Translating God’s Word – Two Key Questions

When a person or group decides to translate the Bible into a new language or to make a new translation for a language in which other versions already exist, it is important to begin by answering two questions. These questions will determine which books will be translated, and which manuscripts will be used and given priority in determining the original text.

First, one must determine which books will be translated. This is closely related to (though not identical to) the question of canonization. We looked at the process of canonization in earlier blog posts. There, we saw that the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches accept what are known as the deuterocanonical books. These are writings such as Bel and the Dragon, 1 and 2 Maccabees, and Tobit. Thus, when they create a new translation, they will obviously include these books. Protestants, however, do not consider these books canonical, so in general they do not translate them. (It should be noted, however, that many Protestant translations, such as the King James Version and the Revised Standard Version did translate the deuterocanonical books and included them in many early Bibles.)

Second, which manuscripts will be consulted? We covered the topic of the various manuscripts in earlier posts as well. Briefly, we may say that for the Old Testament, virtually all modern translations use the Masoretic Text as the primary source. They do consult other ancient versions (the Septuagint [LXX], Samaritan Pentateuch, etc.) and will occasionally follow them against the Masoretic Text.

For the New Testament, Most modern translations use an eclectic NT text, choosing the manuscripts that seem best to the translators. In general, they follow the readings preferred by the editors of modern critical texts such as the Nestle-Aland. This means that, in general, give priority to the Alexandrian text over the Byzantine/Majority text. The key exception to this rule is the New King James Version which gives priority to the Majority text. Furthermore, most modern translations will footnote any major differences between the manuscripts. This is a great gift to believers as it allows us to understand the choices made by the translators.

As a final note, I would encourage everyone to take the time to read the preface included in many modern Bibles. These short introductions will often explain how the translators of that particular version answered these two questions, along with answering other questions that help the reader understand how the work of translation was done.

In Christ,

Bret