Why Do We Have Different Bible Translations?
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Main Question for today
Why do we have different Bible Translations?
Ask you listen along, fill out the chart below and see what each translations says and how it says it.
Judges 13:1
NIV ESV KJV NASB
“Again”
“Israelites” vs
“Sons/people/
Children of Israel”
“Sight” vs
“Eyes”
“Delivered” vs
“Gave” vs
“Handed”
On your own, sometime this week, repeat this exercise with verse 2 using different Bible translations.
Judges 13:2
NIV ESV KJV NASB
“____ A Certain man”
vs
“____ A man”
Clan, Tribe, Family
“Childless” vs
“Barren” vs
“Infertile”
Judges 13:1 In Hebrew (Don't worry! There won't be a test!) <-- Hebrew Reads right to left!
Here is what Judges 13:1 looks like in Hebrew. I wanted to show you so that you can get a sense of what is literally being stated with these Hebrew words below versus what translators have to do in order to bring meaning to the literal "word-for-word" translation.
Literal Translation— “and they added, sons Israel, they to do evil in the eyes LORD. And he gave, LORD, in the hand of the Philistines, 40 years.”
Smooth Interpretation—“And again, the Sons of Israel, they did evil in the eyes of the LORD. And The LORD gave them into the hands of the Philistines, for 40 years.”
It is not necessarily the words that bring understanding. Instead, it is the meaning and interpretation of the words that brings understanding.
All Translation is Interpretation
For example, here are common phrases, whose words we must interpret in order to understand its meaning. A Literal translation will not work or make sense in these instances.
Numbers 14:18 “God is slow to anger, abundant in love.”
Our English Bibles interpret “Long of Nose” as “Slow to anger.”
But the meaning and interpretation of “long of nose” brings understanding to a translation.
Euphemisms – “He fell asleep” = he is dead (ex. Acts 7:60—the stoning of Stephen)
“He is big boned” = he is fat
“The lights are on, but no one is home” = that person is dumb
Metaphor— “He is the Lion of Judah” (see Revelation 5:5)
“She’s the apple of my eye”
Personification—“The rocks will cry out” (ex. Luke 19:40)
“The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood” (ex. Joel 2:31)
Hyperbole-- “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.” (1 Sam. 18:7)
“I’m so hungry I could eat a horse!”
Key Point
All translation is interpretation
Can we trust our translations?
Yes!
But how do we know if our interpretation is a correct interpretation?
We test Scripture against Scripture
We debate and have conversations
We study diligently and do our best to understand God's word truthfully and faithfully.
Take away
Is it ok if someone else has a different understanding or interpretation of Scripture? Why or why not?
Why does having different understandings of Scripture so important?
Why does this matter for us today?
How can we use what we've learned today the next time someone asks us a question about the Bible and our faith?
What will you do differently now that you know this?