The Effect of the Translator's Preconceptions on Translating Religious Texts

The translators of religious texts are expected to present a trustable and precise translation of the text, though this may be to the cost of losing some of the delicacies of the main text. Nevertheless, some of these translators, while observing the formal and literal meaning of the text, present a translation governed by the translator's attitude and belief, in which the text has undergone some delicate changes not observable at the first glance. These changes can be classified into three main groups: a) making the text consistent with the translator's beliefs; b) extending the semantic range of the text to the translator's interests; and c) cultural edition of the text to make it favorite for the reader. The present paper tries to explain these changes and present some examples in translation of religious texts to draw attention to the importance of this issue.