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【Abstract】Biblical idioms are widely used in daily communication in English-speaking countries. In order to prevent cross-cultural communication barriers， it is important for non-native English speakers to understand the background information of biblical idioms， such as religious stories. Biblical idioms can be classified into two categories： phrases originated from Christian stories and quotations extracted from the Bible. Different biblical idioms requires different translation methods. Three main translation methods， literal translation， free translation， and corresponding translation， are discussed in this paper with detailed case analysis. The three translation methods have their own advantages and are applied in different circumstances.
【Key words】biblical idioms； literal translation； free translation； corresponding translation
Christianity has profound impact on the western world in many fields， including politics， education， economy and culture. Christians think of the Bible as an authoritative document of the relationship between God and humans. Among the several different versions of the Bible， the King James Bible （KJB） has an enormous influence on the development of the English language. Besides Shakespeare’s works， the King James Bible is the most common source of expressions in English. Many religious expressions are also known as biblical idioms. Given that the biblical idioms are widely used in English， it is important for the non-native speakers of English to understand the religious background of the idioms. With the thriving tourism and prosperous economy， many businessmen from western countries come to China to strengthen trade relations and foreign tourists to visit scenic spots and historic sites. Meanwhile， there is a growing demand among Chinese to travel abroad. Therefore， a large number of Chinese has a great enthusiasm for English learning. However， many English learners pay great attention to linguistic knowledge and rarely notice the cultural background. During the learning process， they merely focus on grammar and vocabulary， ignoring the cultural factors. As a matter of fact， the cultural context can not only help English learners further understand the meaning of the expressions， but also avoid intercultural communication barriers. In light of the evident distinction between Chinese and English， the appropriate translation methods are necessary for English learners to deliver the deep implication of biblical idioms from English to Chinese. 1. The classification of biblical idioms
In western countries， the knowledge of the Bible is important for people to appreciate history， literature， arts， culture and politics. The Bible is frequently quoted in various kinds of literature works. Many Christian stories have been passed down to generations and eventually become the idioms. There are more than two hundred phrases from the King James Bible in contemporary English idiom. Considering the widespread use of biblical idioms in daily communication， English learners should search for the source of the biblical phrases in the Bible in order to fully understand and properly use these phrases.
According to Ping Hong and Zhang Guoyang， biblical idioms can be classified into two categories： （1） The idioms are involved with Christian figures and stories， such as “at the eleventh hour” and “doubting Thomas”. “At the eleventh hour” means “at the latest possible” and in the Bible it “referred to Jesus’s parable of the labourers hired right at the end of the day to work in the vineyard” （Siefring， 93）. “A doubting Thomas” is a skeptic “who refuses to believe something without having incontrovertibe proof” （Siefring， 84）. In the Bible， it originally refers to the apostle Thomas who refused to believe that Jesus had resurrected until he could see and touch his wounds. （2） The sentences and phrases are directly extracted from the Bible， later being accepted as idioms， for instance， “all things to all men” and “cast one’s bread upon the waters”. “All things to all men” is originated from “I am made all things to all men” （1st Corinthians 9：22）. This phrase means that someone tries to please everyone， typically by regularly changing his/her behavior or opinions in order to cohere with those of others. “Cast one’s bread upon the waters” is derived from “Cast thy bread upon the waters： for thou shalt find it after many days” （Ecclesiastes 11：1）. This expression implies that one does “good without expecting gratitude or immediate reward” （Siefring， 37）.
2. The main translation methods of biblical idioms
The cultural messages embedded in the biblical idioms are essential for target readers to fully understand the source text. In Venuti’s opinion， the translator’ status， compared to that of the author of the ST， should be undetectable （6）. In translation practice， translators should adopt different translation methods to minimize the translation trace. There are three main translation methods being discussed as follow， literal translation， free translation and corresponding translation. Each translation method is accompanied with several examples to analysis the translation process. 2.1 Literal translation
In A Textbook of Translation， Literal translation is defined as “the SL grammatical constructions are converted to their nearest target language equivalents but the lexical words are again translated singly， out of context”（Newmark 47）. Literal translation， also known as free translation， intends to preserve the lexical meaning and rhetorical devices of the the source text. For many centuries， translators have tried their best to deliver target texts conforming with the source text in terms of contextual content and text structure. In fact， all languages have the potential to communicate the relevant content of any message because “ all languages are at least 90 per cent structurally similar guarantees the potential for effective interlingual communication” （Baker
【Key words】biblical idioms； literal translation； free translation； corresponding translation
Christianity has profound impact on the western world in many fields， including politics， education， economy and culture. Christians think of the Bible as an authoritative document of the relationship between God and humans. Among the several different versions of the Bible， the King James Bible （KJB） has an enormous influence on the development of the English language. Besides Shakespeare’s works， the King James Bible is the most common source of expressions in English. Many religious expressions are also known as biblical idioms. Given that the biblical idioms are widely used in English， it is important for the non-native speakers of English to understand the religious background of the idioms. With the thriving tourism and prosperous economy， many businessmen from western countries come to China to strengthen trade relations and foreign tourists to visit scenic spots and historic sites. Meanwhile， there is a growing demand among Chinese to travel abroad. Therefore， a large number of Chinese has a great enthusiasm for English learning. However， many English learners pay great attention to linguistic knowledge and rarely notice the cultural background. During the learning process， they merely focus on grammar and vocabulary， ignoring the cultural factors. As a matter of fact， the cultural context can not only help English learners further understand the meaning of the expressions， but also avoid intercultural communication barriers. In light of the evident distinction between Chinese and English， the appropriate translation methods are necessary for English learners to deliver the deep implication of biblical idioms from English to Chinese. 1. The classification of biblical idioms
In western countries， the knowledge of the Bible is important for people to appreciate history， literature， arts， culture and politics. The Bible is frequently quoted in various kinds of literature works. Many Christian stories have been passed down to generations and eventually become the idioms. There are more than two hundred phrases from the King James Bible in contemporary English idiom. Considering the widespread use of biblical idioms in daily communication， English learners should search for the source of the biblical phrases in the Bible in order to fully understand and properly use these phrases.
According to Ping Hong and Zhang Guoyang， biblical idioms can be classified into two categories： （1） The idioms are involved with Christian figures and stories， such as “at the eleventh hour” and “doubting Thomas”. “At the eleventh hour” means “at the latest possible” and in the Bible it “referred to Jesus’s parable of the labourers hired right at the end of the day to work in the vineyard” （Siefring， 93）. “A doubting Thomas” is a skeptic “who refuses to believe something without having incontrovertibe proof” （Siefring， 84）. In the Bible， it originally refers to the apostle Thomas who refused to believe that Jesus had resurrected until he could see and touch his wounds. （2） The sentences and phrases are directly extracted from the Bible， later being accepted as idioms， for instance， “all things to all men” and “cast one’s bread upon the waters”. “All things to all men” is originated from “I am made all things to all men” （1st Corinthians 9：22）. This phrase means that someone tries to please everyone， typically by regularly changing his/her behavior or opinions in order to cohere with those of others. “Cast one’s bread upon the waters” is derived from “Cast thy bread upon the waters： for thou shalt find it after many days” （Ecclesiastes 11：1）. This expression implies that one does “good without expecting gratitude or immediate reward” （Siefring， 37）.
2. The main translation methods of biblical idioms
The cultural messages embedded in the biblical idioms are essential for target readers to fully understand the source text. In Venuti’s opinion， the translator’ status， compared to that of the author of the ST， should be undetectable （6）. In translation practice， translators should adopt different translation methods to minimize the translation trace. There are three main translation methods being discussed as follow， literal translation， free translation and corresponding translation. Each translation method is accompanied with several examples to analysis the translation process. 2.1 Literal translation
In A Textbook of Translation， Literal translation is defined as “the SL grammatical constructions are converted to their nearest target language equivalents but the lexical words are again translated singly， out of context”（Newmark 47）. Literal translation， also known as free translation， intends to preserve the lexical meaning and rhetorical devices of the the source text. For many centuries， translators have tried their best to deliver target texts conforming with the source text in terms of contextual content and text structure. In fact， all languages have the potential to communicate the relevant content of any message because “ all languages are at least 90 per cent structurally similar guarantees the potential for effective interlingual communication” （Baker