Are our current translations of the bible reliable?

Are our current translations of the Bible Reliable?

Apologetic Message Series for Relentless Youth

Prepared by Kevin S. Johnson

Play the Telephone Game

When you have no idea how to inspect a car before buying it.

“You can fit so much spaghetti in this bad boy!”

Play Ed Bassmaster Video “Would you look at this” car inspection 4 minutes

What’s under the hood? Looks good on the outside, even runs good, at least to the best I can tell.

Do you know Chevy Cars? Do you know how they are supposed to sound, drive, feel? Do you understand the common issues Chevy's have, especially in this make, model, and year?

Knowing about cars and how to drive one does not make you a specialist in understanding HOW it performs, works, or doesn’t work. What that “light on the dash” means, or when it makes that ones weird sound that eventually goes away, what was it? Or the common maintenance required for that make, model, and year.

Literacy and Cars

Driving a car does not make you a mechanic, though it could turn you into one depending on how desperate you are to keep it running!

Likewise: As a wise man once said “The ability to speak does not make you intelligent” Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jin

Just Being literate does not make you a master communicator

just ask your parents!

450 English Translations of the Bible.

How do we define “Reliable”

Can be trusted? Well trusted in what context?

To walk your dog and feed your fish, no!

Trusted for its intended PURPOSE

What’s the PURPOSE of the bible then?

To tell the story of God as creator of all things, and his relationship with humans. Its purpose is to reveal God to us.

"But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness that the man of God many be competent, equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:14–17).

Reliable for its intended purposes?

Yes. Historically 6,000 manuscripts preserved

Illiad of Homer 600 (second most preserved historical document)

99.5% accuracy between all translations which were HAND TRANSCRIBED by scholars over a millenia.

Archeology Supports every statement.

Records written as early as within12 years of Christ’s Death and Resurrection

Preservation of translation - Dead sea scrolls book of Isaiah discovered pre dated the oldest one we had till 1940, by 1,000 years and had the EXACT SAME content sparing some minor spelling differences.

Telephone game it is not!

How are Translations Made?

You can always do YOUR best!

Japanese Words today! Very Cultural. American Intent vs Japanese Culture

Ganbatte (do your best) (informal)

Ganbatte Kudasai (formal)

Reply:

Un, Ganbatte (casual)

Hai, Ganbatte mas (formal)

Primary Source, Secondary Source

Primary source could say “Coca-Cola”

Secondary source could say “Pepsi Cola”

Both are correct, but one is less correct

Brown, Sugary, Soda, Similar Vanilla Flavors, Different Brands, Same Goal. One focuses on a spiced citrus vanilla with cinnamon and nutmeg nodes, while the other takes a sweater approach with a more sugary vanilla, citrus burst essence, that loses its “burst” the more you drink. Pepsi wins the sip test, coke wins the good to the last drop test.

Likewise | Writing a translation of the bible from an english translation of the bible might end up with you receiving a “Freshky Cola”

John Wycliff in 1382 First English Translation

Martin Luther (not Dr. King) 1522 first translation from the greek and hebrew into German

William Tyndale to english as well from 1525-1535

KING JAMES VERSION

54 Scholars appointed by King James the 1st. Avoiding strict literalism in favour of an extensive use of synonym, it was a masterpiece of Jacobean English and the principal Bible used by English-speaking Protestants for 270 years.

By 1800 71 translations had arrived, and now we have 450

Ideally translators should…

See Document of Requirements for a translator position

Purpose of Translations

Reason for translation is so the modern (meaning todays) readers can understand it easily WITHOUT the necessity of knowing 1,000’s of years worth of sayings, cultural significances, implications, etc.

1 Samuel 24:3 KJV vs 1 Samuel 24:3 NIV

1 Samuel 24:3 KJV 1900

And he came to the sheepcotes by the way, where was a cave; and Saul went in to cover his feet: and David and his men remained in the sides of the cave.

1 Samuel 24:3 NIV

He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were far back in the cave.

Idiomatic Sayings

Minimum Wage $15 Today vs $1.40 an hour in 1967

Thankful that when we say “Minimum Wage” it means what it means today opposed to what it meant 50+ years ago.

Word for Word = Hours for Dollars.

Hourly Pay. Sometimes less, sometimes more, sometimes wondering why the government took half your pay because you hit a new tax bracket this pay period.

Thought for Thought = Salaried.

Less math, sometimes you do more work, but the paycheck adds up and is consistent and dependable.

Paraphrase/Devotional = Self Employed with ADHD - High risk, dangerous, with the potential of great breakthrough and success, however not without another squirrel brain moment to lose it all.

Should not be an excuse for lazy christianity. Understanding the biblical worldview will transform your view on the bible and what it says.

Remember. The bible was not written TO YOU, but it was written FOR YOU.

Danger Close! “Hell is paved with good intentions.” Samuel Johnson

Danger Close in military battle is “The term included in the method of engagement segment of a call for fire which indicates that friendly forces are within close proximity of the target.”

The Passion Translation

50% longer, Translate by one man from secondary texts, no interest in textual accuracy according to author, No credible scholar’s input, Author Brian Simmons claims jesus visited him personally, took him to the library of heaven, and asked him to write this translation. Receiving regular downloads of secrets of hebrew language to better communicate what God meant too. And believes that Jesus promised to bring him back to heaven to give him another chapter for the book of John that is ch. 22.

Psalm 18:1

NIV: "I love you Lord, my strength."

ESV: "I love you, O Lord, my strength."

KJV: "I will love thee, O LORD, my strength."

TPT: "Lord, I passionately love you! I want to embrace you, For now you’ve become my Power!"

Good intention? Maybe?

The Message translation

Acknowledges its extreme use of idioms for our current culture that could potentially skue it’s word for word literacy, and embraces a dynamic method of translation that is best perceived primarily to it’s first world, western culture readers.

Risks of these translations is, in an attempt to simplify the gospel for the sake of it’s readers, they run the risk of partially skewing it’s fundamental truths, if not blowing them up completely.

Scale - Word for Word, Thought for Thought, Paraphrase/Devotional

Interlinear, NASB, Amplified, and ESV

NIV Great thought for thought

The Living Bible, The Message. Good secondary or third place “commentary/Devotional” concepts of gospel truths.

Passion and the book of Mormon are on the same page of this scale. NEVER READ IT. if you own one, it’s okay to burn it, shred it, or throw it into the lake with a chain wrapped around it. Both claim divine, secret, special knowledge. It’s Gnosticism.

Galations 1:8 “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God's curse!”

Are our current translations of the bible reliable?

NO! Not all of them! #FreskyCola

Stick to God’s Word. as accurate as you can. NIV is the loosest i’d go for a regular reader/study bible.

NKJV, ESV, and NASB are reliable, backed, studied, and revised by TEAMS of scholars who have dedicated their life to this one task, which has remained GOD’S WORD UNCHANGED

from the dead sea scrolls finding of isaiah dating back to as early as 340 BCE with zero changes sparing some minor spelling differences when compared to the next copy we have written 1,000 years later! Not to mention it is the OLDEST SCROLLS IN EXISTENCE EVER FOUND!

Discussion

What do I mean that “The bible was not written to you, but written for you?”

How can you better understand the bible, and why is that important for you TODAY!