THE TRANSLATIONS

Table Of Contents

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TEXT: Matthew 4:4

INTRODUCTION:

DISCUSSION:

1. Preliminary presuppositions.
   1. Verbal inspiration (Ex. 20:1; 24:4; 35:1; Deut. 18:18-19; Jer. 1:9; Matt. 10:27; John 16:13-15; 1 Cor. 2:13; 2 Pet. 1:20-21).
   2. True life comes from the words of God (Matt. 4:4). If the Bible doesn't contain the very words of God, we have no source of true life.
   3. With these presuppositions we will arrive at the same conclusions stated by Richard C. Trench,

      "The conscientious task is to take the actual word of the original and transplant it unchanged, in the trust that any strangeness will disappear by time and use, and its meaning acquired by even the unlearned or the unlettered reader — and that is what actually occurred with the King James Version."

2. The 5 basic types of translations.
   1. Literal: Interlinear.
   2. Standard: KJV, ASV, RSV, NKJV, NRSV.
   3. Paraphrase: The Living Bible Paraphrased (This class is not really a translation in the true sense of the word).
   4. Dynamic Equivalent : A dynamic equivalent is a translation that seeks to strike a balance between standard and paraphrase. The goal of this type of translation is to render the idea conveyed by the original language into that of the target language (like English). Some examples in this category would be the NIV (New International Version), NRSV (New Revised Standard Version), and the NAB (New American Bible [not to be confused with the New American Standard Bible]).  

   5. Chart From literal to - "I think what God meant to say was . . ."

3. Scholarship.
   1. One man: TEV Moffat, Goodspeed, LBP The Message.
   2. Liberal Committee (denies verbal inspiration).
      1. RSV translated by 21 liberals and 1 Jew.
      2. NEB translated by 11 liberal British groups.
   3. Conservative committee (affirms inspiration).
      1. KJV - 48 men, conservative Anglican scholars (1611).
      2. ASV - 100 men of mixed background (1901).
      3. NASB - 58 (N.T. 1960, O.T. 1971).
      4. NIV - 100 men from 50 different churches (N.T. 1973, O.T. 1978).
      5. NKJV - 119 translators (NT 1979, O.T. 1982) all of whom believed in plenary verbal inspiration of the original autographs.
      6. English Standard Version ESV

The King James Version (KJV).

1. Date: 1611 (we actually use the 1769 revision).
   1. There are 75,000 changes in the KJV we use today from the original edition.
   2. This is a telling fact for those who teach that it is a violation of Revelation 22:18-19 for anyone to use any other translation than the KJV.
2. Translators: 48 Anglicans.
   1. Anglicans were conservatives in those days.
3. Strengths.
   1. It was a modern translation in the vernacular of the common people.
   2. This is why the "Thees" and "Thous" were used. They are not in the original text.
   3. It was written at the height of English literary genius.
   4. We are used to hearing it.
   5. Its language is dignified.
   6. It is the standard for many reference works.
4. Weaknesses.
   1. It used the "third edition of the Greek New Testament, issued by the Parisian publisher Stephanus (Latinized form of Estienne) in 1550."
   2. Many mistakenly assume that the King James was translated from the Textus Receptus. But, "Even the first Elzevir edition was not published until 13 years after the date of the KJV."
   3. The weakness in using either one of these texts lies in the fact that they settled the question of disputed readings with a nose-count mentality.
   4. I John 5:17 (KJV): this verse is not found in any ancient Greek text. It was inserted in the text by Erasmus because of pressure from the Vatican.
   5. It originally included the apocryphal books.
   6. 1,000 colloquial terms.⁶ This may not seem like much of a problem to mature members of the church. But, to new converts it is often a formidable problem.
   7. "For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way" (2 Thess. 4:7).
      1. Let means restrain in this verse.
   8. "Prevent" sometimes is used to mean "go before" (1 Thess. 4:15; Psa. 59:10).
   9. "Wit" and "Wotteth", mean to know.
5. Inaccurate translations: (actually they are amazingly few considering the lack of lexicographic help available in those days.)
   1. Heb 6:8 was reworded to make it sound like verse 8 is talking about a different person than the one discussed in vs. 4-7.
   2. Acts 12:4.

The American Standard Version (ASV)

1. Date: 1901.
   
2. Translators: 100 men of mixed theology.
   
3. Strengths.
   1. Many more manuscripts were available to them than there were for the KJV translators (about 2,000 compared to only about 25 in 1611)^.7
      
   2. It is extremely accurate.
      
   3. Spurgeon called it a "Greek student's crib sheet."⁸
      
   4. Some complain that it is slavishly accurate. This feature makes it slow to read.
      
   5. Where possible it uses harmony of expression.
4. Weaknesses.
   1. It doesn't read as smoothly as other translations.
      
   2. II Tim. 3:16 "Every scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness:"
      
   3. Even the head of the committee Phillip Schaff disavowed the committee's handling of 2 Tim 3:16.
      
   4. Too cautious with the text: It didn't give enough weight to textual evidence found in the early translations and quotations (some of which were older than the oldest available Greek manuscripts). This criticism can be made of all of the modern translations except the New King James Version.
      1. Examples: Acts 8:37 & Mark 16:8ff.

The Revised Standard Version (RSV)

1. Date: 1946 for O.T. & 1952 for N.T.
   
2. Translators: 21 liberals and 1 Jew.
   
3. Strengths.
   1. It is very readable.
      
   2. It is widely used in mainline Protestant churches because of its endorsement by the National Council of Churches.
4. ALLEGED strengths.
   1. More manuscripts available? Actually there were only 2 more Greek manuscripts available to the RSV translators than had been available to the ASV translators.⁹
      
   2. The use of the Dead Sea Scrolls to improve the Masoretic text (text of the Old Testament).
      
   3. There were only 12 minor changes in the text of Isaiah as a result of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Dr. Harry M. Orlinsky, one of the RSV translators, said that the famous Dead Sea Scroll of Isaiah had, "No value for the reconstruction of the Masoretic text."¹⁰
      
   4. The following quote demonstrates the great care with which the Masorites handled the Hebrew text.

      "The parchment must be made form the skin of clean animals: must be prepared by a Jew only, and the skins must be fastened together by strings taken from clean animals. 2. Each column must have no less than 48 nor more than 60 lines. The entire copy must be first lined, and if three words were written in it without the line, the copy was worthless. 3. The ink must be of no other color than black, and it must be prepared according to a special recipe. 4. No word nor letter could be written from memory: the scribe must have an authentic copy before him, and he must read and pronounce aloud each word before writing it. 5. He must reverently wipe his pen each time before writing the word for "God," and he must wash his whole body before writing the word "Jehovah," lest the holy name be contaminated. 6. Strict rules were given concerning the forms of the letters, spaces between letters, words, and sections, the use of the pen, the color of the parchment, etc. 7. The revision of a roll must be made within 30 days after the work was finished; otherwise it was worthless. One mistake on a sheet condemned the sheet; if three mistakes were found on any page, the entire manuscript was condemned. 8. Every word and every letter was counted, and if a letter were omitted, an extra letter inserted, or if one letter touched another, the manuscript was condemned and destroyed at once. And so on. Some of these rules may appear extreme and absurd, yet they show how sacred the Holy Word of the Old Testament was to its custodians, the Jews (Romans 3:2), and they give us strong encouragement to believe that we have the real Old Testament, the same one which our Lord had and which was originally given by inspiration by God."¹¹

5. Weaknesses.
   1. Liberal committee. The translators believed Jesus to be an illegitimate son. One translator actually believed that the virgin birth was merely a story cooked up by Mary to keep from being stoned to death for fornication.
      
   2. "Thou and Thee" retained in reference to the Father but not when referring to Christ (Matt. 16:18; mark 1:24).
      
   3. No Italics.
      
   4. Matt. 27:24 "This man's blood."
      
   5. Luke 1:34 "Since I have no husband."
      
   6. Cf. R.C. Foster's articles in the Gospel Advocate 1953 titled "The Battle of the Versions."
      
   7. Isaiah 7:14 translates "virgin" as "young woman." The translators have admitted that instead of translating it from the Hebrew or the LXX (Septuagint), they used Aquila's translation. It is a translation made by a man who had been withdrawn from by the church for practicing astrology. He then joined the Jews and retranslated the Old Testament into Greek to do away with the Septuagint which was so damaging to their claims that Jesus was not the Christ.¹²
      
   8. Faith only is taught in Romans 11:20 "That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast only through faith. . ."

Living Bible Paraphrased also sold as "The Book"

• It is not a translation. It is a one man, Calvinistic Commentary, one of the most biased and flawed attempts at translation ever made.
• The problems with the Paraphrase are too extensive to be covered in this discussion.
• Click here for an analysis of The Paraphrase

Today's English Version (TEV) subtitled "Good News for Modern Man"

1. Date: 1967.
   
2. Translator - Robert G. Bratcher. Published by the American Bible Society.
   
3. Strengths.
   1. It is cheap.
4. Weaknesses.
   1. Since "This translation of the New Testament has been prepared by the American Bible Society for people who speak English as their own mother tongue or as an acquired language." ¹³ The above quote demonstrates a major weakness. The translation was designed to be used primarily in countries where English was a second language. For this reason the vocabulary of the translation is very limited.
      
   2. It is a one man translation, and his theological bias creeps into the translation in many places.
      
   3. "A member of translator Bratcher's American Bible Society board had stated the policy for a modern translation: first to settle the question of their theology, then translate accordingly. Whether an inadvertent concession or not, it is an honest confession, and it is in evidence throughout translator Bratcher's Today's English Version -- for he translates according to his theology."¹⁴
      
   4. Acts 20:7 "On Saturday evening we gathered together for the fellowship meal. Paul spoke to the people, and kept on speaking until midnight, since he was going to leave the next day.";
      
   5. Acts 22:16 "And now, why wait any longer? Get up and be baptized and have your sins washed away by calling on His name.
      
   6. For some reason the translator removed many references to the blood of Christ from his translation. such as the following:

      I Pet. 1:18-19 "For you know what was paid to set you free from the worthless manner of life you received from your ancestors. It was not something that loses its value, such as silver or gold; you were set free by the costly sacrifice of Christ, who was like a lamb without defect or spot.".
      

   7. Acts 8:20 "But Peter answered him: 'May you and your money go to Hell, for thinking that you can buy God's gift with money!'"
      
   8. Rom. 3:28 "For we conclude that a man is put right with God only through faith, and not by doing what the Law commands.";
      
   9. Gal. 2:16 "Yet we know that a man is put right with God only through faith in Jesus Christ, never by doing what the Law requires. We, too, have believed in Christ Jesus in order to be put right with God through our faith in Christ, and not by doing what the Law requires. For no man will ever be put right with God by doing what the Law requires.".
      
   10. Rom. 1:17 Reads faith only in the first two editions. "For the gospel reveals how God puts men right with himself: it is through faith alone, from beginning to end. As the scripture says, 'He who is put right with God through faith shall live.'"
       
   11. Excluding the Paraphrase, which is not a true translation, we safely say the TEV is probably as poor a translation as man has ever succeeded in making.

The New English Bible (NEB)

1. Date: N.T. 1961, O.T. 1970.
   
2. Translators: groups from 11 liberal British churches and societies.
   1. The O.T. is readable, majestic and accurate, with the exception of Isaiah 7:14 which translates "virgin" as "young woman.".
      
   2. The N.T. is of inferior quality.
3. Weaknesses.
   1. It is not very widely used in this country.
      
   2. It is filled with idioms common to the British Isles which would be confusing to an American reader.
      
   3. The Translators felt their first responsibility was to get the meaning across instead of translating the actual words of the original. Thus if they misinterpreted a passage, they automatically mistranslated it. Their translation could in no way be any better than their theology.
      
   4. We see the fruit of this mentality with their translation of Pentecost as Whitsuntide in 1 Cor. 16:8.

New American Standard Bible (NASB).

1. Date: NT. 1960, O.T. 1971 (revised in 1995)
2. Translators: 58 from different churches.
3. Strengths:
   1. It is true to the original the languages.
   2. It is grammatically correct.
   3. It strives for "harmony of expression."
   4. It has occasional literal renderings in the margin that help clarify meaning of the passage. For example in Mat. 16:18, it explains that Peter is translated from petros which means a stone, but that the rock the church is built on is a petra which is a large bedrock.
   5. It is dignified.
   6. It renders Greek tenses more accurately than any other translation ". . .and whatever you shall bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven (Mat. 16:19; 18:18).
4. Weaknesses.
   1. Its word order is so radically different than that of the King James that it is difficult for many others to follow along during public reading.
   2. It is not as readable as the NKJV or the NIV.
   3. It has not been marketed as well as the NIV and the NKJV and so will probably lose out to these two translations.
   4. The NASB was revised in 1995 to address some of these weaknesses, but it is still very hard to find.

The New International Version (NIV)

1. Date: N.T. 1973, O.T. 1978.
   
2. Translators: about 100 from 50 different churches.
   1. NOTE: The statement in the introduction of the NIV that a member of the Church of Christ was involved in translating it is misleading. Brother Jack Lewis' involvement in translating the NIV consisted of research work concerning several Old Testament words.
3. Strengths.
   1. Conservative committee.
      
   2. VERY readable.
      
   3. Readable Print.
      
   4. Good binding.
      
   5. Available in several good study Bibles.
4. Weaknesses.
   1. Too much paraphrasing (personal opinion).
      
   2. Psalms 51:5 (NIV) Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
      1. This translation teaches we were sinful before we were even born.
         
      2. See Ezekiel 18:20 in any translation.
   3. 1 Corinthians 2:14 (NIV) The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
      1. This verse in the NIV teaches that a non Christian cannot understand the gospel thus contradicting Romans 1:16.
   4. 1 Corinthians 13:10 (NIV) but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.
      
   5. Romans 7:18 (NIV) I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.
      
   6. "Sinful nature" is a phrase used by Calvinistic theologians to teach that we a born inheriting the sin of Adam hence born sinners (see also Rom 7:5, 25; 8:3-5,8,9,12, 13; 13:14; 1 Cor. 5:50; Eph 2:3; Gal 5:13,16,17,19,24; 6:8; Col. 2:11,13; 2 Pet 2:10,18.
      
   7. SARKS (sarks) cannot mean inherited sinful nature because Romans 1:3 teaches that Jesus was born in the sarks.
      
   8. Ephesians 1:13 (NIV) And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,
      
   9. No italics.
      
   10. NOTE: nearly all of the serious error involve paraphrasing Calvinism into the text .

The New King James Version (NKJV).

1. Date: N.T. 1979, O.T. 1982.
   

2. Translators: 119 Scholars, editors and church leaders
   1. All translators were required to sign a statement affirming belief in the plenary, verbal inspiration of the original autographs.
      
   2. The translators stated that they strove to avoid thought translation.
3. Peculiarities of the NKJV
   1. It Retains the Erasmusian textual tradition with foot notes in the margin listing words or phrases omitted by modern textual critics.
4. Strengths:
   1. It eliminates the outdated language of the KJV
      
   2. It retains the word order of the KJV (making it simpler for those with the KJV to follow along during public reading.
      
   3. Corrects most of the inaccuracies of the KJV
      
   4. Example: Changes "Whale" to "Great fish" (Mat. 12:40).
      
   5. Although there are a number of problem areas with the translation, after years of daily study I have found no inaccuracies that teach an obvious false doctrine.

   Today's New International Version (TNIV)

   1. Date: 2002.
   2. Translators: The same basic committee that translated the NIV.
   3. This was what many have called a "stealth translation."
      1. Word that Zondervan was going to make the NIV "gender sensitive," created such a furor that efforts to release it in the US were killed and it was secretely released in the UK instead.
      2. A meeting of scholars was then organized at the headquarters of Focus On The Family to set gender guidelines for translators. The CEO of Zondervan signed the agreement. Evangelical leaders assumed that meant that Zondervan would cease all efforts at a gender neutral translation. To everyone's surprise they released the TNIV. When questioned about his earlier agreement not to do so, the CEO of Zondervan responded that he was only signing for himself not the corporation.
   4. Strengths: same as the NIV.
   5. Weakness.
      1. Same as the NIV PLUS:
      2. It is highly interpretive, politically correct and "gender inclusive."
      3. It has been denounced by many of the leading Evangelicals in America including the Lutheran Church of America and the Southern Baptist Convention.
      4. It is a thought translation.
      5. Includes Mark 16:9-20 in very small italics and incorrectly asserts that nonw of the early sources include it.
      6. "Saints" translated as "people" or "God's people" or "those"
      7. "In the same way, women who are deacons are to be worthy of respect…" (1 Tim. 3:11).
      8. It often changes the gender and number of nouns and pronouns to make them politically correct.

         "For what children are not disciplined by their parents?" (Heb 12:7)

         "You shall not covet your neighbor's wife or husband," (Ex. 20:7)

         "Those who want to be my disciples must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, but those who lose their life for me will find it." (Matt. 16.24-25)

         (NIV 1 John 4:20) "If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar.

         (TNIV 1 John 4:20): "If we say we love God yet hate a fellow believer, we are liars"

         (TNIV Heb. 2:17) "he had to be made like his brothers and sisters in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest …"

         (NIV Hebrews 2:6) "What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?"
         (TNIV Hebrews 2:6) "What are mere mortals that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?"

         (NIV John 19:12) "Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting, "If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar…"

         (TNIV John 19:12) "Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jewish leaders kept shouting, "If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar…"

         (NIV Revelation 3:20" "I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me."
         (TNIV Revelation 3:20) "I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with them, and they with me."

         (NIV Acts 4:4) "But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand."
         (TNIV Acts 4:4) "But many who heard the message believed, and the number of believers grew to about five thousand."

      9. Changing the gender and number often de-emphasizes individual responsibility

         (NIV James 1:12) "Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him."
         (TNIV James 1:12) "Blessed are those who persevere under trial, because when they have stood the test, they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him."

         (NIV James 5:20) "Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins."
         (NIV James 5:20) "Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save their soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.

         "Now an overseer is to be . . . Faithful to his wife. . . (1 Tim. 3:2)

         "I do not permit a woman to teach or have authority over a man" (footnote "Or her husband") (1 Tim. 2:12)

The English Standard Version (ESV)

1. Similar to the NKJV in its attitude toward inspiration of scripture and a desire to retain the basic word order of the KJV and the high literary standards.
2. It uses a more modern text of the New Testament than the NKJV does.
3. Very reliable
4. Very readable.
5. Includes some of the latest scholarship.

CONCLUSION:

Even though translators are human we can know we still have the Bible. The New Testament often quotes from a translation of the Old Testament called the Septuagint and calls it the word of God. All of the translations done by large Bible believing Committees are safe. With the exception of Isaiah 7:14 in the Revised Standard and places in the New International where the word "flesh" is mistranslated by the Calvinistic phrase "sinful nature" all of these translations are trustworthy. The plan of salvation could easily be learned by anyone from any of these translations. In the words of Jesus, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away" (Matthew 24:35).

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