| The original books of the Bible were written | | | | some tongues are richer in expression than |
| in Hebrew (the Old Testament) and Greek (the | | | | English (such as Greek) or smaller in |
| New Testament). Parts of the books of Daniel | | | | vocabulary (such as Hebrew). A translator |
| and the Gospel of Matthew might have been | | | | must interpret the original meaning and find |
| originally written in Aramaic. | | | | an equivalent wording, but this makes the |
| | | | result subject to the biases of the |
| Many translations have been made over the | | | | translator. Bottom line: interpretations |
| years. In the early days of Christianity the | | | | differ and errors can occur. When |
| Hebrew Old Testament was usually read in a | | | | translations differ significantly, research |
| Greek translation (the so-called Septuagint). | | | | into the original language can help clarify |
| As the church spread, the need for | | | | the message. |
| translations grew, taking the sacred text | | | | |
| into widely accepted languages as well as | | | | To complicate things a bit, a small number of |
| local tongues. The Bible was soon translated | | | | NT verses are not supported by all ancient |
| into Latin (the language of the Roman | | | | manuscripts; this forces translators to |
| Empire), Syriac (an Eastern Aramaic | | | | decide which verses to incorporate. Most |
| language), Coptic (Egyptian), and Arabic. By | | | | translators are cautious to err on the safe |
| 500 AD, some estimate, scripture could | | | | side and note for the reader any verse not |
| already be found in more than 500 languages. | | | | supported by the majority of manuscripts. |
| | | | |
| Unfortunately, translations were not always | | | | As an illustration, let's look at the Lord's |
| accurate and errors were made. For this | | | | Prayer from Matthew 6:9-13 in the New |
| reason - and also because they did not want | | | | International Version and the King James |
| "ordinary" people to be able to read the | | | | Version: |
| Bible - the (Roman) Catholic Church banned | | | | |
| any further translations and used only a | | | | The Lord's prayer in the King James: |
| particular Latin text known as the Vulgate, | | | | |
| which had been translated from the Greek | | | | "After this manner therefore pray ye: 'Our |
| around 600 AD. In the 1380s the first English | | | | Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy |
| translations were made by John Wycliffe. By | | | | name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in |
| 1455 the printing press was invented | | | | earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day |
| (Gutenberg), and mass-production capabilities | | | | our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as |
| made additional English versions and other | | | | we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into |
| language translations more readily available. | | | | temptation, but deliver us from evil: For |
| | | | thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the |
| Hundreds of translations into English | | | | glory, for ever. Amen.'" |
| (estimated around 450) have been made over | | | | |
| the years. Some of the best known are: the | | | | Now read the Lord's prayer in the NIV: |
| King James (KJV, 1611), the New International | | | | |
| Version (NIV, 1978), the New King James | | | | "This, then, is how you should pray: 'Our |
| (NKJV, 1982), the New American Standard Bible | | | | Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your |
| (NASB, 1971) and the English Standard Version | | | | kingdom come, your will be done on earth as |
| (ESV, 2001). This large number of | | | | it is in heaven. Give us today our daily |
| translations is usually grouped into three | | | | bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have |
| main categories: | | | | forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into |
| | | | temptation, but deliver us from the evil |
| Literal translations: These translate the | | | | one.' |
| original texts word for word into the best | | | | |
| English equivalent words. These translations | | | | |
| are sometimes also referred to as interlinear | | | | |
| translations, placing the English rendering | | | | Apart from "old" English versus more modern |
| along side the original Hebrew and Greek. | | | | English style, notice the two differences in |
| Although they are undoubtedly the most | | | | the last verse: |
| accurate translations, they can be difficult | | | | |
| to read because the flow of language follows | | | | "The evil one" versus "evil." The KJV asks |
| the original Hebrew and Greek, quite | | | | for deliverance from "evil" while the NIV |
| different from modern English. The NASB as | | | | asks to deliver us from "the evil one." There |
| well as the ESV are good examples of literal | | | | is no little theological difference between |
| translations. | | | | the two. The original Greek text actually |
| | | | uses an adjective with an article, making |
| Dynamic equivalent translations: These | | | | "the evil one" the only correct translation. |
| translations attempt to be as literal as | | | | We pray to be delivered from the evil one, |
| possible, but restructure sentences and | | | | not from any danger, disaster, or from the |
| grammar from the original language to | | | | general ugliness of the world. |
| English. They attempt to capture thought and | | | | |
| intent of what writers wanted to say. As a | | | | An extra sentence. Compared to the NIV, the |
| result, these are more readable in English, | | | | KJV has an extra sentence at the end: "For |
| but have a higher degree of subjective | | | | thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the |
| interpretation than the literal translations. | | | | glory, for ever, Amen." This is a good |
| These translations include the KJV, NKJV, and | | | | illustration of a later addition to the |
| NIV. | | | | oldest preserved Greek manuscripts. As the |
| | | | NIV mentions in a footnote: "some late |
| Contemporary language translations: These | | | | manuscripts: for yours is the kingdom and the |
| translation paraphrase the thought and intent | | | | power and the glory forever. Amen." Other |
| of the original text into contemporary | | | | verses in the NT have similar additions. None |
| English. The result is easy to read, but the | | | | of these are of vital theological |
| text is largely a subjective interpretation | | | | consequence, but it is important to be aware |
| of the translator. These versions, such as | | | | of these variations. |
| the well known The Message and The New Living | | | | |
| Translation, should be approached with great | | | | |
| care. Use them perhaps for supplementary | | | | |
| readings, but be aware that these texts can | | | | Therefore the differences between the various |
| (and often do) differ significantly from the | | | | English translations are not the result of |
| original Bible texts. | | | | differences in the extant (still in |
| | | | existence) ancient manuscripts, but merely |
| Every translation requires interpretation. | | | | the result of choices (and sometimes errors) |
| Why? Because languages do not translate one | | | | made by the translators during the |
| on one. That is, not every word has a unique | | | | translation to English. |
| word to match it in the other language. Also | | | | |