Understanding the Different Translations of the Bible 1

I. Some Facts About The Bible:

A. The Bible is actually 66 different books written by 40 different authors over

approximately 1600 years

B. The oldest book of the Bible is the book of Genesis written over 3000 years ago

C. The book of Revelation was written approximately about 100 AD.

(A.D. is taken from the Latin words “anno Domini”, used to indicate a date following
the birth of Christ)

II. Even thought the bible was written by so many over so long of a period, there is truly only
one author.

A. That author is the Holy Spirit.

1. See 2Tim. 3:16 “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for
teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in
righteousness;”
a. “Inspired”: God breathed; divine inspiration

2. 2Pe 1:20-21 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture

is of any private interpretation. (21) For the prophecy came not in
old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they
were moved by the Holy Ghost.

3. This is why the bible does not contradict itself, it has but one author

III. The first 5 books of the Bible were written by Moses and are called the Torah or the
Pentateuch

1. These books were written as a direct result of God speaking to Moses about Creation;
the Tower of Babel; The Great Flood; Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob ect.

2. The bible says that God spoke to Moses different than any other Prophet, face to face

a. Exo 33:11 “Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face,
just as a man speaks to his friend.”

B. The first Scripture was actually physically written by God himself.

1. The 10 Commandments. Written by the finger of God.

 Understanding the Different Translations of the Bible 2

a. Exo 31:18 And when He had finished speaking with him upon
Mount Sinai, He gave Moses the two tablets of the testimony,
tablets of stone, written by the finger of God.

2. After that copies of Scripture would have been written and copied on animal skins
and rolled up like scrolls since paper had not yet been invented.

3. Until the invention of Papyri which was plant stalks pounded together into a flat
paper like material

C. When the entire Pentateuch is present on a scroll, it is called a “Torah”.

1. An entire Torah Scroll, if completely unraveled, is over 150 feet long!

2. As most sheep are only about two to three feet long, it took an entire flock of
sheep to make just one Torah scroll.
3. The Jewish scribes who painstakingly produced each scroll were
perfectionists.
4. If they made even the slightest mistake in copying, such as allowing two
letters of a word to touch, they destroyed that entire panel (the last three or
four columns of text), and the panel before it, because it had touched the
panel with a mistake!
5. It demonstrates the level of faithfulness to accuracy applied to the
preservation of God’s Word throughout the first couple of thousand years of
Biblical transmission.

D.The Jewish People were called by God to keep the Scriptures pure and preserved
fro generation to generation

1. Rom 3:1-2 Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the
benefit of circumcision? (2) Great in every respect. First of all,
that they were entrusted with the oracles of God.

IV. The Bible was not originally written in English

A. It actually was written in Hebrew and Greek; 2 very different languages;

1. Old Testament was Hebrew; Hebrew is read from right to left
2. The New Testament was written in Greek
3. The reason was because the drastic difference in time between the Old and New
Testaments and the changes in cultures

B. There are people today who mistakenly believe that Jesus and The Apostles actually
spoke in King James English
 Understanding the Different Translations of the Bible 3

V. By 500 BC. We have the completion of All Original Hebrew Manuscripts which
make up The 39 Books of the Old Testament.

A. 200 BC: Completion of the Septuagint Greek Manuscripts which contain The 39
Old Testament Books

VI. Alexander the Great who lived between 356 – 323 B.C. conquered the known world and
forced them to learn and speak the Greek language and culture in order to unite the world
and create a one world monarchy.

A. When Christ’s ministry appeared the most common language of the day was Greek and
Aramaic.

B. Jesus therefore spoke both Greek and being from an orthodox Jewish home would have
also spoke Hebrew. However most of his public ministry would have been done in
Greek and Aramaic, the common languages of the day.

C. In Jesus day many of the Jews didn’t even speak Hebrew and were looked down upon
by those who did. They called them Hellenistic Jews.

D.In the days of the early church only a limited number of Jewish people actually spoke
Hebrew and then only to each other.

E. Jesus adapted his ministry to meet the largest range of people for the day.

F. Hebrew is read from right to left

VII. There are today numerous translations of the Bible available in English. Each of these
translations varies in some degree from the others, but for the most part are very similar to
each other in more ways than they differ.

A. For many years the only copies of the Bible were in Greek and Hebrew, and later were
translated into Latin.

B. This being said, it was not readable by the average person and so much of what was
relied upon to be believed was dependent upon what was told them by the Church
clergy.

1. Almost like it had some sort of mystical spiritual power and was never to be read or
interpreted by the average man.
 Understanding the Different Translations of the Bible 4

2. Then the masses could be controlled by the clergy through fear and ignorance of the
truth of God’s Word

C. Even services were done in Latin in the dark ages which could not be understood by the
church goers

D. Pope Leo the Tenth established a practice called the “selling of indulgences” as a
way to extort money from the people.

1. He offered forgiveness of sins for a fairly small amount of money.

2. For a little bit more money, you would be allowed to indulge in a continuous
lifestyle of sin, such as keeping a mistress.

3. Also, through the invention of “Purgatory”, you could purchase the salvation
of your loved-one’s souls.

4. The church taught the ignorant masses, “As soon as the coin in the coffer
rings, the troubled soul from Purgatory springs!” Pope Leo the Tenth
showed his true feelings when he said, “The fable of Christ has been quite
profitable to us!”

E. In fact for many years the Catholic Church resisted the Scripture from being translated
into the common language. Confiscating and burning all copies of such translations and
hunting down those who did so and torturing and killing them.

F. There has been a tremendous price paid in blood so that we could all have copies of the
Bible today.

VIII. In the late 1300’s, the secret society of Culdees chose John Wycliffe to lead
the world out of the Dark Ages. Wycliffe has been called the “Morning Star of the
Reformation”. That Protestant Reformation was about one thing: getting the Word
of God back into the hands of the masses in their own native language, so that the
corrupt church would be exposed and the message of salvation in Christ alone, by
scripture alone, through faith alone would be proclaimed again.

A. The first hand written English language Bible manuscripts were produced in
1380’s AD by John Wycliffe, an Oxford professor, scholar, and theologian.

1. He was well-known throughout Europe for his opposition to the teaching of

the organized Church, which he believed to be contrary to the Bible.
 Understanding the Different Translations of the Bible 5

2. With the help of his followers, called the Lollards, and his assistant Purvey,
and many other faithful scribes, Wycliffe produced dozens of English
language manuscript copies of the scriptures.

3. They were translated out of the Latin Vulgate, which was the only source text
available to Wycliffe.

4. Wycliffe believed the Bible ought to be the common possession of all

Christians, and needed to be made available for common use in the language
of the people.

5. The Pope was so infuriated by his teachings and his translation of the Bible
into English, that 44 years after Wycliffe had died, he ordered the bones to be
dug-up, crushed, and scattered in the river!

6. It was a translation of a translation, Greek to Latin and from Latin into

English

7. Wycliffe (1320-1384) was a theologian and early proponent of reform in the

Roman Catholic Church during the 14th century. He initiated the first
translation of the Bible into the English language and is considered the main
precursor of the Protestant Reformation.

8. Therefore in this early period it was Wycliffe who recognized and formulated
the formal principle of the Reformation-- the unique authority of the Bible for
the belief and life of the Christian.

IX. 1,400 BC: The first written Word of God: The Ten Commandments delivered to
Moses.

A. 500 BC: Completion of All Original Hebrew Manuscripts which make up The 39
Books of the Old Testament.

B. By the 1st Century AD: Completion of All Original Greek Manuscripts which
make up The 27 Books of the New Testament.

C. 382 AD: Jerome's Latin Vulgate Manuscripts Produced which contain All 80
Books (39 Old Test. + 14 Apocrypha + 27 New Test).

1. During the 1st century Greek remains the language of the small Christian
community, but with the spread of the faith through the Roman empire a
Latin version of the Bible texts is needed in western regions.
 Understanding the Different Translations of the Bible 6

2. In 382 the pope, Damasus, commissions Jerome to provide a definitive Latin

version. In his monastery at Bethlehem, tended by aristocratic virgins, the
saint produces the Vulgate. This eventually becomes established as the Bible
of the whole western church until the Reformation.

3. The Vulgate is complete (in about 405)

D.600 AD: LATIN was the Only Language Allowed for Scripture.

E. 1384 AD: Wycliffe is the First Person to Produce a (Hand-Written) manuscript

Copy of the Complete Bible; All 80 Books.

F. 1455 AD: Gutenberg Invents the Printing Press; Books May Now be mass-
Produced Instead of Individually Hand-Written. The First Book Ever Printed is
Gutenberg's Bible in Latin.

G. 1526 AD: William Tyndale's New Testament; The First New Testament printed
in the English Language!

1. Soon after the publication of Luther's New Testament an English scholar, William
Tyndale, is studying in Wittenberg - where he probably matriculates in May 1524.

2. Tyndale begins a translation of the New Testament from Greek into English. His version is
printed at Worms in 1526 in 3000 copies. When they reach England, the bishop of London
seizes every copy that his agents can lay their hands on.

3. The offending texts are burnt at St Paul's Cross, a gathering place in the precincts of the
cathedral. So effective are the bishop's methods that today only two copies of the original
3000 survive.

4. Tyndale continues with his dangerous work (his life demonstrates the benefit to Luther of
a strong protector, Frederick the Wise). By 1535 he has translated the first half of the Old
Testament. In that year, living inconspicuously among English merchants in Antwerp, his
identity is betrayed to the authorities. Tyndale is unmistakably judged a heretic and he is
executed at the stake in 1536.

5. In spite of the destruction of printed copies, Tyndale's words survive in a living form. His
texts become the source to which subsequent translators regularly return once it has been
decided - by Henry VIII in 1534 - that there shall be an official English Bible.

H.Between 1516 and 1611 there were 8 different English translations of the Bible

I. After that it was 171 years before another translation came out
 Understanding the Different Translations of the Bible 7

J. 1833 AD: Noah Webster's Bible; After Producing his Famous Dictionary,
Webster Printed his Own Revision of the King James Bible.

K. 1971 AD: The "New American Standard Bible" (NASB) is Published as a

"Modern and Accurate Word for Word English Translation" of the Bible.

L. 1973 AD: The "New International Version" (NIV) is Published as a "Modern and
Accurate Phrase for Phrase English Translation" of the Bible.

M. 1982 AD: The "New King James Version" (NKJV) is Published as a "Modern
English Version Maintaining the Original Style of the King James."

N. 2002 AD: The English Standard Version (ESV) is Published as a translation to

bridge the gap between the accuracy of the NASB and the readability of the NIV.

X. The translation task is not simple.

A. To find the exact meaning in modern English of those ancient Hebrew, Aramaic,
and Greek terms, phrases, and sentences is very challenging. Sometimes the
original words have no exact counterpart in English, so several English words
may be required to reproduce the precise meaning.

1. And English is constantly changing, as some of our words take on new

meanings. For example, the word "gay" means something quite different
today than it meant fifty years ago.

B. This helps to explain why there is so much variation in the English translations.
Ten trained translators looking at the same Greek text would likely come up with
ten slightly different renditions, and each would have reasons for his or her
choice of particular words and phrases.

1. English is, after all, not a fixed, dead language. It is alive and constantly
changing. So don't expect that there will be no further English translations.

2. Translators continue to study the ancient text to find just the right nuance
and shade of meaning in today's English to express exactly what God
intended to convey.

XI. First we will take a look at the different types of translations.

A. First we have “Paraphrase Translations”

 Understanding the Different Translations of the Bible 8

B. Second we have “Thought for Thought Translations” (Used in most modern

translations)

C. Third we have “Word for Word Translations”

1. Literal translation is where the forms of the original are retained as much as possible,
even if those forms are not the most natural forms to preserve the original meaning.
Literal translation is sometimes called word-for-word translation (as opposed to
thought-for-thought translation). A more accurate, but less well known, label for this
approach is formal equivalence translation. Because literal translation focuses on
forms of language, it sometimes misses some of the meaning of those forms, since
meaning is found not only in the forms of individual words, but also in relationships
among words, phrases, idiomatic uses of words, and influences of speaker-hearer,
cultural, and historical contexts. Words often have different meanings in different
contexts, but a literal translation often does not account for these differences. So
literal translation often is not the most accurate form of translation.

2. Although a word for word translation may call for a bit more effort on the part of the
reader in understanding the scriptures, do we really want to place ourselves
completely at the mercy of the interpretive slant of human translators? Because that
is exactly what we are doing if we embrace the thought for thought method of
translating the scriptures.

XII. A Paraphrase Translation

A. A paraphrase translates the thoughts of the original text, not the words.

1. The New Testament in Modern English - In 1958 J. B. Phillips completed it.

Phillips had a special knack of rendering difficult and long sentences into very understandable
English.

2. The Message - Eugene Peterson completed this paraphrase of the entire Bible in 2002.
Peterson takes great liberties with words in his attempt to effectively communicate both the
original thoughts and tone of the Scripture.

3. The Message (Msg) - Eugene Peterson completed this paraphrase of the entire Bible in
2002. Peterson takes great liberties with words in his attempt to effectively communicate both
the original thoughts and tone of the Scripture.

4. The Living Bible (LB), completed in 1971, is Kenneth N. Taylor's paraphrase of the
American Standard Version. Easy to read and once immensely popular, it is often criticized for
adding too much commentary to the biblical text.

5.

XIII. Thought for thought translations

 Understanding the Different Translations of the Bible 9

A. If you are interested in reading the Bible in large blocks, you probably will prefer
one of the freer translations (not necessarily less accurate), such as the New
International, New Living Translation, or Contemporary English Version.

B. New International Version (NIV), completed in 1978, was the product of 115
evangelical scholars. Within a decade it became the best-selling English version. It combines
contemporary, literary English with traditional biblical vocabulary.

C. New Living Translation (NLT), published in 1996, is the product of 90 Bible scholars
from around the world, from various theological backgrounds and denominations. This is a very
readable translation, while remaining more faithful to the original texts than the Living Bible.

D. New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) - published in 1989 by the National Council of
Churches, revises the Revised Standard Version of 1952. While following the literal tradition of the
RSV, the NRSV eliminates much of the archaic language. One distinctive is the use of gender
inclusive pronouns to replace male pronouns when the original writers meant both men and
women. The NRSV does not change masculine pronouns referring to God, however. It is kind of a
hybrid between “Word For Word” and “Thought For Thought”

E.
XIV. Literal Translations / Word For Word Translations

A. If you are interested in serious study of the Bible, including grammar and
vocabulary, you will want a more literal translation, such as the English Standard
Version, New King James, or New American Standard.

B. English Standard Version (ESV) is an "essentially new literal translation" follows the
tradition of the King James, American Standard Version, and Revised Standard Version. Published
in 2001 by Crossway, it was developed by a translation team of more than 100 scholars, with the
goal of being very accurate (word for word), and yet very readable.

1. In 2002, a major attempt was made to bridge the gap between the simple readability of
the N.I.V., and the extremely precise accuracy of the N.A.S.B. This translation is called the
English Standard Version (E.S.V.) and is rapidly gaining popularity for its readability
and accuracy. The 21st Century will certainly continue to bring new translations of God’s
Word in the modern English language.

C. Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) is another new word-for-word translation

that strives to be both literally accurate and readable. It is not as literal as the ESV or NASB, but
is more so than the NIV. The Holman published by Broadman & Holman in 2003, is the product of
nearly 100 scholars.

D. New American Standard Bible (NASB) - completed in 1971, was produced by 54

conservative Protestant scholars sponsored by the Lockman Foundation. This version is very literal
in vocabulary and word order, although the resulting English is quite wooden. It often is preferred
by those who want an English version that reflects the grammar of the original. An Update was
published in 1995 which seeks to use more modern English while preserving the literal nature of
the translation.
 Understanding the Different Translations of the Bible 10

E.
XV. Easy to Understand, and Children and Youth Translations

A. Contemporary English Version (CEV), is a completely new translation published by

the American Bible Society in 1995. Originally intended as a children's translation, it uses a very
simple, contemporary style. It is independent of traditional translations and freer of "biblical"
terms. This is an especially good translation for people who speak English as a second language

B. Good News Bible (Today's English Version) (TEV), completed in 1976, was
translated by Robert G. Bratcher with six other scholars. This very free, though very accurate,
translation avoids the use of traditional biblical vocabulary and communicates especially well with
youth and the unchurched. Also published by the American Bible Society.

C.
D.