When translating any document from one language to another a lot of factors immediately come into play. The final translation is based on the intent of the translator. The approach used by translation committees usually fall into two broad categories which form the opposite ends of the translation spectrum. They are Formal equivalence and Functional equivalence. The formal equivalence approach also commonly referred to as the word for word approach tries to translate the words from the original language to the target language (English) while keeping the same word order and structure (syntax). The difficulty with this approach is that sometimes the final translation may be rigid and difficult to understand. Also what may be good Hebrew or Greek syntax may make for atrocious reading in English.
