Tiny Little Things

Previously, I was sharing about Exodus 15 and how the whole song was arranged and helped the people of Israel to remember the works of the LORD. This continued to the apprehension of how translated hymns and songs could affect our faith.

We always lost something in translation. Language comes with culture and worldview of the people speaking it (or the ones who translate it). There are many instances where hymns and Christian contemporary songs lyrics that have great testimony and teaching lost its meanings after translation. Let me to take Don Moen’s “Lord, I Offer You My Life.”

The chorus in the song tells us about giving to the Lord everything in our lives for His glory. It talks about our sacrifice and praise; our whole life, spirit, soul, and body, as a living sacrifice. The chorus teaches us the practical worship according to Romans 12:1. But this great teaching is nowhere to be found in the Indonesian translation. The version goes like this (with rough English transcription):

Kupersembahkan hidupku kepada-Mu, Tuhan (Lord, I offer my life to You)
Untuk kemuliaan-Mu (for Your glory)
Kuberikan hidup ini s’bagai persembahan (I give this life as an offering)
Yang berkenan pada-Mu (that pleases You)

The translation is not totally wrong, it just reduces the meaning. The use of words makes the song shallow, it could not invite the worshipper to worship according to the Scripture. Writing and translating songs (worship songs, in this case) do not only need personal faith experience, but also Biblical and lexical proficiency.

Personal experience from the author is good to be the sole reason to start writing a song, but it should not end there. How the Bible teaches the songwriter as they grow in their understanding about God should also be added, and therefore could edify the church in singing new songs to the Lord with a new heart.

Thank you for reading this article. I hope you are feeling blessed just as I do. I would be happy to hear your thoughts about God and His goodness. You can subscribe to receive the newest updates from these articles. Thank you, and see you soon!