen. Aber dieweil ich gewußt und noch vor Augen sehe, daß ihrer keiner recht weiß, wie man dolmetschen oder deutsch reden soll, hab ich sie und mich solcher Mühe überhoben. Man merkt es aber gut, daß sie aus meinem Dolmetschen und Deutsch lernen deutsch reden und schreiben und stehlen mir so meine Sprache, davon sie zuvor wenig gewußt; danken mir aber nicht dafür, sondern brauchen sie viel lieber wider mich. Aber ich gönn es ihnen gern, denn es tut mir dennoch wohl, daß ich meine undankbaren Jünger, dazu meine Feinde, reden gelehrt habe.“
„Wenn ich, D. Luther, mich hätte können des versehen, daß alle Papisten zusammen so kundig wären, daß sie ein Kapitel in der Schrift könnten recht und gut verdeutschen, so wäre ich wahrlich so demütig gewesen und hätte sie um Hilf und Beistand gebeten, das Neue Testament zu verdeutschen. Aber dieweil ich gewußt und noch vor Augen sehe, daß ihrer keiner recht weiß, wie man dolmetschen oder deutsch reden soll, hab ich sie und mich solcher Mühe überhoben. Man merkt es aber gut, daß sie aus meinem Dolmetschen und Deutsch lernen deutsch reden und schreiben und stehlen mir so meine Sprache, davon sie zuvor wenig gewußt; danken mir aber nicht dafür, sondern brauchen sie viel lieber wider mich. Aber ich gönn es ihnen gern, denn es tut mir dennoch wohl, daß ich meine undankbaren Jünger, dazu meine Feinde, reden gelehrt habe.“
May 23, 2019
“I have worked Meister Philip and Aurogallus so hard in translating Job, sometimes barely translating 3 lines after four days. Now that it has been translated into German and completed, all can read and criticize it. One can now read three or four pages without stumbling one time - without realizing just what rocks and hindrances had once been where now one travels as as if over a smoothly-cut plank. We had to sweat and toil there before we removed those rocks and hindrances, so one could go along nicely. The plowing goes nicely in a clear field.”
This quote sums up well the impact of Luther’s translation, and of any translator. They sweat and took so the reader can explore the text freely. In this work, Luther defends his translation of Romans to note that justification is “by faith alone”. He discusses the difficulty of translating text into a modern tongue while preserving the sometimes archaic nature of the text. Also, he has some classically Lutheresque digs at Catholicism. Short but punchy.
4/5.
This quote sums up well the impact of Luther’s translation, and of any translator. They sweat and took so the reader can explore the text freely. In this work, Luther defends his translation of Romans to note that justification is “by faith alone”. He discusses the difficulty of translating text into a modern tongue while preserving the sometimes archaic nature of the text. Also, he has some classically Lutheresque digs at Catholicism. Short but punchy.
4/5.
December 21, 2012
A piece of history, yet still accessible
I should note that I am a lifelong Lutheran and Martin Luther is one of my personal heroes, despite his numerous and many flaws.
An Open Letter on Translating is a September, 1530 letter to Luther's critics concerning his translation of the Bible from Latin into German. This was very controversial at the time and it led to a lot of disagreement (even wars) over who should be allowed to read the Bible and who should interpret its meaning.
Luther defends his translation in his very best combative style. He correctly notes that not all turns of phrases translate literally from one language to another. He notes, along with a liberal dose of insulting names for his opponents, that he and his team of translators did a lot of research and took great care to make his translation accessible and accurate. ..
Read more at: http://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/2011/...
I should note that I am a lifelong Lutheran and Martin Luther is one of my personal heroes, despite his numerous and many flaws.
An Open Letter on Translating is a September, 1530 letter to Luther's critics concerning his translation of the Bible from Latin into German. This was very controversial at the time and it led to a lot of disagreement (even wars) over who should be allowed to read the Bible and who should interpret its meaning.
Luther defends his translation in his very best combative style. He correctly notes that not all turns of phrases translate literally from one language to another. He notes, along with a liberal dose of insulting names for his opponents, that he and his team of translators did a lot of research and took great care to make his translation accessible and accurate. ..
Read more at: http://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/2011/...
May 15, 2014
A fun little read, tackling several issues at once. Luther defends a dynamic equivalent translation method, he explains his use of the words sola fide--even though they are not in the original Latin or Greek texts, and he calls a bunch of people asses along the way. Well worth reading.
January 5, 2018
Martin Luther is called upon to defend his translations of the Bible, and he does so with his usual bombastic flair; however, he makes many excellent points concerning how translations work which are extremely helpful and insightful.
April 15, 2019
With this fun little pamphlet Luther is defending his highly liberal and highly idiomatic translation of the bible against it's numerous ("asshat") critics. Sadly this work itself is not too easily translatable as he's discussing his translation into what's still spoken German on a case-to-case basis. The main idea is your main aim in a translation is to get it into the language used by everyman on the marketplace (and his housewife at home) in an effort to get _them_ to accept the language you have used _as_theirs_ AND, to that end, you _are_ allowed (the heresy!) to do with the source text whatever you please.
The text was highly influential in the German speaking regions so that, during the 18th century, the nation had to invent a _new_ word for a _proper_ translation -- "Übersetzen". "Verdollmetschen" and "Verdeutschen" is still used for the kind of translation that Luther had done to the bible.
"Denn man muss nicht die Buchstaben in der lateinischen Sprache fragen, wie man deutsch reden soll, wie diese Esel tun; sondern man muss die Mutter im Hause, die Kinder auf der Gasse, den einfachen Mann auf dem Markt danach fragen, und denselben auf das Maul sehen, wie sie reden, und danach übersetzen, so verstehen sie es denn, und merken, dass man deutsch mit ihnen redet.
Z.B. wenn Christus (Matth. 12, 34; Luk. 6, 45) sagt: Ex abundantia cordis os loquitur: wenn ich den Eseln folgen soll, die werden mir die Buchstaben vorlegen, und so übersetzen: »Aus dem Überfluss des Herzens redet der Mund.« Sage mir, ist das deutsch geredet? Welcher Deutsche verstehet so etwas? Was ist »Überfluss des Herzens« für ein Ding? Das kann kein Deutscher sagen, er wolle denn sagen, es sei, dass einer ein allzu großes Herz habe, oder zu viel Herzens habe, obwohl das auch noch nicht richtig ist. Denn »Überfluss des Herzens« ist kein Deutsch; so wenig wie das Deutsch ist: »Überfluss des Hauses«, »Überfluss des Kachelofens«, »Überfluss der Bank«, sondern so redet die Mutter im Haus und der Mann auf der Straße: »Wes das Herz voll ist, des gehet der Mund über.« Das heißt gut deutsch geredet, dessen ich mich befleißigt, aber leider nicht immer erreicht noch getroffen habe. Denn die lateinischen Buchstaben hindern über alle Maßen, sehr gutes Deutsch zu reden."
The text was highly influential in the German speaking regions so that, during the 18th century, the nation had to invent a _new_ word for a _proper_ translation -- "Übersetzen". "Verdollmetschen" and "Verdeutschen" is still used for the kind of translation that Luther had done to the bible.
"Denn man muss nicht die Buchstaben in der lateinischen Sprache fragen, wie man deutsch reden soll, wie diese Esel tun; sondern man muss die Mutter im Hause, die Kinder auf der Gasse, den einfachen Mann auf dem Markt danach fragen, und denselben auf das Maul sehen, wie sie reden, und danach übersetzen, so verstehen sie es denn, und merken, dass man deutsch mit ihnen redet.
Z.B. wenn Christus (Matth. 12, 34; Luk. 6, 45) sagt: Ex abundantia cordis os loquitur: wenn ich den Eseln folgen soll, die werden mir die Buchstaben vorlegen, und so übersetzen: »Aus dem Überfluss des Herzens redet der Mund.« Sage mir, ist das deutsch geredet? Welcher Deutsche verstehet so etwas? Was ist »Überfluss des Herzens« für ein Ding? Das kann kein Deutscher sagen, er wolle denn sagen, es sei, dass einer ein allzu großes Herz habe, oder zu viel Herzens habe, obwohl das auch noch nicht richtig ist. Denn »Überfluss des Herzens« ist kein Deutsch; so wenig wie das Deutsch ist: »Überfluss des Hauses«, »Überfluss des Kachelofens«, »Überfluss der Bank«, sondern so redet die Mutter im Haus und der Mann auf der Straße: »Wes das Herz voll ist, des gehet der Mund über.« Das heißt gut deutsch geredet, dessen ich mich befleißigt, aber leider nicht immer erreicht noch getroffen habe. Denn die lateinischen Buchstaben hindern über alle Maßen, sehr gutes Deutsch zu reden."
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December 25, 2020ingl tõlge: https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:61d...
eesti keelde tõlkis Kristiina Ross
Vikerkaar 2-3/2000
https://www.digar.ee/arhiiv/et/perioo...
Lutheri tekst on mahlakasja värvikas
tema sõnum on, et piiblit tõlkides peab tõlkima mõtet, mitte sõnu
tuleb minna turule, kuulata, kuidas rahvas räägib, ning tõlkida piibel samasse keelde
vt ka Kristiina Ross: Muulane karantiinis. Jehoovatunnistajate luterlik piiblitõlge
https://kultuur.err.ee/307177/kristii...
eesti keelde tõlkis Kristiina Ross
Vikerkaar 2-3/2000
https://www.digar.ee/arhiiv/et/perioo...
Lutheri tekst on mahlakasja värvikas
tema sõnum on, et piiblit tõlkides peab tõlkima mõtet, mitte sõnu
tuleb minna turule, kuulata, kuidas rahvas räägib, ning tõlkida piibel samasse keelde
vt ka Kristiina Ross: Muulane karantiinis. Jehoovatunnistajate luterlik piiblitõlge
https://kultuur.err.ee/307177/kristii...
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January 24, 2017
Five stars because it was so perfectly funny. It helps to read it imagining Luther as drunk. Rife with irony and nearly impossible to take seriously as an intellectual exercise. But, again, hilarious.
October 24, 2023
Wise and full of Luther’s idiosyncrasies, too much at times. He explores many problems in translation that are relevant to the conversation today. He takes the same wise and honest position as the CSB, that some texts require functional equivalence while other push more towards formal.
July 28, 2016
Bold, argumentative, but pithy comments about his translation of the Bible - and tart answers to his critics.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews