Transcript The Holy Scriptures From God to Us (Part 4) By Carl Johnson Translation • The last link in the chain “from God to us”

The Holy Scriptures
From God to Us
(Part 4)
By Carl Johnson
Translation
• The last link in the chain “from God to us” is
the translation of the Bible text into various
languages.
• Translation – to render the meaning of a word
or text from one language to another without
the loss of the intended meaning of the
original author.
From God to Translation
Inspiration →
Canonization →
Transmission →
Translation
History of the English Translation
At the end of the first century and early part
of the second century Britain was captured
by the Romans under Trajan (98-117 AD)
and Hadrian (117-138 AD). As the early
church grew within the confines of the
Roman Empire persecution forced Christians
to flee to the furthest parts of the empire. By
at least the early fourth century there is
significant evidence that Christianity had
reached England. Latin was the language of
the church at this time.
History of the English Translation
Caedmon (c. 670 AD) – turn certain biblical passages
into Old English Poems.
Aldhelm (d. 709 AD) – translated a portion of Psalms
into Anglo-Saxon
Bede (c.675-736) translated portions of scripture into
Old English. Was said to have finished the gospel of
John before his death. No trace of his translation
exists.
Alfred the Great (849-901 AD) – translated portions of
the Psalms, portions of Exodus, and few verses
from Acts.
History of the English Translation
Lindisfarne Gospels (C. 698 AD)
- some clergymen penned English
words above their Latin
counterparts, producing
something like a interlinear.
History of the English Translation
The Lord's Prayer in Old English
Fæder ure
ðu ðe eart on heofenum
si ðin nama gehalgod
to-becume ðin rice
geweorþe ðin willa on eorðan swa swa on heofenum.
Urne ge dæghwamlican hlaf syle us to-deag
and forgyf us ure gyltas
swa swa we forgifaþ urum gyltendum
ane ne gelæde ðu us on costnunge
ac alys us of yfle.
History of the English Translation
Aelfric (c. 955-1020) – translated portions of the first
seven books of the Old Testament. Also some
portions from Kings, Esther, Job, Daniel.
Mid-twelfth century a new language – a mixture of
Norman and English marked the beginning of
Middle English. Two versions of the Psalms were
translated into Middle English.
History of the English Translation
John Wycliffe (1329-1384) is called the
“Morningstar of the Reformation.” He was a brilliant
scholar and debater. He taught at Oxford before
being removed by the Pope. Corruption in the
church and papacy lead to Wycliffe speaking out
against it. Wycliffe summoned people back to a
more biblical Christianity while travelling England
preaching and rebuking the practices of the church. Wycliffe
believed that the people needed the Bible in their own language for
a revival to take place, he stated, “it helpeth Christian men to study
the Gospel in that tongue in which they know best Christ’s
sentence.” By 1382 Wycliffe had completed the first complete Bible
in (Middle) English, though is was translated from the Latin Vulgate.
History of the English Translation
John Wycliffe’s translation
“In þe bigynnyng was/þe
word & þe word/was
atgod/& god was/þe word.”
John 1:1
History of the English Translation
William Tyndale (c.1494-1536)
“The father of the modern English Bible.”
Realizing that both laity and clergy knew
very little of the Scripture, he desired to
produce an English translation for all to read.
Adding a further incentive for Tyndale to
translate was Luther’s recent German Bible translation published in
1522. Knowing that he needed ecclesiastical permission to
translate the Bible, Tyndale went to the continent to work on his
translation. In 1526 Tyndale printed 6000 copies New Testaments
in which only 3 have survived to this day. Tyndale was captured in
May of 1535 and was burned at the stake in 1536.
History of the English Translation
Coverdale Bible (1535) by Miles Coverdale.
Coverdale dedicated this translation to King Henry VIII which in turn
caused the king to give official acceptance of the translation. This
was pretty much a revision of Tyndale’s Version.
The Matthew Bible (1537) by John Rodgers.
Also received royal license from the king Henry VIII and circulated
widely in England. The Matthew’s Bible was really made up of
Tyndale’s NT and Pentateuch, with Ezra to Malachi, Rodgers
translation. When England reverted back to Roman Catholicism
under bloody Mary Tudor, Rodgers was one of the first people to
be burned at the stake in 1555.
History of the English Translation
The Great Bible (1539) by Miles Coverdale.
The Upper House of Convocation of Canterbury petitioned the
king in 1534 to authorize a translation into English. Thus
Coverdale was asked to complete a revision of the Bible based
on the Matthew’s Bible as it’s basis. It’s called the Great Bible
because the pages were 16 ½ by 11 inches. Copies of the Great
bible were to be placed in each church in accordance with King
Henry VIII’s degree. Because the price of the Bible was so high
many churches could not afford them, so the printers were
forced to cut there price in half and many more churches in turn
could afford them.
History of the English Translation
The Geneva Bible (1560) by William Whittingham and others.
During bloody Mary’s reign (1553-1558), Protestant fugitives fled
from England to other Protestant centers such as Geneva,
Switzerland, home of Calvin and Beza. During this time William
Whittingham and other scholars made a thorough revision of the
Great Bible which appeared in1560 and was known as the
Geneva Bible. With Elizabeth I now in power (1558), who favored
Protestantism, the Geneva Bible gained wide popularity in
England for many years among the English Protestants. The
Geneva Bible can be considered the first “study” because of all of
its notes, which were Calvinistic in nature, and greatly irritated
King James I. Other notes were anti-Roman, such as Rev 11:7
where the beast that ascends from the pit is identified as “the
Pope which hath his power out of hell and cometh hence.”
History of the English Translation
Geneva Bible (1560) First’s for an English translation
1)The Geneva Bible is the first English translation to introduce
verse numbers into the text. Previous translations had only
chapter numbers. 2) The Geneva was the first English translation
to use Roman type rather than the Gothic type of all previous
translations. 3) Words that are not found in the original language,
but are needed for the English to read properly are found in italics
– a practice that continued with the King James Version. It went
through 120 editions, next to Tyndale’s translation the Geneva had
the greatest influence on the King James Version.
The Geneva Bible is also called the “Breeches Bible” because of its
translation of Genesis 3:7, “…and they sewed figge tree leaves
together, and made themselves 'breeches’.”
History of the English Translation
Bishop’s Bible (1568) Matthew Parker
When Elizabeth I ascended the throne all churches were
ordered to have a copy of the Great Bible placed in their
churches. But the superior quality of the Geneva Bible
pointed out the weaknesses of the Great Bible. In 1563
Matthew Parker, the archbishop of Canterbury, initiated a
project to revise the Great Bible. Bishop’s were invited to
have a part in the work, hence its name. Queen Elizabeth
was pleased with the translation and it was placed in all of
the churches in England. Though the Bishop’s Bible
superseded the Great Bible, it never rivaled or was as
popular as the Geneva Bible.
History of the English Translation
The Authorized Version (KJV) 1611
It looked now as if English-speaking Protestantism had two
versions of the Bible, one representing the Anglican
(Bishop’s Bible) viewpoint and the other a Puritan (Geneva
Bible) viewpoint. When King James I came to power in 1603
the Puritan party presented the king with a petition of a
thousand signatures setting out grievances against the
Church of England.
Textual Criticism
Textual Criticism is the process of
evaluating variations between biblical
manuscripts and versions in order to
determine the most plausible original
reading of a text.
Textual Variants
• A textual variant is simply any difference from a
standard text that involves spelling, word order,
omission, addition, substitution, or a total rewrite of
the text.
• Textual scholars tell us there are approximately
400,000 variants among the NT manuscripts (which
is about 10% of the text).
• In the OT there are fewer manuscripts and fewer
variants but some of the variants are more
significant.
Determining the Original Reading
among the Many Variants
1. The largest amount of textual variants (well over
half) involve spelling differences and nonsense
readings that are easily detectable. These affect
nothing of meaning in the text.
One manuscript spells “John” with one “n” instead of the
more common two “n”.
2. The next largest group are those that do not affect
translation or, if they do, involve synonyms. Variants
such as “Christ Jesus” vs. “Jesus Christ” may entail
a slightly different emphasis, but nothing of great
consequence is involved.
Determining the Original Reading
among the Many Variants
3. Then there are the meaningful variants that are not viable. That is, they simply
have no plausibility of reflecting the wording of the original because the
manuscripts in which they are found have a poor pedigree. This issue involves
careful historical investigation and requires the scholar to take the
transmission of the text seriously. We see that in the Greek manuscripts used
for the KJV it reads in 1 John 5:8, “For there are three that bear record in
heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”
(only found in 3 manuscripts)
4. Finally, the smallest category, comprising about 1% of all textual problems,
involves those variants that are both meaningful and viable. Most NT scholars
would say that these textual problems constitute much less than 1% of the
total. But even assuming the more generous amount (by expanding on the
scope of both “meaningful” and “viable”), even then not much theologically is
affected.
Basic Principles of Textual Principles
1) manuscripts must be weighed, not just counted.
2) Determine which reading would most likely give
rise to the others.
3) The more distinctive reading is usually preferred.
4) The shorter reading is generally favored.
5) Determine which readings is most appropriate to
the context.
Determining the Original OT Reading
1) Collect and evaluate External evidence (from
various sources, including the Hebrew [MT]
tradition, recensions, and ancient versions).
2) Collect and evaluate and internal evidence. (e.g.
author’s grammar or spelling habits, use of
parallel passages, etc.).
3) Determine the most plausible reading.
Determining the Original NT Reading
Collect and evaluate :
1) External Evidence that comes from outside
the text (e.g. various manuscripts, versions,
quotes from church fathers).
2) Internal Evidence that comes within the
text itself (e.g. author’s grammar or spelling
habits, use of parallel passages, etc.).
3) Determine the most plausible reading.
Certainty of the Biblical Text
• Approximately 98% of the Greek NT text scholars
believe accurately reflects the text of the original
autographs. And the 2% not certain does not affect
any major doctrines.
• Certainty for the Hebrew OT text is in the lower 90%
and again does not affect any major doctrines.
Critical Greek Text
Today there are 3 basic Greek NT texts.
• Eclectic Text (NA) – used by most scholars for all
recent (20-21st century) English translations.
• Textus Receptus (1516) – used for the KJV, and
most other English translations before the 20th
century. Agrees with the Eclectic Text 97.5% of time
• Majority Text (1982) – the text represents what the
majority of all the manuscripts read, this then
becomes the established text. The NKJV used this
Greek text for its translation. Agrees with Eclectic
Text 98% of the time.
Differences in Readings
John 7:53 - 8:11
• KJV, NKJV – has this passage as part of the text.
• Modern Translations – puts brackets around this
with a note that the most ancient authorities omit it.
Most likely it was not part of the original text.
Differences in Readings
Luke 11:2
• (KJV,NKJV) And he said unto them, When ye pray,
say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be
thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as
in heaven, so in earth.
• (Modern Trans) And He said to them, "When you
pray, say: 'Father, hallowed be Your name. Your
kingdom come.
Differences in Readings
Mark 16:9-20 (there are 4 different endings found in
the manuscript evidence)
• KJV, NKJV, NAB – includes this passage as part of
the text.
• Modern Translations – these verses are lacking in
many ancient manuscripts and a number of early
translations.
Differences in Readings
Matt 17:21
KJV, NKJV - Howbeit this kind goeth not out
but by prayer and fasting.
Modern Translations – either bracket it (NASB)
or remove it completely (ESV, NIV) from the
text. Based on earliest manuscripts do not
have this reading.
Differences in Readings
Mark 9:44,46, (48)
• KJV, NKJV - Where their worm dieth not, and the
fire is not quenched.
• Modern Translations put verses 44 & 46 in brackets
with the footnote not found in earliest manuscripts
(NASB), or totally removes them (NIV,ESV)
Translation
• Next time we look at the last link in the chain
“from God to us,” and that link is the translation
of the Bible text into various languages.
Why do we need so many English translations?