Recently, I came across this funny skit from a church out in Oregon. While definitely a caricature, it does well to make a good point: Translation is both difficult and important.

When it comes to the Bible, most of us rely on one of the many English translations available.  While many Christians describe themselves as “bible believing,” in my experience few Christians have considered whether what they are reading is a true representation of what was originally said.

The following are two less comical examples of the theological implications that can result from translation errors:

• Matthew 4:17 is a description of the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. It can be thought of as a summary statement of what Jesus was about.  The Latin of the Vulgate is as follows:

Exinde coepit Iesus praedicare et dicere paenitentiam agite adpropinquavit enim regnum caelorum.  

A literal English translation of this would be “Then Jesus began to preach and say: ‘do penance (paenitentiam agite) for the kingdom of heaven has drawn near.’”

It would be reasonable for a skilled bible study leader to assume that Jesus preaches penance. Perhaps Christianity is about responding to God’s kingdom by making use of the penitential system of the church?  (Your church has one, right?)   The most accurate translation of the Greek text of Matthew’s gospel however would likely be “repent”, not “do penance.”

• Luke 1:28 is the famous ‘annunciation’ passage, where Gabriel declares to Mary that she will have a child.  The Latin of the Vulgate is as follows:

et ingressus angelus ad eam dixit ave gratia plena Dominus tecum benedicta tu in mulieribus

In English, a fair translation would be: “And the angel went in and said to her, “Hail, one that is full of grace (ave gratia plena) the Lord is with you, blessed are you.”

Even the very best OIA leads one to understand that Mary was a vessel who was full of God’s grace. Perhaps grace is a substance, and one can get access to God’s grace through Mary? These ideas actually became popular in the Medieval church, until scholars established that a faithful translation of the Greek refers to Mary as “One who has found favor.”

Your bible translation matters very practically.

1. I have found translations such as the ESV, NASB, NIV and even the NET Bible to be very useful for bible-study, because they are quite true to the original.
2. Bibles such as The Living Bible and The Message are very useful for general reading and comprehension, but could lead to theological errors in deeper study.
3. Logos has fantastic software available, but why not consider learning Greek and Hebrew? God in his wisdom chose those languages to write down his Word.