In support of Ann Smith’s reasoned plea for a more relevant Lectionary translation (Letters, 8 December), it’s worth remembering that St Jerome vigorously condemned literal translation, advocating instead what is now known as dynamic equivalence. He made an exception for Scripture; but this was based not on best practice but on the Jewish insistence that the very words of the word of God must not be tampered with – even obvious corrections to the Torah must stay in the margins. Jerome’s exception now seems idiosyncratic. Enduring scripture and liturgy translations depend not only on scholarship but the final touch of an artist, a Thomas Cranmer or a Lancelot Andrewes. Scholars don’t often have the genius that marries meaning and sound, force and clarity in a single sensibility.

Tom McIntyre
Frome, Somerset