Getting Translations
It seems there are as many different translations of the Bible as there are sizes of the Bible. What's the difference? Where did these translations come from? The following is a thumbnail sketch* of how the Bible you hold in your hands came to be. The original manuscripts of the Bible (which, as of now, are lost to antiquity) were written primarily in Hebrew (Old Testament) and Greek (New Testament) with some Aramaic here and there. Yet by the time of Jesus, the Old Testament most used was a Greek translation called The Septuagint. It was even quoted in the New Testament by the Apostles. Amazingly, this helps us recognize that translations were alive andwell before the New Testament was even completed. However, beginning approximately in 400 A.D. the Bible was translated into Latin. The translation, known as the Vulgate, was the dominant translation for almost a thousand years. Because it was written in Latin, only the educated priests were able to read it and, consequently, tell the people what it meant. However, in 1380 everything changed…
Wycliffe Bible (1380)- John Wycliffe translated the Bible from the Latin Vulgate into Middle English. It predated the printing press. It was so expensive that it cost one load of hay to use it for one day!
Tyndale New Testament (1525)- This is the first Modern English Bible ever created. Because it was condemned by the Catholic church these Bibles were smuggled into England in sacks of flour or bales of cloth. William Tyndale famously said in response to a Catholic sympathizer who frowned upon translating the Bible into English, "If God spares my life, within many years I will cause a plowboy to know more the Bible than you!" In fact, his translation was so good that it became the standard from which the great lineage of English Bibles can trace it's origin. 80% of Tyndale's translation eventually made its way into the King James Version! Tyndale was working on the Old Testament when lured out of hiding by a traitor and consequently was strangled and burned at the stake for translating the Bible into English.
Coverdale Bible (1535) - An assistant to Tyndale, Myles Coverdale produced the first complete Bible in English. It had sanction of the monarchy and thus circulated freely around England. It was an early instance of "chained Bibles" where these Bibles would be chained to a desk in English cathedrals or parish churches where the people could read them.
Geneva Bible (1560) - It was produced in Switzerland by Puritan refugees fleeing persecution from Queen Mary. This was the household Bible of English-speaking Protestants due to being smaller and more affordable. It contained "study notes" for commentary on biblical text (the first Study Bible?). It was also the first complete English Bible to use chapter breaks and numbered verses. It was the Bible Shakespeare used and the Bible brought over to America by the pilgrims on the Mayflower.
King James Version Bible (1611) - The most famous English version of all time. It is also known as the Authorized Version (AV). King James I was irritated at the Geneva Bible's anti-Catholic bias in study notes so at his request, six committees of the most knowledgeable biblical and linguistic scholars to ensure (1) every word in original language (Gk. And Hebrew) had an English equivalent, (2) highlighted all the words added to original for sake of intelligibility, and (3) follow the word order of the original languages where possible. Stylistically, the KJV is the greatest English Bible ever produced. It has been the translation for the last 400 years, all the way to the middle of the 20th Century!
Dr. Leland Ryken, author of The Word of God in English, says, "For all its excellence, the King James translation did not maintain its supremacy after the mid-twentieth century for three main reasons: (1) Its language is now outdated, (2) the translators' knowledge of ancient languages was less reliable than modern knowledge is and (3) the translation uses a New Testament text (the Textus Receptus) that most scholars no longer consider the most reliable." The Textus Receptus was the Greek New Testament (made by Erasmus with the ancient copies [six] he had available) that these scholars and all of the Bible translators up to this point in history used. Since then we have found older and better ancient manuscripts, referred to as the Majority Text (MT), which has an eclectic approach by using the best from all over, not entire manuscripts.
This brings us to the era of Modern Translations.
Revised Version (1881-1885) - This was the first attempt since the KJV and had better manuscripts to work from. People eagerly awaited for it! On the day of its initial release the streets of London were jammed with people wanting it and from daylight to dusk processions of wagons lined up for transport. They telegraphed the text to the United States for printing and 300,000 copies sold in New York City in the first day!
American Standard Version (1901) - The ASV is the American version of the British Revised Version.
Revised Standard Version (1946-1957) - It revised the ASV for better literary quality and style and was the most literary Bible next to the KJV. The RSV was widely used ecumenically (Protestants, Catholics, E. Orthodox) but was frowned upon by evangelicals because of perceived liberal translations. As a result, many felt the translation was skewed by a liberal agenda theologically. It was updated with the New Revised Standard Version (NSRV) in 1989 but the complaints about its liberal agenda were even more prevalent.
New American Standard Version (1971) - This was a revised version of ASV and the most literal Bible to the original languages today. Evangelical scholars flocked to it who thought the RSV was agenda-driven theologically.
New International Version (1978) - Frustrated with perceived liberal slant of the RSV and feeling the NASB read too woodenly, the NIV approached the Bible differently. Instead of the 400-year historic approach of a word-for-word translation, they adopted a thought-for-thought translation. The translation philosophy is known as dynamic equivalency whereby, for example, if you think a reader can't rightly grasp a word or phrase in the original language the translator must substitute it with ha modern word or phrase that they would hope to be equivalent to it. Some decry this philosophy arguing that in the name of readability important biblical and literary qualities get left out. For example, there are times that the NIV, in the name of dynamic equivalency, removes poetry from the translation with the thinking that many people don't understand poetic terms and ideas. Therefore, biblical metaphors and images are removed and replaced with more straightforward prose. Many scholars and literary critics believe this to be too high a cost for the sake readability (the NIV boasts a 7th Grade Reading Level). Nevertheless, with readability as the priority, the NIV has become the best selling version for the past 30 years. Many other translations and paraphrases have followed the NIV's lead (CEV, NLT, The Message, etc.)
Paraphrases - Some have taken the far extreme end of dynamic equivalency by paraphrasing. A paraphrase is not a translation per se because it seeks not to correctly translate the original words for the reader but solely summarize and interpret them for what they (the modern-day author or authors) think the biblical writer is trying to communicate using contemporary ideas, thoughts and jargon. An example of a paraphrase is The Message. Many pastors and Bible teachers do not recommend paraphrases for serious study due to the fact they are simply one man's (or a group's) attempt to paraphrase the text. It is similar to reading a review of a movie instead of viewing the movie yourself - you are told what it is about without interacting with the movie itself or discovering it on your own. Some see paraphrases as useful citing they lend a set of "fresh eyes" of understanding to well-known texts. On the other hand, one must remember paraphrases are not translations of the biblical texts themselves. Therefore, while they may be helpful in a devotional sense, they are inadequate as being the sole texts for Bible study.
English Standard Version (2001) - The ESV began with a desire to return to the heritage of literal translations that the KJV began; however, it wanted to be readable as well. In essence it wanted the accuracy of the NASB but with the readability of the NIV, and do this without sacrificing fidelity to the original languages and the best scholarship/manuscripts available. The ESV stands in the classic mainstream of English Bible translations over the past half-millennium that focused on being "essentially literal". Currently, the ESV is the fasting growing English Bible translation today. Per the ESV website: The ESV is the fastest-growing Bible in publication today, with worldwide unit sales having quadrupled over the past three years. A distinguished team of more than 100 Bible scholars and teachers worked for nearly four years to create the ESV Bible. Based on precise comparison with the original language texts and manuscripts, the ESV is a “word-for-word” Bible translation that skillfully combines accuracy and literary beauty. The ESV is the adopted Bible translation for all adult services at Clear Creek Community Church.
Why we've chosen the ESV:
- Transparency to the original languages
- Preserves the full interpretive potential
- Not mixing commentary with translation
- Little to no correcting the translation during the teaching event
- Preserves the literary qualities (e.g. poetry) of the Scripture
- Consistent with CCCC's doctrine of inspiration.
- Utilizes the best biblical manuscripts and scholarship currently available
With that being said, let it be known that Clear Creek Community Church does not reject any single orthodox English translation. We welcome you to bring your personal translation of choice with you to church. Every English translation today has perceived strengths and weaknesses. Along with the reasons previously mentioned, CCCC has chosen to adopt a translation to provide consistency in the pulpit concerning the text being used.
Authored by Teaching Pastor Yancey Arrington
*Much adapted from Leland Ryken's The Word of God in English (Crossway, 2002).
"Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea." (Matthew 18:5-6, ESV)