I was curious regarding Jeremiah 10:16 and Jeremiah 51:19. It reads as follows (roughly, including the portion of Jacob) in in over 12 different translations (I will be using the NKJV):
"The Portion of Jacob is not like them,
For He is the Maker of all things;
And Israel is the tribe of His inheritance.
The Lord of hosts is His name."
And now I will read it in the rough, Hebrew translation found in any interlinear Bible:
"Not (adv) like them (pro), the Portion (noun) of Jacob (noun), for (conj) [is] the former (verb), of all (noun), he (pro) [things] and Israel [is] the staff (noun) of his inheritance (noun) The LORD (noun - The Hebrew word used is Yahweh/Jehovah) of hosts (noun) [is] his name (noun)."
Now, the NET Bible reads more closely to the NLV:
"The LORD, who is the portion of the descendants of Jacob, is not like them. For he is the one who created everything, including the people of Israel whom he claims as his own. He is known as the LORD who rules over all." (I use a lot of copy and paste!)"
Yet, I have found in the NLV:
" But the God of Israel is no idol! He is the Creator of everything that exists, including Israel, his own special possession. The Lord of Heaven's Armies is his name!"
My concern was, although the NET included essentially, "The portion of Jacob", the NLV has completely removed it and replaced it with "God" who I can only assume from this text is, "Jehovah/Yahweh - the Father". I could not understand that, in the literal Hebrew, "portion of Jacob" is used but the NLV translation has removed it. JW believes NLV to be the most sound translation/interpretation, yet majority does not rule in its favor. After having conducted more research, I received a response from a Jewish brother of mine from Israel who was raised on Hebrew language. He explains:
"I have the scriptures in front of me (Hebrew Bible), I couldn't really understand your question, so I will just say what verse 16 says, it means in Hebrew, 'The portion of Jacob' It's there and then it says, 'because the maker of everything' like, because he is the maker of everything, 'and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance, Jehovah, is his name,' and then it says, 'Lord of hosts". That is what it says, I hope that is clear for you."
If the NLV has entirely removed "the portion of Jacob", who is believed to be Jesus, can we consider the NLV a sound translation/interpretation if they are willing to remove pieces of scripture entirely to replace it with an interpretation so that people are not confused with Jesus being called Jehovah? The NET Bible at least included the portion of Jacob, although it does not consider the portion of Jacob to be Jesus. What makes the NLV different from "the Message" Bible if this is an interpretation? I am not arguing that Jesus is God, but I am simply concerned of the possibility that the NLV may not be reliable if it is willing to remove things entirely from the scriptures. Should I trust the translation of a person who is not a native speaker of the Hebrew language over a man born and raised in Judaism, being raised in the Hebrew tongue? I am not arguing that other translations are better, I am primarily asking, "Can we consider the NLV to be a sound translation if it has blatantly removed things from scripture in favor of interpretation?"
Thank you!God Bless!