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MARTIN CHEMNITZ DOCTRINAL BULLETIN
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson,
Ph.D.
People often phone and ask about the best translation of the Bible. I am going to write what I tell people, based on my experience and reading, since the same concerns are often raised.
Two issues are at stake. The first involves the way in which manuscripts are edited. I do not know much about Hebrew manuscripts, except that the Dead Sea Scroll versions of the Old Testament were almost completely in agreement with the Masoretic texts eight centuries later. The Dead Sea Scrolls were found after World War II, about the time Fuller Seminary was founded. Scholars realized that the Old Testament was passed along from that date until the next known surviving manuscripts with almost no variations. Eight centuries of perfect transmission, during turbulent and life-threatening times, is by itself miraculous, although this basic fact seems to pass unnoticed.
The Greek version of the Old Testament, the Septuagint (LXX), is one of our earliest translations. In many cases the LXX is used to interpret difficult Hebrew words, or to show that the Virgin Birth prophesy of Isaiah 7:14 has always been exactly that. The subtle and expressive Greek language, more nuanced than the pictorial Hebrew language, does not find a married woman or a mere young woman in the Hebrew “almah.”
KJV Isaiah 7:14
Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son,
and shall call his name Immanuel.
LXT Isaiah 7:14 dia. tou/to dw,sei ku,rioj
auvto.j u`mi/n shmei/on ivdou. h` parqe,noj evn gastri. e[xei kai. te,xetai
ui`o,n kai. kale,seij to. o;noma auvtou/ Emmanouhl,
Another check against error in this early translation is the meaning of
pronouns. The Church of Rome tried to put Mary in the proto-evangelium of
Genesis 3:15. (She, rather than he, will crush the head of Satan. Followers of
Mary claim the Mt. Carmel cloud (1 Kings 18:44) is foot-shaped to represent
what Mary will do to Satan! Thus one book about Marian piety in South America
is titled Under the Heel of Mary.
The manuscripts of the New Testament have been more controversial, for
good reason. Two codices (books, fairly complete) changed how the New Testament
text was placed before the public. The codices are Codex Sinaiticus and Codex
Vaticanus. The first was found at Mt. Sinai at a monastery. The second one
turned up at the Vatican. They tend to agree with each other against the
prevalent manuscripts known and used previously (the Majority Text, or Textus
Receptus).
Very few of all New Testament students specialize in manuscripts (called
lower criticism). Virtually all academic Biblical scholars are “higher” critics
who treat the Bible as an ordinary book, full of errors and contradictions.
Therefore it was fairly easy for a few men to promote the cause of the
new codices against the Majority Text. One result is that almost all new
translations follow the new interpretation of the text rather than the
traditional text. As far as I know, only the modern versions of the King James
Version follow the Majority Text. The result is a loss of many words and verses
found in the KJV.
I find the rules used by modern text critics to determine the value of a
reading extremely subjective, hardly scientific, if one can use that term. Two
rules are:
1. The
shorter text is preferred.
How can a text be better just because it is shorter? Many times we shorten a story because it is told so many times. The shorter version can be the newest, not the oldest version. Length cannot possibly be an objective measurement of validity.
2. The more difficult text is preferred.
Who determines that it is more difficult? If the liberal calls a reading “difficult,” he means difficult for the traditional believer. I cannot imagine a more flexible measuring rod than “difficult.”
If one compares the New International Version to the KJV New Testament, many KJV verses are missing. The same thing is true of all modern translations, including Beck’s AAT originally published by Pastor Herman Otten, then improved into a state of absolute mush by LCMS Pastor Phil Giesler (variously known as God’s Word to The Nations, the New Evangelical Translation, and finally God’s Word).
The KJV was not the first English translation, nor was Luther’s Bible the first German version. However, the KJV became the standard Bible for all English-speaking people and became the standard for the language, just as Luther’s effort did. I believe most German Bibles still acknowledge Luther as their standard on the title page.
All Bibles have a family tree. The KJV used other English versions, but the primary source of the language is the Tyndale version. As the readers know, Tyndale was burned at the stake for his labors, praying in his agonized death, “Lord open the King of England’s eyes.” One century later, King James authorized an official English Bible that some claim is 60% Tyndale.
How many Lutheran pastors today would give up lunch, let alone their lives, for the faith?
G. E. Duffield stated in The Work of William Tyndale, p. xxiii: “In sum, Tyndale works basically from the Greek, but uses Luther, Erasmus’s Latin and occasionally the Vulgate [Latin translation by Jerome].”
Tyndale went to Germany in 1524, to Hamburg, perhaps to Wittenberg, then to Cologne. He got into trouble for printing his English translation there, so he fled to Worms, a Lutheran stronghold, with his partially finished work.
We can see that Tyndale’s proto-KJV was printed in the heart of Luther’s Germany. All of Europe was reading Luther’s works. Luther was considered the greatest theologian of the day. His opponents read Luther more at that time than his supporters do today.
In contrast, today we find modern German translations departing from Luther on key passages, such as the conclusion to St. Matthew. Luther and the KJV said, “Go, therefore, and teach all nations…” The RSV, NIV, even the New KJV, have “Go, therefore, and make disciples…” My father was a baker. It made quite a difference if he said to me, “Go and teach Sally about baking bread” or if he said, “Go and make bread.” The Greek text clearly means “teach all nations” and not “make disciples.”
Modern translations have different family trees. The Revised Standard Version is an amalgamation of the American Standard and the King James. Yale Divinity School has an RSV room where the esteemed translators, chosen from the National Council of Churches met. Consternation abounded when it was learned that the Yale students had stolen the Biblical reference works needed by the committee.
1. I only use the KJV for my articles and books, unless I also provide my own literal translation (the OJV, Old Jackson Version). I do not think it is good for individuals to provide their own translations for church use, since it multiplies the number of ways in which we remember a given text. The multiplication of English translations has been a great commercial success, but it has not improved our Biblical literacy.
2. I usually read the New KJV on videos or in church. Although the New KJV is fairly good, it still veers to the Reformed side in such readings as Matthew 28:19 and Ephesians 4:12. All the modern versions have the saints as ministers.
KJV Ephesians
4:12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
NKJ Ephesians 4:12 for the equipping of the saints for
the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
All the modern
versions confuse the priesthood of all believers with the preaching ministry in
Ephesians 4:12. The “everyone a minister” fad, favored by Church Growth gurus,
will lead quickly to the ordination of women in the WELS and LCMS.
3. I think it is important to emphasize the excellence of the KJV, to know why the KJV family of translations is better than the others, and to point out the faulty readings in the New International Version (nicknamed the HIV by one wit). One must combine Biblical knowledge with an awareness of the pitfalls of doctrinal error.
One pastor was expounding about Luther and I said, “Have you ever read Luther?” Nothing he said was in harmony with a man who knew and appreciated Luther’s doctrine. Osmotic pressure does not work in theology. Having a complete set of Luther’s works in the study will not saturate the mind with Luther’s doctrine. Only steady reading can do that.
A. Luther’s Sermons, from Baker Book House (KJV readings), should be in every single person’s home. The House Postils are also very good. Both sets should be beaten up, worn, underlined, and marked in various colors. Lutherans do not need to read hundreds of books. We only need to read a few books over and over. “Not many but much” is the old saying.
Luther’s commentaries, especially Galatians and 1 Peter, are truly outstanding. Walther’s Law and Gospel, available from Christian News, is a summary of Luther’s doctrine.
B. The Formula of Concord (written largely by Chemnitz) and Luther’s Smalcald Articles are essential in avoiding common Reformed errors of today. The Concordia Triglotta is better than Tappert, but it is better to read and appreciate Tappert than to venerate the Triglotta without reading it. If you have a Triglotta, read Bente’s Introductions, little by little.
C. Lutheran congregations should decide on a translation in the King James family and stick with it. Buy a case and displace all the weird versions around the church and in the homes. Many people no longer have a Bible they can read easily as they age. Bifocals clash with 8 point double column print.