From Inspiration to Translation

This study provides a biblical, historical and practical overview how God has provided his Word to us in written form.

Biblical (and Early Christian) Evidence for Translation

Since people no longer speak biblical Hebrew and Greek, we rely upon translations to expose people to the Word of God. Therefore, it is important to understand what the Bible affirms about translations.

The universal aspect of God’s truth indicates the need for Bible translation.

Though the Bible doesn’t make direct promises about translating the Bible into other languages, it does indicate the need for this to occur. When Jesus told his disciples to make disciples of “all nations” by teaching them “all the things he had commanded,” he indirectly recognized the need for translations. Without translation, people from other nations who speak other languages would not know what Jesus said (Matt 28:19-20; Acts 1:8). He prophesied that his teaching about the kingdom of God would go out “in all the world” and “to all the nations” (Matt 24:14). Peter taught that the gospel message was for all whom the Lord would call, not just those who spoke Hebrew or Greek (Acts 2:39). Furthermore, Paul affirmed the universal scope of the words given about Christ; they would go “to all the earth” and “to the ends of the world” (Rom 10:18).

Jesus and the apostles affirm the practice of Bible translation.

Jesus frequently quoted from the Septuagint, which was a Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament. This translation was prepared approximately 200 years before the ministry of Jesus. Though Jewish people continued to use the Hebrew Old Testament in synagogues, they increasingly used the Septuagint (also called the LXX) for personal study since they increasingly spoke Greek as their dominant language.

The New Testament writers frequently quoted from and referred to the LXX. Early Christians also used the LXX as their primary Old Testament Bible. Consider the following example of how the New Testament quotes Isaiah 53:1 from the LXX. Both Jesus and Paul use the LXX quotation, which begins with “Lord.”

· Hebrew OT Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

· Septuagint OT O Lord, who has believed our report? and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

· Jesus (John 12:38) Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

· Paul (Rom 10:16) Lord, who has believed our report?

It is helpful to recognize that minor differences existed between the wording of the Hebrew Old Testament and the LXX. That means that when both Jesus and the apostles quote from the LXX in Scripture they indicate that using Bible translations is a good and appropriate practice for us to follow today, even when a translation may not perfectly reflect the original Hebrew or Greek manuscripts.

In summary, people used the Septuagint because it presented the Old Testament in the language that they spoke and understood (that is, Greek, not Hebrew). They did this even though the Greek translation did not reflect the Hebrew version perfectly. God has accomplished his purposes through translations like this throughout history and continues to do so today.

A Biblical Perspective on the Availability of Scripture

No Guarantee for Every Believer

Biblical statements about the preservation of Scripture indicate that the words of inspired Scripture, once spoken, will remain in the world continually. This does not mean, however, that all the words of Scripture will be available in a single, bound book to every church and to every believer. Such was the case for the earliest churches, and it continues to be the case for believers and churches today, whether English-speaking or of any other culture, language or people group.

An Old Testament Example

An Old Testament incident provides us with some helpful perspective regarding the availability of the Scripture to God’s people. During the reign of King Josiah, Hilkiah the high priest found a scroll of either the book of Deuteronomy or the complete Torah (2 Kings 22:8-10; 2 Chron 34:14-18). Though the Israelites were supposed to store an accessible copy of the Scripture in the Temple, they had failed to do so for an extended period and the Torah had gone missing. Though it was still present in the world and not destroyed, no one knew where it was. This illustrates how the words Scripture that God preserves could become unavailable for an extended period, even though they continue to exist (Psa 119:152, 160).

No Special Promise for Any Particular Language or People Group

Though God provides indications that he will preserve the Greek and Hebrew words of Scripture in the world throughout history, he does not guarantee that these words will always be available to every believer and every church. Nor does he guarantee that Scripture will always be available to every language and people group in the world, or to every church or believer in the world. Thus, English, Chinese, or Spanish-speaking people groups, for instance, have no more reason to expect a perfect and complete translation of the Bible than do the Zulu, Tagalog, or Nyulnyulan (an Aboriginal language) people.

For any language or people group to enjoy a complete translation of the Bible into their language, though imperfect, is a privilege to enjoy and an opportunity to embrace wholeheartedly (Luke 12:48). Knowing this, it is important for believers in the English-speaking world to be thankful for the privilege of enjoying multiple good translations of the entire Bible. In this way, we have been “given more” than people speaking other languages. Therefore, we should be diligent to study the Bible and apply it to our lives.

Thomas Overmiller serves as pastor for Faith Baptist Church in Corona, NY and blogs at Shepherd Thoughts. This article first appeared at Shepherd Thoughts, used here with permission.