by Doy Moyer<\/p>\n
Perhaps this seems like an odd question, but it is good to think about this. Since most people are not going to learn Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, the only way they are going to hear God’s word at all will be through translations. But how do we show that translations can still be called the word of God?<\/p>\n
The simplest way to answer this is to show that quotes in the New Testament of the Old Testament are translations. Many of the quotes are from the Greek version of the Old Testament (e.g., the Septuagint or LXX). So, if translations were used by the Lord and the apostles, then it is safe to say that translations are authorized; indeed, they are necessary.<\/p>\n
What is the difference between a translation and a paraphrase? In short, a translation goes back to the original languages (e.g., Hebrew, Greek) and seeks to convey the intended meaning as closely as possible in the target language. Paraphrases, on the other hand, start with the same language and rewords or rephrase it. In English, for example, a paraphrase starts with an English version and rewords it to try to make it easier to grasp, sometimes expanding on it (e.g., the Living Bible). While paraphrases can almost function like commentaries, they should not be recognized as translations. We need to know what we are looking at.<\/p>\n
There are many debates over the various translations, usually because of the text that lies behind it (e.g., Majority text or Nestle-Aland, etc.) and the translation theory held to by the translators (leaning more literal or more dynamic). Much goes into this process, and generally we are going to be safer with committees doing translations as opposed to one person doing it.<\/p>\n
I recommend looking over multiple translations when studying because each one has a nuance that can enhance understanding of a given text. That does not mean every translation is equal – some are more trusted than others, and that’s another study – but it does mean we have many options in studying a text. We are blessed with an abundance.<\/p>\n
We should be thankful for the work done by translators. It’s a tough task, and they are often the targets of criticism, including criticism by those who have never translated anything. But what they do is critical for our understanding of the word of God. As even the KJV translators admitted, “We do not deny, nay we affirm and avow, that the very meanest translation of the Bible in English, set forth by men of our profession, (for we have seen none of theirs of the whole Bible as yet) containeth the word of God, nay, is the word of God.”<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Doy Moyer Perhaps this seems like an odd question, but it is good to think about this. Since most people are not going to learn Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, the only way they are going to hear God’s word at all will be through translations. But how do we show that translations can still…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[78,311],"class_list":["post-68247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-authority","tag-translations"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":13201,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-do-you-say-the-new-world-translation-is-not-a-reliable-translation\/","url_meta":{"origin":68247,"position":0},"title":"Why do you say the New World Translation is not a reliable translation?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 3, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: On your web site, it reads that The New World Translation (NWT) \"...is not a reliable translation\". Prof. Jason BeDuhn in his book\u00a0Truth in Translation Accuracy and Bias in English Translations of the New Testament (this is not the only book) would strongly disagree with your conclusion that the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8065,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-do-you-think-about-the-new-living-translation\/","url_meta":{"origin":68247,"position":1},"title":"What do you think about the New Living Translation and the Complete Jewish Bible?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 5, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am of need of some help with Bible translations. What I would like is a list of good translation Bibles and a list of bad Bible translations. I don't like the NIV and I always felt in the spirit that it indeed was not trustworthy. However, I have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19744,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-are-translations-in-greek-instead-of-hebrew-the-language-jesus-spoke-in\/","url_meta":{"origin":68247,"position":2},"title":"Why are translations in Greek instead of Hebrew, the language Jesus spoke in?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 1, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Why are all of your translations in Greek instead of Hebrew, which would be the language Jesus spoke in? Answer: The following is specific toward Matthew, which is usually the one book people like to claim was originally written in Hebrew:\u00a0Was Matthew originally written in Hebrew or Aramaic? The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":35233,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-sinful-to-make-marks-and-notes-in-your-bible\/","url_meta":{"origin":68247,"position":3},"title":"Is it sinful to make marks and notes in your Bible?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 11, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello brother, We've never met, but I've always appreciated the Q&A section on the LaVista church website and thought I'd bounce this off you since it's a somewhat unique question. What do you say to someone who takes a very literal view of Revelation 22:18-19, and thinks it's sinful\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Bible-with-notes-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":50437,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-the-kjv-the-only-true-bible-version\/","url_meta":{"origin":68247,"position":4},"title":"Is the KJV the Only True Bible Version?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 4, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"by Ethan R. Longhenry via\u00a0De Vibro Vitae There has been some discussion in the world today, even in the church, that there is one Bible version which is the only true version, the Authorized or King James Version. Is this so? How can we determine which Bible version is better,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":27950,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-righteousness-mean-giving\/","url_meta":{"origin":68247,"position":5},"title":"Does righteousness mean giving?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 26, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Brother Jeffrey, I hope you have time to answer. I was speaking with a Pentecostal fellow who tried to redefine righteousness as sadaca (giving) from the Old Testament. I knew this was wrong but didn't have a great answer. 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