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The following report is from O Timothy magazine, Volume 9, Issue 11, 1992.
All rights are reserved by the author. O Timothy is a monthly magazine.
Annual subscription is US$20 FOR THE UNITED STATES. Send to Way of Life
Literature, Bible Baptist Church, 1219 N. Harns Road, Oak Harbor,
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Bethel Baptist Church, P.O. Box 9075, London, Ontario N6E 1V0.
INSPIRATION AND TRANSLATION
Dr. Bruce Lackey
PREMISE: It is correct to call a translation of the Bible "the inspired
Word of God," if it is a correct translation from uncorrupted manuscripts.
1. In 2 Timothy 3:15-17, Paul refers to the Scriptures that Timothy had and
calls them inspired.
2. Timothy did not have the originals; he had only a copy. It is possible
that he had the Old Testament in Hebrew, but more likely that he had the
Greek translation of the Old Testament, since his father was a Greek and he
lived in Derbe and/or Lystra, which were definitely Greek-speaking. Every
reference in the New Testament to the scripture refers to copies of the
autographs (original manuscripts) in Hebrew or to translations in Greek. No
one had the autographs at that time.
3. The scriptures which Timothy had were called "holy," that is
different; set apart. They were "set apart" in the sense that they
were inspired and preserved, as God had promised in Psalm 12:6-7; Psalm
100:5 and other places. No other ancient writings could make such a claim;
hence, no other writings could be called "holy."
4. Hebrew 1:8 and 10:5 quote from the Greek translation of the Old
Testament scriptures authoritatively.
5. Hebrews 3:7 states, "the Holy Ghost said ..." and it was in
Greek, not in Hebrew. It does not matter whether one believes that the
author of Hebrews was quoting from the Septuagint or making his own
translation; the fact is that he was writing in Greek and boldly asserted,
"the Holy Ghost said." Why did he not insert Hebrew words at
that point? Obviously, because a translation may be correctly called what
the Holy Ghost said! The same is true of Hebrews 9:8 and 10:15.
6. If only the autographs are inspired, no one has the inspired scripture.
Thus, no one could obey Matthew 4:4, "Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Did God intend
for only those who had the autographs to obey this? Or did He intend for
only those who could read Hebrew and Greek to obey this? The answer must be
obvious to any thinking Christian. When God made this statement, and when
Christ repeated it, did He not know that the scripture would be copied and
translated many times? Again, if only the autographs are inspired, we
cannot obey 2 Timothy 4:2 ("Preach the word"); nor can we obey Revelation
22:18-19 (warnings about adding to and taking away from Scripture). Neither
could we have the benefit of 2 Timothy 3:16-17, being instructed and
"throughly furnished unto all good works."
7. Without the uncorrupted Word of God, we have no salvation. 1 Peter 1:23-
25 teaches that we are born again, of the incorruptible word of God, which
liveth and abideth forever, and states that "this is the word which by the
gospel if preached unto you." Note: THIS IS THE WORD ... that which they
had heard. They had not heard the autographs, but, perhaps copies, and more
likely, translations. Yet he stated that they were born again by the
incorruptible word of God.
8. Any correctly translated scripture, in any version, would be correctly
called the inspired Word of God, if it is from uncorrupted texts. Many
verses in the Vaticanus (et al) are exactly the same as in the Textus
Receptus. They are truly God's Word. It is those places where scripture has
been changed which are to be rejected. Likewise, John 1:1 reads exactly the
same in the King James and The New American Standard Version. We cannot
condemn a verse merely on the basis of the book or manuscript in which it
is found. The issue is whether the verse is correct.
ANSWERS TO OBJECTIONS
OBJECTION 1: Are the italicized words inspired?
ANSWER: The King James Version is not the only one to use italicized words;
several others do also. When translating from one language to another, it
is impossible to give a word-for-word rendering.
Inserted words (usually italicized) are necessary. The Greek language omits
the verb sometimes and is perfectly correct, according to rules of Greek
grammar. However, in English, this would make an awkward sentence to say
the least, and in some cases, would greatly hinder one's understanding of
it. An example: in 2 Timothy 3:16 "IS" is in italics. It is
obviously necessary!
If we translated John 3:16 in a word- for-word literal rendering, it would
read, "So for loved the God the world that the Son of him the only-begotten
he gave, that all the ones believing into him not may perish, but may have
life eternal."
No version is consistent in italicizing words. For instance, in 2 Timothy
3:16, the King James Version italicizes "IS", since there is no
Greek equivalent for it; but there is no Greek equivalent for "GIVEN
BY", either! The New American Standard Version italicizes
"DOOM" it 1 Peter 2:8, but not "BECAUSE".
There is nothing wrong with the insertion of words, if they be correct.
They are necessary for our understanding.
Also, Christ quoted from the Greek translation of the Old Testament, as re
corded in Matthew 4:4. He was quoting Deuteronomy 8:3. The King James
Version, which was translated from Hebrew, shows the word "WORD" in
italics, indicating that it was added by the translators. They were
perfectly correct in doing so, since the English would not be clear without
it. Those who translated the Hebrew into Greek also added the word
"WORD" (logos, in Greek). They were also correct, as proven by
Christ's quotation of it! And He emphasized that we should live by
"every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."
Clearly, then, a translation can be called the Word of God ... every word
of it. Christ did so!
Objections about italicized words are groundless.
OBJECTION 2: The translators were not consistent; they were wrong to
translate one Greek word by several English words.
ANSWER: We must distinguish between a translator's choice and a
translator's error. For example, in Roman 7:7-8 the Greek Noun EPITHUMIA
and its corresponding verb EPITHUMEO are translated by three English words:
LUST, COVET, and CONCUPISCENCE. We cannot charge them with error here. In
their day, the three words meant essentially the same. The same is true of
the translation of the definite article from Greek to English. Not all
translators agree when it should or should not be done. Neither the King
James not the New American Standard always translates the article.
However, it is not a matter of error, but of personal judgment, as every
translator knows. We may disagree with a translator's choice of words, but
cannot necessarily call that an error. The English words STORY, FAST, TIE,
POST, and WATCH all have at least two different meanings; sometimes three.
This situation exists in any language.
Synonyms may mean the same in one situation, and have different shades of
meaning in another. For instance, CAR and AUTOMOBILE may be referring to
the same thing, or differentiating between a railroad car and an auto
mobile. The context must determine.
OBJECTION 3: If the translation is inspired, it would be wrong to have a
marginal reading or to suggest another possible word.
ANSWER: When suggesting another translation of a word or phrase, there is
no thought of correcting the translators or the scripture. Such suggestions
are given because of the changes in the English language in the past 300
plus years. Also, various false doctrines which are popular today, but were
unknown in 1611, have confused the understanding of many people. Hence, it
is often necessary to resort to Greek and Hebrew to clear up such
misunderstandings.
New Testament writers sometimes paraphrase Old Testament scripture.
Examples:
Matthew 12:17-21 (from Isaiah 42:1-3)
Romans 3:10-18 (from Psalm 14:1-3; Psalm 5:9; Psalm 140:3; Psalm 10:7;
Psalm 59:7-8; Psalm 36:1).
Therefore, different words may be used when teaching the same truth. Hence,
a translation in English from uncorrupted texts would be equally inspired
as a translation in Spanish from the same texts. Also, two English
translations that say the same thing, though using different words, would
be equally inspired IN THE SCRIPTURES WHICH AGREE. It is in the places
where there is a different teaching, or an omission, that we must choose.
In the introduction to the original King James Version, we find words of
wisdom about marginal readings:
"Some perhaps would have no variety of senses to be set in the margin, lest
the authority to the Scriptures for deciding controversies, by that show of
uncertainty should somewhat be shaken. But we do not hold their judgment to
be so sound in this point. ... there are many words in the Scriptures,
which are never found there but once ... so that we cannot be helped by
comparing parallel passages. Again, there are many rare names of certain
birds, beasts and precious stones, etc., concerning which the Hebrews
themselves are so divided among themselves for judgment, that they may seem
to have defined this or that, rather because they would say something, than
because they were sure of that which they said, as St. Jerome somewhere
said of the Septuagint. Now in such a case, does not a margin do well to
admonish the reader to seek further, and not to conclude or dogmatize upon
this or that without investigation?"
CONCLUSIONS
1. The Textus Receptus, from which the King James Version was translated,
is God's preserved word, because of the promises in Psalm 12:6-7; 100:5 and
1 Peter 1:23-25. If Vaticanus, Sinaiticus, p46, p66, p75, etc., are the
uncorrupted scripture, people did not have God's pure Word for the many
centuries when they were lost.
2. The only way anyone knows anything about manuscripts and versions is by
faith. We must believe that the Textus Receptus is the Textus Receptus,
that Nestle's footnotes are correct, that the current King James Version is
the same as the original one, simply by faith. There is no way to prove or
disprove these things to everyone.
3. Faith must be consistent with the Word of God (Romans 10:17). Hence,
believing that something is God's Word must be in keeping with God's
promise of preservation, rather than being based on the reliability of a
scholar or group of scholars.
4. I believe that the King James Version is a correct translation of
uncorrupted manuscripts in both Hebrew and Greek and is worthy of being
called the inspired Word of God.
The fact that I cannot answer all the problems which have been raised does
not affect my faith in the copy of God's Word which I possess. My faith in
the clear doctrine of providential preservation would override any
unanswered questions about textual criticism. The same situation exists
between the doctrine of creation and the discoveries of scientists which
seem to contradict creation.
Faith which is based on a clear promise is stronger than objections which
are raised by our lack of information.
Since God has promised to preserve His Word for all generations, and since
the Hebrew and Greek which is represented by the King James Version is the
Bible that all generations have had, and since God has so signally used the
truth preached from this Bible, I must follow it and reject others where
they differ.
(O Timothy magazine, Volume 9, Issue 11, 1992)