Translations

Rodney King

Answering BIG Questions • Sermon • Submitted 4 years ago

Bible

Bible Translations

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Translations: How did we get the Bible? Why are there so many translations?

How did we get the Bible? Why are there so many translations?

1. Why is this Question Important?

Because we want to know if the Bible is truthful.

The Bible makes many claims.

It claims to be direct truth from God ()

John 17:17 NASB95

“Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.

It claims to know what will happen in the future (see the book of Revelation).

It claims to know the origin of the universe ().

It claims to have spiritual power ().

Hebrews 4:12 NASB95

For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

It claims to be profitable for every area of life (; ).

2 Timothy 3:16–17 NASB95

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

If the Bible is not truthful in even one area, how can we expect it to be truthful in others?

1 Corinthians 15:11–19 NASB95

Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed. Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.

Because we want to know if we can trust God.

Titus 1:1–3 NASB95

Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness, in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago, but at the proper time manifested, even His word, in the proclamation with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior,

If the Bible is not true, then what is? The Bible claims to be divine revelation from God. If it is not true, then we must conclude that God Himself is not true. If God is not true, then he either doesn’t exist or cannot be trusted. Either way, it is a lose-lose situation for Christians!

Because we want to know that we are not following “cleverly devised tales” (cf. ) but following Divine Truth.

1 Corinthians 2:5 NASB95

so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.

If the Bible does not have a supernatural, divine origin, then its author(s) must be human. If the Bible is authored by humans and NOT by means of deity (i.e. God), then every Christian who has ever lived is following a fable (and a cunningly devised one at that!).

2. History of Scripture

The Original Languages

The Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew/Aramaic. Moses, the great leader of God’s people (the children of Israel) wrote the first five books of the Old Testament (often referred to as the Pentateuch (or Torah). These five books comprise what the Jews called “the Law.” These books were the foundation for the Jewish worship of Yahweh. Over the course of time, people began to speak a different languages. Eventually, many people could not speak/read Hebrew. As a result of this, the Greek translation of the Hebrew OT came about called the “Septuagint” (LXX). This is the first example of a translation. The New Testament was written in Greek. The NT was written to testify of the Messiah who came to fulfill the OT (these books that tell of His life are called the “Gospels”).

The Copies

Over the course of time, scribes had to make copies of the original manuscripts (scholars call the original manuscripts the “autographs”). Since there were no printing presses at this point, all the copies had to be made by hand. These copies were then copied by other scribes, so that copies of copies were then made (yet again) into copies. We no longer have the autographs; only copies of copies.

Translation into English

The Bible was translated into Latin. This translation was what the church used for many years, even though many people did not actually know or speak Latin. There was a great need for a Bible translation in the language of the common man. This was the heartbeat of a men like John Wycliffe (1328–1384) and William Tyndale (1494–1536). Wycliffe’s translation team translated the Bible into English from the Latin Vulgate.