Building Christians Up From The Foundation & Unto Perfection
Hebrews 6:1-3
Hebrews 6:1-3
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Before you read: This article is part of a larger series that builds upon itself from the foundation up, with each study building on the last. If something in this article does not make sense to you or if you believe it to be incorrect, please ensure you have read the entire series before passing final judgment. Also, be sure to visit this page’s FAQ And Objections: What Bible Translation Is Best
Many are unaware that not all Bibles are translated from the same texts. So in this lesson, we will dig a little deeper into the issue. We will learn about the translation of the Bible.
First of all, it is obvious that we do not have the original handwritten manuscripts that were penned by Moses, Paul, or anyone else. What we do have are copies. Because of that, we need to discuss briefly whether it is even possible to have copies that stay true to the original.
Some people like to bring up the idea that, before Moses put the first books into writing, the stories were passed down orally. They believe this is a reason to doubt the accuracy of any copy.
But when you consider that it was God who spoke to Moses, telling him what to write, it doesn’t matter what might have been changed in the original stories. Because God is the one telling the story now. No matter what anyone else may have altered, God spoke truth. So it doesn’t matter what happened before the words were put into print.
The answer to why the Bible was translated should be obvious. Not everyone can understand the original Hebrew and Greek. People all around the world speak different languages, and those languages also change over time.
So, rather than teaching every single person on earth the original Hebrew and Greek, it makes sense to translate the Bible into their language.
Since language is about the MEANING of words rather than their spelling or grammar, the concept of an accurate translation must be based on the meaning of the words. The message itself is what must stay intact.
For example, the word “love” is used to say “I love my car.” It is also used to say “I love my wife.” Obviously, we don’t mean we love our car in the same way we love our wife! At least, I hope not!
We use the word in many ways. But other languages use different words for each meaning. So when another language may have multiple words where we use only one, it is the intended meaning we must understand.
This means arguments over individual names, spellings, and other differences that arise from translation between languages are to be expected and are not harmful. Words, including names, are about the meaning, not the sounds themselves. So if I say “Jesus” instead of “Yeshua,” I am still referring to the same person because, to me, the name “Jesus” has the same meaning as “Yeshua.”
There are many different versions of English-language Bibles. If translations are simply copies put into another language, shouldn’t all of them say the same thing? Why do some Bibles leave things out, change the meanings of passages, or even add things not found in other Bibles?
The answer is that not all Bibles are translations—or at least not translations of the same texts. It isn’t common knowledge, but there are two different types of texts (originals) from which Bibles are translated.
The first is called the Masoretic Text, which contains the Old Testament, and the Textus Receptus, which contains the New Testament. These two originals were used to translate the KJV. To date, the KJV is the ONLY Bible in the English language that is completely translated from these.
The second type of text is called the Septuagint (commonly called LXX) for the Old Testament and the Alexandrian text-type for the New Testament. These are the originals from which all other English Bibles are translated.
We also have what are called paraphrase Bibles. These are not translations. Instead, they are Bibles specifically intended to paraphrase the message of the Bible, essentially offering commentary on what the scriptures mean.
We will discuss this in more detail in a future study. But for now, I wanted you to at least know that this is why we have different versions of the Bible. It is because we have two different originals being translated and paraphrased Bibles.
One of the originals is the actual Bible. The other two are a mixture of the actual Bible and … something else. This is why On The Line Ministries uses the KJV only. My goal is to give you the pure word of God.
With that said, I am not afraid to recommend the use of other Bibles if there is a need. For example, the KJV is said to be at a 12th-grade reading level, and there are many people who are not skilled enough to comprehend it at that level.
Since other Bibles besides the KJV do contain much of the same message with only minor differences, I find it better for people to at least have a basic understanding of the message than nothing at all.
So I typically recommend the NLT for them. Once they reach a point where they want to do more in-depth study, I still recommend only the KJV. It is the standard by which all other English translations should be judged. So if there is a difference, go with the KJV.
This is because there are subtle differences that change the meanings of some passages in other Bibles. For the novice, these subtle differences are somewhat (though not completely) harmless. They are normally just glanced over anyway.
But for those who have trained their senses, these subtle differences are huge! Think of it as a novice cook tasting a bowl of stew. To them, it may seem great. But if a top-tier chef tastes it, they might be revolted because it’s missing a few ingredients or has too much of something. The novice could eat it and be happy, but the expert won’t touch it.
This is how it works with the Bible. Those who are just beginning their journey can read a different version and not notice a problem. They need the nourishment too much to think about the flavor. But those who are more seasoned just can’t get past the “fly in the soup.” They have to read from the KJV.
Don’t ALL Bibles have errors and contradictions in them anyway? No, not at all. In fact, the KJV has been around since the 1600’s and has been under attack ever since. It has been tested and retested. Today you can find websites that list 1,001 errors and contradictions in the Bible. But most of them point to other bibles than the KJV. And those that do point to the KJV are easily refuted if you actually study.
The KJV has never failed upon close study. Yet others have (as we will show in a future lesson). Oddly, however, the KJV is the one that gets most of the abuse. In fact, some who use other translations will even attack the KJV. Of course, that is a two-way street, though.
Anyway, this page is not a study to tell you what is and is not an error. This page is only a primer to lay the foundation for our next few studies.
This is a very sensitive subject for many Christians because of the importance of the Bible in our lives. We use it as a guide to grow closer to God, to test our doctrines, and much more.
2 Timothy 3:15-17
15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
With so much value placed on the scriptures, it is no wonder that when you touch the Bible, you touch the heart of Christians everywhere. This is why people defend the use of their version and may even critique others—it’s that important.
But what happens if the set of scriptures that Christians look to for all of this is found to be flawed? What if the very Bible that we use to test our doctrine and examine our faith contains errors?
Psalm 11:3
3 If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?
Without the foundation of the scriptures, we are helpless. This is why the topic is such a sensitive issue.
But it is also why we must examine our Bible very closely. If it is so vital to us, then we should know where it came from and how solid it truly is. That is why the upcoming lessons may be a bit lengthy and sometimes challenging to digest, but understanding these topics is essential.
I assure you that this information is of genuine importance for Christians—not just to read, but to know—so they can be confident that the witness they have in the Bible is true. This is one of the reasons Luke tells us he wrote his portion of the Gospels.
Before we move on, I also want to emphasize that, just because one version of the Bible may contain something that isn’t accurate, it doesn’t mean all of it is untrustworthy. As the saying goes, “Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater!” Even a witness with some errors may still convey useful truth if they speak a small amount of it. Just “eat around” the bad parts.
So let’s test our Bible. The next few lessons will help us do just that.
****Please note that none of this information is meant to claim using other versions of the Bible is wrong. What we present here is simply information which gives you an idea of how to handle situations where different versions may say different things and you need to know which one is the authority. Since all versions of the Bible do contain most of the same information they therefore must also contain the word of God.
In fact, since the KJV is often difficult for many people to read we would normally suggest the NLT. Once again, On The Line Ministries DOES use the KJV only but we do not downplay the word of God in other versions even if it is mixed with something else. We simply show why the KJV IS the authority when there may be a conflict.****
Unit 1:4b – Why Was the Bible Written OR
Return To Christianity 101 Unit 1 – The Bible and Faith in God
July 12, 2015 at 3:08 am | | 4 comments
One other comment, I should have said, I look at the KJV and the Youngs Literal Translation, as the Youngs is particularly good, and really a better translation than the KJV, in the New Testament.
Thank you for sharing, great job! I suggest that you have a look at the sermon series by David Middleton, “How We Got Our Bible”. A twelve sermon series, that amplifies what you have stated. This series was eye-opening for me! I now only read in English in the KJV, having been raised on the NIV, and I have purchased Bible Works, to look at the Greek, Voice, Tense and Mood,etc. I am just learning to unlearn, and re-learn again.
I just today had a discussion with a friend about the reliability of the Bible as God’s written word. He does not trust it because of its man-made interpretations. My argument to him in favor of the Bible is that the author of all languages at the Tower of Babel is the same Author of the only book that ever claimed to be His inspired word. Therefore, knowing that God knows languages, to think He could not control what went into the different language interpretations of His word is like saying God is not omnipotent enough to oversee its accurate translation. that’s just ridiculous.
I’m glad you brought this up LaTanyia because it gives me a chance to address a misconception that many people have on this subject. The truth of the matter is that God indeed IS powerful enough to protect His message as it is translated and copied into other languages. That does not however mean He will not allow Satan to do what he does best, tell lies.
In the very beginning Satan attempted to change the word of God when he spoke to Eve saying “You shall not die.” So why should we not expect him to attempt to place his own version of the Bible into the world? The difference in this is that God’s word is still His word and it HAS been protected. But at the same time we now have a lot of OTHER words that are all around it.
It’s a lot like the parable of the wheat and the tares. The wheat is still there, but the tares are too. God allows both to exist at the same time. So when you go into the field to pick the wheat you have to be able to tell the difference. That is what this study is all about, knowing the difference.
Most of the current bibles still carry the same message for the most part since they are a mix of the two different types. They are 99% good food. It’s only the 1% which will make you sick. For most people this 1% isn’t really enough to affect them personally. The other 99% is enough to get them through and be quite powerful.
For some however this 1% causes a problem since it can affect certain doctrines in nasty ways if they really get deep into it. Again, this doesn’t mean they are doomed though. The bottom line is that while I still suggest easy to read versions such as the NLT for those not able to grasp the KJV it is still important to know that where the 2 part ways it is best to go with the KJV as it came from the proper original source.