Antithetical Parallelism Translation: A Case Study of Matthew Henry’s Bible Commentary

This study aims to examine the impact of translation techniques on the form, function, and meaning of antithetical parallelism in Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible. The data for this research were collected through content analysis from Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible as the Source Text (ST) and its Indonesian translation, Tafsiran Matius, as the Target Text (TT). The validity of the analysis was ensured through a Focus Group Discussion (FGD). A total of 104 data of antithetical parallelism were identified and subsequently categorized based on their function within the text. In the ST, the functions of antithetical parallelism can be broadly classified into Emphasizing Function (EF), Adding Function (AF), Beautifying Function (BF), and the combination of those functions, with EF being the most frequently occurring function. The findings indicate that, in the translation process, the majority of antithetical parallelism expressions maintain their original form and function. However, certain translation techniques, including implicitation, transposition, discursive creation, reduction, modulation, and explicitation, contribute to shifts in form, function, and/or meaning. These shifts manifest primarily as reductions or losses in the form, function, or meaning of parallel structures from the ST to the TT. The study concludes that different translation techniques have varying effects, with some leading to shifts in form and function while others preserve the original structure and meaning.