Translations of the Bible, and Why We Should All Learn Greek

Another debate that has been going for some time along similar lines, is what is the best English translation of the Bible. I have no sympathy of opinion with the King James only camp. This is a ludicrous and logically defenseless position, the King James Bible has existed for around one quarter of the history of Christianity and a tiny fraction of the history of Judaism. While there is some debate about the original source language of the Bible, the language of Jesus, the apostles, and the profits, no one claims that they spoke Shakespearean English. The King James Bible contains as much a translation of the Gospel of Luke, as the Gospel of Luke contains a translation of the words of Jesus, and is as much a translation of the Bible as Eugene Patterson’s, The Message.

Children who are fortunate enough to grow up in a Christian home, first read story Bibles. These story Bibles do not even claim to be accurate translations. They’re written to be accessible and intelligible to children. They are illustrated for the same reason and they serve their purpose well. Children think like children and story Bibles are on their level. This is appropriate. The most accurate translation in the world, would be of no use to someone who is illiterate, they would be better served by murals on a wall. In the same way, people who have little comprehension, because they’re young, either in days or in faith are better served by an easy-to-read paraphrase than a super literal translation. Children should not say children forever, they should move from milk to meat. They should be constantly challenging themselves and being challenged by the community. It can be nearly impossible to do in-depth verse studies with a loose paraphrase. And so moving to a more literal translation becomes a necessity.

If you want to know the story of the Aeneid, then there are many great translations, if however you want to read Virgil’s poetry. Then you must learn Latin, for poetry translates very poorly. In the same manner, it is most profitable for Christians as they grow to graduate from literal translations to reading Greek and Hebrew. As one progresses from story Bible, to paraphrase to literal translation, there’s no reason to stop growing just because you can comprehend the ESV . The next logical step is to learn the source languages. Today, however, it is very rare for any layman to attempt to learn Greek let alone Hebrew.