Most fundamental Christians profess to believe in nothing but the literal translation of the Bible. While this statement may sound spiritually noble, it is somewhat flawed and should be embarrassing. (In just two sentences, I have managed to lose half of my readers) If you decided to stay with us, I am sure you'll find this article enlightening and inspirational.

Where was I? Oh yeah, it should be embarrassing to make a profession to believe in nothing but the literal translation of the Bible. The vast majority of Christians who make that statement do not even own a copy of the literal translation of the Bible. They really mean to say they believe in the literal translation of their favored translation of the Bible. There may still be problems with this statement, depending on their favorite translation.

For decades, the KJV has been the translation of choice amongst Bible believing Christians (as if there were any other kind of Christian) and there are still some out there who would only turn loose of it if you pried it from their cold, dead fingers. Someone should tell those dedicated souls the KJV is not the literal translation of the Word of God. I'll explain what I mean.

Let's look at examples of two translations and compare it with the Greek that has been translated word for word.

Matthew 1:18 [KJV] Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

What do you mean "on this wise?" Is it like being on the "up and up," on the "take," or on the "sly?" Does "on this wise" mean Jesus' birth was more than smart? (Hopefully you are looking past my sense of humor to see my point). I know what a "thee" and "thou" might be, but not "on this wise".

Matthew 1:18 [NET] Now the birth of Jesus Christ happened this way. While his mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.

This translation might clear up the "on this wise" thing, but what does the Greek text say?

Referencing the Greek, the literal translation of Matthew 1:18 would say, "Of the but Jesus Christ the birth thus was. Being betrothed the mother of him, Mary, to Joseph, before or to come together them she was found in belly having from Spirit Holy"

We probably all want to slowly tiptoe away from the literal translation from the Greek. It sounds a little like The Bible according to Frank Zappa, doesn't it? The Greek expression for pregnancy is "she was having it in the belly." It is an idiom, or expression of the day. Not even King James would dare say that. You might be able to imagine some modern expressions (idioms) that probably won't find themselves into a new translation soon, eh? Ask your kids. They'll explain it to you.

After reading this single example, there are probably many in the "literal" camp scurrying to modify their profession of faith or mumbling to clarify it.

Here is another example of differences found in scriptural translations.

Judges 3:24 [KJV] When he was gone out, his servants came; and when they saw that, behold, the doors of the parlour [were] locked, they said, Surely he covereth his feet in his summer chamber.

Judges 3:24 [NET] When Ehud had left, Eglon's servants came and saw the locked doors of the upper room. They said, "He must be relieving himself in the well-ventilated inner room."

If you (the figurative "you," not the literal "you") are going to take the literal translation of the KJV, you would say that Eglon covered his feet. We don't know what he used to cover his feet or how he covered them, but he definitely covered his feet and that settles that. How nice for Eglon. He covered his feet. Everyone must feel better knowing that Eglon's feet are warm and covered. Translating the idiom of that day to modern language (in the New English Translation), we see things a wee bit differently, don't we? Here, we see the translators chose a polite idiom from a long list of others that shouldn't be referenced from the pulpit.

Ancient colloquialisms do not fit well into our modern culture and vocabulary. They have to be translated into something we understand. Years down the road, they'll have to be retranslated because slang changes every generation or so. Remember when "awesome" meant "groovy?" Few remember that before that, things were "keen." The Geneva Bible was published in 1644, the Revised Version in 1855, the American Standard in 1901, The Revised Standard in 1952, the Living Bible in 1971, the Amplified Bible in 1965, the Jerusalem Bible in 1966, the New American Bible in 1970, the New English Bible in 1970, the New American Standard Bible in 1971, The Living Bible in 1971, and the New International Version in 1973. Can you IMAGINE the differences in colloquialisms found in each of these translations?

Here's an exercise for all you students of the Word. There is a part of Judges 3:22 that is not found in the New English Translation or the New International Version but is in the KJV, YLT and Darby. Cross-reference the scripture between the King James Version, NET, NIV and Youngs Literal Translation to see if you can figure out what the missing portion means and why it is not in the NET or NIV. Read verse 22 from the Darby Translation last to get a clearer picture of what the translators saw in the original text. You won't find this stuff unless you are studying more than just the "literal translation" of your favorite translation. Please don't write to me asking for a hint. I wouldn't want to rob you of the blessing you will receive by reading more than one translation of the Bible.

Even those who claim to believe the literal translation of the Bible feel the need to explain certain areas that are consistent between translations yet appear confusing or out of sync with their particular doctrine. For example, people have debated that whole water into wine miracle for decades. Was the wine fermented? After reading more than one literal translation, the answer seems to be, "Only if you want it to be."

Being loyal to a particular translation of the Bible is noble. Desiring to know the Word of God might be something altogether different. Oftentimes our dogma gets in the way of quest for truth.

If you are truly a student of the Word of God, dig as deeply as you can to discover the nuggets of truth and beauty that lie beneath the layers of opinion and tradition.

- Rod

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• Topic: Bible Study

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