Is Our English Bible Accurate?

Is Our English Bible Accurate?

Some Have Said... You Can t Believe the Bible today - It is just NOT accurate Even if you assume the original was correct, our version today is different... No one today has an original autographed manuscript written by say Moses or the Apostle Paul The process of copying from the originals over thousands of years has introduced errors Some by accident and inaccurate translation Some by deliberate manipulation of the message Just like the game of Chinese Whispers So... Can we trust our English Bible?

Agenda Some Different English Bibles Accuracy Depends On... The number of links in the chain from the original source or autograph manuscripts to our English Bible The quality of each of those translation or copying links Was the motivation one of faithful accuracy? Was the motivation one of promoting a political or religious agenda? The Bible in English

Some English Bibles... nellen ge deman, daet ge ne syn fordemede Bede, AD 735, Anglo-Saxon nyle ze deme, that se be nat demyd Wycliffe, AD 1382 iudge not, lest ye be not iudged Tyndale, AD 1526 judge not, that ye be not judged Authorised Version, AD 1611 All of these versions have different origins and hence different links from source to English

Some words were difficult to translate into early English! Aelfric 10 th /11 th Century Anglo-Saxon Bible Centurion hundred-man Disciple leorning cnight (learning youth) Man with the dropsy water-seoc man (water sack man!) Sabbath Reste daeg (rest day)

The Authorised Version This study will review in particular the origins of the Authorised Version Sometimes called the King James Version Produced in 1611 by a King from Puritan Scotland who was now ruling a Church of England country which had recently thrown off Catholic authority! If he was to please all his people this translation would have to be very impartial!

The Chain of Links... The Bible languages are... Old Testament - mainly in the Hebrew Language with some Aramaic New Testament - Greek The reasoning that gives us confidence in the accuracy of our English Bible is different for the Old and the New Testaments The chain of links are different for the two Testaments

First the Hebrew Old Testament

Hebrew Manuscripts Examples found in the Dead Sea scrolls show that an accumulation of Hebrew documents existed around 200BC to 68AD Jesus referred frequently to these in his teaching as Moses and the Prophets Luke 24:27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. In AD 70 Jerusalem was destroyed and the nation faced obliteration

Hebrew Manuscripts A Jewish synod took place in approx AD100 This synod drew up a list of accepted books as we know them today The apocrypha was excluded This synod defined rules for the copying of sacred texts Serious attention to minute accuracy Any documents found to be faulty were destroyed

Rules for Copying Hebrew Manuscripts They counted the number of words, and letters in each book. The letter A occurs forty-two thousand three hundred and seventy-seven times in the O.T. The letter B thirty-eight thousand two hundred and eighteen times; and so on to the end. They never allowed themselves to correct a manuscript If any mistake was made, they rejected the papyrus or the skin which was faulty and started on a fresh one The writer had to pronounce aloud each word before writing it They had to clean their pens before writing God s name

For Example Genesis 1 v1 4 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. Try counting a, e, i, o, u!!!

For Example Letter A In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. e And the earth e was w s without form, and void; and darkness d was upon the face f of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face f of the waters. w And God said, s Let there be light: and there was s light. And God saw s w the light, that it was w good: and God divided the light from the darkness. d Count = 25

For Example Letter E In the beginning God creat ated d the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved d upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let L t there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided d the light from the darkness. Count = 34

For Example Letter I In n the beginn nning ng God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without w form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit t of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: l and there was light. l And God saw the light, l that it t was good: and God divided d ded the light l from the darkness. Count = 15

For Example Letter O In the beginning God G d created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, f and void; v and darkness was upon n the face of f the deep. And the Spirit of f God G d moved m upon n the face of f the waters. And God G d said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God G d saw the light, that it was good: and God d divided the light from m the darkness. Count = 17

For Example Letter U In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without t form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. Count = 3

Hebrew Bible Can Be Trusted The Hebrew manuscripts can be trusted because of the rigorous process used in their copying No interpretation was involved ONLY very accurate copying

Masoretic Text The Hebrew Bible is often referred to as the Masoretic Text Named after the Masoretes who worked on these texts The first printed Hebrew Bible was made in 1488

Now the Greek New Testament

The Greek New Testament Initially was written down as separate Gospels and Letters Frequently circulated from town to town Colossians 4:16 And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea.

The Oldest Greek Papyri Known as Papyrus 52 Earliest is a small double sided fragment from John 18 31-38 Dated AD 125 Discovered in Egypt Only some 20-30 years after the death of John

Early Greek Papyri Known as Papyrus 66 John s Gospel The written pages are numbered from 1 to 34, 35-38 are missing, and then from 39 to page 108. Dated AD 200 Discovered in Egypt

Early Greek Bibles Codex Vaticanus A Bible (including LXX) containing the text of most of the books of the New Testaments (circa AD325) Missing Genesis and Revelation (front and back damage) Codex Siniaticus A nearly complete Bible containing every book of the New Testament (circa AD350) Included a LXX version of the Old Testament Codex Bezae A Greek (left of page) -Latin (right of page) copy of the Gospels, Acts and 3 rd John (circa AD400) Codex Alexandrius A damaged Bible with most of Matthew missing (circa AD450)

Summary of Greek Manuscripts Very many manuscripts exist over 5000 Some are just fragments Some are complete Bibles There are differences between them, as the process of copying was not as rigorous as for the OT Differences are mainly due to word order, or sections that are omitted in error The large number in existence however allows the overall New Testament to be completed with confidence

From Greek to English Other languages, Syriac, Gothic, Coptic, Old Slavonic Also Called Received Text Autograph Material 5000+ Greek Texts Majority Texts 90% Minority Texts 10% Tyndale KJV NKJV RSV NASB NIV Good News Summary English Bibles have a good direct route back to a large Number of consistent ancient Greek manuscripts

Tyndale The Author of the first printed English Bible When engaged in a debate with a priest advocating the Pope s laws Tyndale said If God spare my life, ere many years pass, I will cause a boy that driveth the plough shall know more of the Scriptures than thou dost Tyndale s driving passion was to translate the Bible for everyone in England to read

The Tyndale Translation Tyndale translated and printed... The whole New Testament Pentateuch Psalms Job & Esther before he was killed for his work

Accuracy of Tyndale Cost Him His Life Ekklhsia Ekklesia Translated as congregation to avoid Papal claim to be the church of Peter based on Matt 16. Presbuterov - Presbuteros Translated as elder or senior rather than priest as we no longer need earthly priests. Metanoia - Metanoia Translated as repentance rather than penance which denied the Catholic church a claim to income. Also attacked was the concept of attitude of mind rather than salvation through works. Agaph Agape Translated as love rather than charity which denied the Catholic church a claim to income.

Tyndale Example Ekklhsia Ekklesia Acts 14:23 And when they had ordained them elders in every church,, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed. (KJV) Acts 14:23 And when they had ordened them elders by eleccion in every congregacio after they had yrayde and fasted they comended them to God on whom they beleved. (Tyndale) i.e. a group of believers NOT a building or organisation

Tyndale Example Agaph Agape 1Pe 4:8 And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. (KJV) 1Pe 4:8 But above all thinges have fervet love amoge you. For love covereth the multitude of synnes. (Tyndale) i.e. It is love and not payment of penance that covers sins

The Bible into Latin Hiding God s Word Even the tailors and shoemakers, and indeed women and simple idiots... Read it as eagerly as if it were the fountain of all truth Bible readers without timidity... Debated not only with Catholic laymen, but also with priests and monks Johannes Cochlaeus (Catholic loyalist 1479-1552 1479-1552) Thankfully through men like Tyndale we now have free and full access to God s word

Summary God has caused his word to be preserved Faithful dedicated accurate translation of the Old Testament Discovery of over 5000 New Testament texts with a high degree of consistency We now have an English Bible which has been critically translated and reviewed against those texts Our English Bible CAN Be Trusted

God Has Ensured His Word Is Preserved The Words of the LORD are Pure Words: as silver tried in a furnace of Earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, Thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever Psalm 12:6-7 The Scripture cannot be broken John 10:35 And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men,, who shall be able to teach others also 2Timothy 2:2

How Do We Respond?