In book I’ve been reading, this guy’s work translating the bible (really he oversaw the work) is discussed. Pretty interesting the interpretations we accept as legitimate.
Unfortunately I would have to subscribe to read the entire article. The problem with Thought for Thought translation is are you translating the text means or what you think the text means.
One example is the biblical parable about the foolishness of building a house on sand vs stone. For an Indonesian culture that has houses built on stilts it was translated as to build a house on metal stilts vs building out of a certain type of weak wood. The idea was to convey the meaning without requiring a lesson on house building foreign to their culture.
Your question is very interesting because isn’t a translation always just what the translator thinks a text means? Languages don’t align so neatly that you can just translate word for word and expect the same meaning to come through.