A lot of folks make a big deal of the “original languages” (Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek) of the Bible. While we understand that God first gave His Word in Hebrew and Aramaic in the Old Testament and in Greek in the New Testament, God’s inspiration is not limited to those languages. Through inspiration (2 Timothy 3:16) and preservation (Psalm 12:6-7) we can believe that God has preserved his inspired words in the English language with the King James Bible. Many claim that a translation cannot be inspired. That statement not only cannot be supported with Scripture but, in fact, can be refuted by Scripture.
In Acts 22 Paul gives a lengthy speech to the Jewish multitude in defense of his conversion and his call to the Gentiles. Luke, the writer of the book of Acts, records in Greek every word that Paul spoke. But Paul didn’t give his speech in Greek, he gave it in Hebrew (Acts 21:40; 22:2). So the original Greek is not the “original”, it is a translation from Hebrew! The same thing is true of the conversation between the Lord and Paul on the road to Damascus in Acts 9. Paul tells us in Acts 25:14 that the conversation was in Hebrew although Luke again wrote it in Greek. So which is inspired, the Hebrew Paul actually spoke or the Greek recorded by Luke? The answer is BOTH because “all scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Timothy 3:16). The “original” and the “translation” are both inspired. There are other Scriptural examples but these will suffice for now.
Why is this important? There are two things that happen when someone elevates the “originals” to the detriment of the inspired translation. First, by putting the emphasis on the “original language”, the man (or woman) in the pew is not getting anything to benefit them in everyday living. For example, when the preacher gets all worked up over “agape” and “phileo” in John 21, he’s showing his ability to use Greek and missing the importance of the passage. The person in the pew needs to learn from that text how he can be restored to fellowship with the Lord after sinning, not which kind of “love” is supposedly being referred to.
Secondly, the emphasis on “the original” tells the person in the pew that they can’t possibly understand the Word of God without a knowledge of the original languages or someone who can tell him what it says. Here is one preacher’s personal testimony of that obvious truth:
“I did a lot of that when I first got out of seminary. I used my knowledge of Greek and Hebrew in the study and in the pulpit. One day a woman wounded me with a compliment: ‘I just love to hear you preach. In fact, when I see the insights you get from the original languages, I realize that my English Bible is hardly worth reading.’ I went home asking myself, What have I done? I’m trying to get people into their Bibles, but I’ve taken this lady out of hers.” (“Making a Difference in Preaching”, Haddon W. Robinson)
Reading and studying our English Bible will give us all the depth (and insight) of the Word of God that we need. If anything is worth knowing (and if it’s right) we’ll find it in our Bible. You and I can read our English King James Bible with the complete assurance that it is just as much the Word of God (and the words of God) as the “original languages” were at their time. “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” (Matthew 24:35)
Tags: Bible Versions, inspiration, original languages, preservation