Greek manuscript of the New Testament. Is using multiple Bible translations better than knowing Biblical Greek?
Does a person need to know Biblical Greek to understand the New Testament, or is using multiple Bible translations, just as good, or better?
“Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding”—Proverbs 4:7 NIV
“By studying Biblical Greek, you can gain a deeper understanding of the original text and the cultural context in which it was written”—Quora, February 6, 2023
Some Bible teachers and preachers are big on the idea that knowing Biblical Greek (Koine’) is important, even vital, in getting the best understanding of the Bible. While this may have a lot to do with their ego, we must grant that some are very sincere in holding and promoting this belief. It is certainly fine for anyone who has the inclination, the time, the resources, and the opportunity, to do so, that is, to learn Biblical Greek. It is a good thing that some have become scholars in Biblical Greek, and have been active in Bible translation and have written Biblical commentaries. But it takes many years of intensive study to become proficient in Biblical Greek.read more
Appearance of Jesus’ Robe at Trial – Various Translations Help
What exactly was the appearance of the robe put on Jesus during his “trial” before king Herod, an administrator of the Roman Empire, as recorded at Luke 23:11?
“Then Herod and his soldiers began mocking and ridiculing Jesus.Finally, they put a royal robe on him and sent him back to Pilate”—Luke 23:11 NLT
Pilate could not find anything wrong with Jesus, and hoped to evade responsibility for what would happen to Jesus by shifting him over to Herod, who happened to be in town for the major festival of Passover. But to Herod Jesus is only a curiosity (Luke 23:8,9), and a joke (Luke 23:11). His curiosity, however, goes unrewarded, because Jesus “gave him no answer” and refused to perform any sign (Luke 23:11 NIV). Since Jesus refused to answer Herod’s many questions, Herod gets tired of it after awhile, and sends Jesus back to Pilate. But before he does, they put a robe on Jesus to crown their mockery of him. The appearance of the robe is difficult to describe, at least in English. This is only a minor detail, of course, but notice how many different ways and colors this robe is described as being in various Bible translations at Luke 23:11:
brilliant—HCSB
elegant—NIV; NRSV
rich—NJB
royal—NLT
splendid—ESV
gorgeous—KJV; NKJV
“brightly shining”– NASB
fine—GNB; Berean Study Bible
bright—CSB
colorful—GWT
white—Douay
luxurious—WEB; New Heart English Bible
resplendent garb—NAB
kingly–NCV
purple – Aramaic Bible in Plain english
colorful – GWT
magnificent – ISV
radient – LSV
splendid – Hart
This is a good example of one of the many advantages a person who uses multiple translations has, over a person using only one translation. While this is a very minor point, we can see that there are various ways to translate from the ancient Koine’ Greek into modern English, and also various ways describe something, which can help us to get a better mental picture of what the Bible is describing. After all, vivid mental pictures help us to remember things better. Knowing and remembering what the Bible says is vital to knowing God and Jesus. Knowing them, the Bible says, results in eternal life (John 17:3). Also, very important to Christians who want to fully ‘imitate God, Jesus and Paul’ (Ephesians 5:1; 1 Corinthians 11:1), vivid mental images of things in the Bible better equip us to effectively witness, and teach the Word of God, to others (Acts 1:8; Matthew 28:19,20; 2 Timothy 3:16,17).
Gospel writer Luke tells his readers:
“Just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. With this in mind, since I have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write down an orderly account“—Luke 1:2,3 NIV [Italics added]read more
What is Textual Criticism? Has the Bible Been Changed?
Textual Criticism collates and compares the many ancient extant Bible manuscripts for the various Biblical texts to determine the original reading for each scripture?
Is Textual Criticism something that is critical of the Bible’s text, something that shows the Biblical text is unreliable? Or, is Textual Criticism something positive, or, favorable, toward authenticating the Bible’s text as being genuine, reliable, and trustworthy?
It is popularly believed today that the Bible has been copied and re-copied so many times over the centuries that is text is unreliable, and no one can be sure of what was in the originals. Is there any truth to this?
“All people are like grass, and all their glory is like that of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever” (1 Peter 1:24,25 NIV). In this text, the thought is conveyed that “the Word of the Lord endures forever”, which implies that the scriptures would be faithfully preserved over time.
Any book copied by hand is likely to contain errors. Not surprisingly, there are copyists’ errors (called textual or scribal errors) in ancient Biblical manuscripts. The original copies of the books were lost long ago. Thus our sources for the Biblical materials are limited to handwritten copies (of copies) of the originals. We do also have access to copies of ancient translations of the Bible into other languages, as well as citations of the Bible by early rabbis and church fathers. Thus Hebrew and Greek manuscripts of the Bible, together with early translations and citations of Scripture, witness to the correct reading of a particular text.
How did scribal errors arise? Poor memory, impaired judgment, mishearing and errors of sight or misunderstanding often caused the best-intentioned scribes to omit, substitute or repeat letters or entire words. Sometimes scribes made matters worse when they deliberately altered the text in an attempt to rectify something they perceived as a problem (deliberate alterations are probably very rare, however). In time, the result was a series of accidental corruptions or intended improvements that departed from the original text.
“Until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or one stroke of a letter will pass from the law until all things are accomplished” (Matthew 5:18 HCSB). Jesus says here that even the smallest details from God’s word will be preserved.
Textual criticism is the attempt to restore the Biblical authors’ original words by comparing and contrasting the various copies and translations of the Bible. Here “criticism” does not mean “finding fault with” but “evaluating” the existing copies of the text. Significantly, while textual errors do exist among the ancient Biblical witnesses, they do not destroy the Bible’s credibility or message. Just as an alert reader can understand a book or newspaper article that has typographical errors in it, so too God’s Word is able to speak for itself in spite of the minor corruptions that have arisen through scribal transmission. The vast majority of the Biblical text is certain, and where variations do occur among existing copies, the original wording can usually be determined with a good degree of certainty by a thorough acquaintance with the available manuscripts. Most modern translations use footnotes to let readers know where the text is difficult or where scribal errors may exist.
An example of a textual problem is found in the last sentence of Isaiah 51:19. The New American Standard Bible translates the question “How shall I comfort you?” while the NIV words it “Who can console you?” (emphasis added for both translations). These different renderings reflect a difference of opinion over which manuscripts preserve the best reading. The NIV follows a reading that is found in a Hebrew manuscript from the Dead Sea Scrolls. This translation is also supported by the Greek (Septuagint), Latin (Vulgate) and Syriac (Peshitta) translations of the Old Testament. On the other hand, the standard edition of the Hebrew Old Testament (the Masoretic Text) reads “How can I comfort you?”and was followed by the NASB translators.
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (Matthew 24:35 NIV). read more
