Millions of people around the world own a Bible, profess to read it, and follow its dictates. According to one survey, nine out of ten Americans own a Bible (Davis, xv). There are complete Bibles in more than forty European languages, 125 Asian and Pacific languages, and there are Bible translations into more than 100 African languages with another 500 African-language versions of some portion of the Bible (Davis, xv). At least fifteen complete native-American Bibles have been published. In English, there are more than 3,000 versions of the entire Bible or portions of the Bible (Davis, xv). The King James Version, first produced in 1611, and the Revised Standard Version remain the most popular translations today. The Living Bible is one contemporary, paraphrased version, and has sold more than 40 million copies since 1971 (Davis, xv).
Additionally, the underlying issue of inclusive language is at the forefront of many discussions regarding the translations of the Bible. Discussion of the various translations, the controversies over the use of inclusive language and the affect the interpretations have on theology are relevant to understanding the Bible.
Throughout history the Bible has been translated into other languages so that people could have the scriptures in their own tongue. During the third century B.C. the Septuagint was the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament completed by 70 men in 70 days (Bender, 3). The first English Bibles were made from the Vulgate translation (Bender, 3). Vulgate means “common or popular” and is a translation of the entire Bible into Latin by Jerome about 400 AD. In an attempt to make the Bible accessible to common people who didn’t understand Hebrew, Latin, or Greek, John Wycliff, an English priest, produced one of the first English Bible translations before he died in 1384. He was cast out of the church and his translation was condemned because he had made the Bible available to Englishmen in their own languages (Davis, xxii). Another translator was Priest William Tyndale. He believed that the Bible should be read by everyone and translated the Bible into English. Church officials did not approve of this translation and as a result forced Tyndale to leave England and his translations were ordered burned and labeled untrue. He was arrested and imprisoned for doing a Biblical translation. In October 1536 Tyndale was executed and burned. Today, Tyndale is known as “The Father of the English Bible” (Davis, xxii).
The translations of the Bible are numerous and allows each person an opportunity to find one that best fits their reading style or abilities. The King James Version involved fifty-four scholars, working four years (Bender, 3). In 1885, a committee of fifty-one British and thirty-two American scholars did a revision of the King James Authorized Version. In 1901 Americans of the committee published the American Standard Version, which has been considered a very accurate translation (Bender, 4). The Bible was updated in 1971 and again in 1995, giving us the New American Standard Version of the Bible (Davis, 20). Other translations include The New International Version, which was translated during 1970 by a committee of evangelicals. It is considered accurate and has gained with acceptance among evangelicals today. The New King James Version is a modernized translation using the same manuscript as the King James Authorized Version. The New Century Version has published two editions, one for children, called The International Children’s Bible, and one for adults, called The New Century Version. These came out in 1991 and emphasize simplicity and clarity of expression (Bender, 4). Another translation, The New Living Translation, is a thought-for-thought easy to understand translation of the Bible based on the most reliable editions of the Hebrew and Greek texts. The most recent translation, The English Standard Version (ESV), is an essentially literal translation that seeks as far as possible to capture the exact wording of the original text and the personal style of each Bible writer (Bender, 4).
King James initiated the translation of making one translation out of many good ones. History tells us that a man by the name of John Reynolds proposed to make a new translation at the Hampton Court Conference in 1604 (Lewis, 28). King James was intrigued and agreed that it should be done. Therefore, by 1611 the revision was ready for the public. The King contributed no funding for the production, however, the Bible became known as the King James Bible (Lewis, 29). The King James Version withstood much criticism at the outset and eventually went through fifteen printings in the first 15 years (Lewis, 32). Over time the challenges to the King James Version lessened. It is interesting to note that printing the Bible outside of England was not permitted until after America had broken away from British rule (Lewis, 33). The American Standard Version resulted from a revision project that was completed in 1885 (Lewis, 69). A motion for revision was presented in the Upper House of the Convocation of Canterbury in February 1870 resulting in a committee made up of Baptists, Congregationalists, Methodists, Presbyterians, and Unitarians (Lewis, 69). At the outset, the revisers envisioned a minimal task in order to bring the English Bible into agreement with the original texts. However, the project ended with 5,788 changes in the underlying Greek text of the New Testament (Lewis, 70). This version was also an attempt to put the Bible into English that could be understood. American scholars were brought in to the project in July 1870. Nine denominations were represented in the American group. The group organized and began work in October 1872. The goal was to make a good translation still better, more accurate and self-consistent (Lewis, 71). “As compared with the KJV, the ASV represents definite improvement in text, in interpretation, in wording, and in typographical form (Lewis, 79).” However, the American Standard Version was made just before significant manuscripts were discovered of both Old and New Testament material (Lewis, 86). Therefore, it became out of date before it could replace the King James Version in popularity. History was moving at a fast pace during this time period. Homes were lighted by gas and kerosene lamps, and electricity was not generally available. The telephone was invented but not widely used, few people had radios, and no one had television. Trains were available, but most people used the horse and buggy to get around. The American Standard Version, therefore, represented the best scholarship and biblical learning at its time. Approximately twenty-five years later the Revised Standard Version was available. The ASV was renewed in 1928 by the International Council of Religious Education (Lewis, 107). After two years of review by committee scholars, it was decided to make the revisions. The revisers were instructed to stay as close as possible to the Tyndale-King James tradition while accessing modern knowledge of the Hebrew and Greek texts and their meaning (Lewis, 107). The Revised Standard Version marked the end of one time period and beginning of another. Following this publication, the era of multiple translations began flooding the market, competing against one another (Lewis, 128).
The New English Bible was published in March 1970 and was the product of a cooperative effort of the Protestant churches in the British Isles (Lewis, 129). It took twenty-four years to complete and begin with a proposal from the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1946 (Lewis, 130). Like other translations, invitations were issued to different denominations and to the British and Scottish Bible Societies; Roman Catholic scholars were invited as observers (Lewis, 130). Translating the Bible is a tedious job requiring each translator to draft individual books and submit them to a panel of translators to review verse by verse. The difference in the NEB translations was that the goal was to prepare a completely new translation “of the best available Greek text into the current speech of our time” (Lewis, 130). The RSV claimed to be a revision of the Tyndale-King James-American Version line of Bibles; the NEB was to be independent of earlier translations. (Lewis, 130). The key to the popularity of the New English Bible is its readability.
Another translation of the Bible is the New American Standard Bible, prepared by fifty-eight scholars in 1963 (Lewis, 165). The complete Bible was presented in 1970. “The Foundation claims that it is the fastest-selling Bible in America today” (Lewis, 165). Although it holds this claim, there are some challenges to this translation. There are inconsistencies in the New American Standard Bible with regard to the Greek and Hebrew structure (Lewis, 197). The translation is criticized for not following translation procedures. The New American Bible is an effort to produce a new translation for American Catholics (Lewis, 215). It is the result of twenty-five years of work by fifty scholars, most of them Catholics. The NAB should be thought of as a new edition of the Confraternity Version of the Bible (Lewis, 216). This is the most readable translation into English that Catholic scholars have produced. This translation is important for the Catholic religion because is a more readable Bible. “Its impact upon popular American Catholic thought will be immeasurable. With the NAB, Bible reading for Catholics now becomes a viable option” (Lewis, 228).
The Living Bible Paraphrased is the result of sixteen years of work by Kenneth N. Taylor. He initiated his work on this Bible in 1954 when he began paraphrasing the Bible with his children during family devotions (Lewis, 237). The importance of this translation is the ease in readability. It is not recommended for serious Biblical study, but has it merits for allowing the regular person to read about God in a translation that they can understand. Another Bible that follows this same path is The Good News Bible for Modern Man. It was prepared in two and a half years by Robert G. Bratcher with the aid of the Translations Department and members of the Translations Committee of the American Bible Society (Lewis, 261). It was the first translation of the New Testament into English and was completed in 1966. The significance of this translation is that it successfully conveys the general message of the Bible to people who may have never read the Bible at all. The vocabulary is simplified and structured so that comprehension is easy. This translation says what the Bible is understood to say (Lewis, 291).
Another translation of the Bible is the Jerusalem Bible edited by Alexander Jones of Christ’s College in Liverpool, England (Lewis, 199). Twenty-seven other contributors involved in the project assisted him. This is another Roman Catholic publication and evidences the rebirth of interest in biblical studies by the Catholic religion. For the first time, a translation was completed that was made from the original languages instead of from the Latin Vulgate (Lewis, 199). The Jerusalem Bible offered the Catholic religious person a readable English Bible with an annotation system that would aid in understanding it. It is interesting to note that the first edition was completed in 1966, had over 2,000 pages, weighed five pounds, and cost more than $16.00 (Lewis, 200). The significance the Jerusalem Bible lies in the fact that it is the first contribution toward a common religious terminology.
Finally, The New International Version (NIV) is the latest addition to the many translations of the Bible today. “The New Testament was issued in 1973, with the name changed from the earlier projected name of A Contemporary Translation to The New International Version” (Lewis, 293). It is designed for both young and old, for study or general reading, and presents the Bible in an easily understood fashion. The NIV is a combination of traditional interpretations, modern translations, and innovative renderings (Lewis, 309). The goal of this translation was to “do for our time what the King James Version did for its day” (Lewis, 328).
Translations of the Bible from the King James Version to the New International Version all represent times in our history. A translation becomes outdated from the moment it is completed as new information is uncovered, new insights into the languages during Biblical times are learned, and new data concerning biblical history is uncovered. There will always be challenges to each new translation. Today the issues and times that confront translators reflect controversies over the use of inclusive language. No theological issue has stirred the interest of evangelicals as this one has. The issue of inclusive language is really about style, word-for-word translation versus phrase-for-phrase translation. The question relating to the issue of inclusive language is whether or not it should be translated exactly the same way as it originally appeared (Kohlenberger, 1). A clear, non-biblical, example of a word that is the same but has many different meanings depending on the context of its use if with the word “trunk”. For instance, trunk can mean the trunk of a car, and elephant trunk, a suitcase, the middle of a person, or a tree. There is no “literal” meaning of the word, on the contextual meaning (Kohlenberger, 2). Therefore, the meaning of the word is dependent on the context that it is used in the sentence. The same is true for many words used in translating the Bible. In some respects the Bible is very clear whereas other references are less clear. The extent to which they should be generalized to both sexes depends on examination of the context. Some translators follow a moderately inclusive approach and are not suggesting that all gender differences be erased in church and family or in promoting women’s ordination, etc. (Kohlenberger, 3). However, they feel that a moderately inclusive approach is best because it is the best method for conveying the meaning of scripture (Kohlenberger, 3). Those that support the inclusive language feel that it meets a need in the Christian community to reword the scripture so that it is not gender-specific. Others feel that it is tampering with the role relationships to make any alteration in the wording of the Bible. There are numerous verses that address the roles of men and women and to alter them in any way is detrimental to the meaning of the scripture and the structure that God set for men and women. Passages in the Bible that reflect the roles of men and women can be found in the New Testament: 1 Corinthians 7 and 11, 1 Timothy 3, Ephesians 5:22-23, Colossians 3:18-19, Titus 1:5-9 and 1 Peter 3: 1-7 (King James Version). The argument for or against depends on which group you are talking with. The use of gender-specific language in modern translation follows patterns established in the Greek Septuagint and the Greek New Testament, and historic English versions (Kohlenberger, 5). It is a fact, however, that people in the 20’s and 30’s do not hear things the way previous generations have heard them. Words of yesterday have very different meanings today. The point is, as language changes, we must also respond, however, not in such a way as to miscommunicate God’s word in the translations. The supporters of inclusive language state that as languages transform, writers must go to the original texts and reshape the translation so that people do not misinterpret the Bible. They argue that the King James Version cannot be heard today the way it was heard in 1611. An example can be found in James 2:2-3, KJV, “…And ye have respect to him that wearith the gay clothing…” Today the meaning of “gay” clothing brings a totally different picture from what was intended in the original translations in 1611. This is one example of the argument for using inclusive language where all might agree to alter the wording. It is a debate that will not go away or be resolved with ease. The times that we live in are geared to an all inclusive, all accepting society. The Bible makes definite stands on issues that would not be politically correct today and in these issues is where the controversy is critical. Additionally, English translations of the Bible are an ongoing process that began long before the King James Version.
In conclusion, the Bible has been translated throughout history so that people could have scriptures in their own language to study for themselves. Christians believe the Bible to be the inspired work of the Holy Spirit in which God guided men to write His actual words. There are numerous translations today for the causal reader to those that chose to seriously study the Bible. The importance of readability is without dispute. This discussion has been directed toward charting the many translations of the Bible, addressing the controversies regarding the use of inclusive language and comparing the many types of Bibles that are currently available. Each translator is charged with interpreting the text of the Hebrew and Greek Bible so that the reader has as accurate a translation as possible but presented in such a way that it can be easily comprehended. The average man in the pew at church would not have the background to successfully challenge one translation over another as far as its accuracy. That must be left to the scholars and experts. The goal toward which these great translators aimed has been achieved. No longer is the Bible locked from the common man who has no knowledge of Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek and Latin. Because of the many translations, it is now an openly obtainable book, available in supermarkets, and written in such a way to communicate God’s Word.
