Bible Believer's Church - Biblische Gemeinde
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Biblical Sermon
BUYING A NEW BIBLE: Some factors to be considered
By G. Grady Daniel, Jr.
G. Grady Daniel, Jr. has been a deacon for 37 years and a Sunday school
teacher for 40 years. He is a member of Westside Baptist Church, 3517
Jamaica Drive Augusta, GA 30909. E-mail: [email protected]
Owning a good Bible is a wise investment. Therefore careful consideration
should be given to some important factors in selecting the Bible you
intend to use.
If you are a serious student of God's Word you may want a reference Bible
that has notes, chain references, a concordance, maps, etc. You may also
want thumb indexing and a durable cover such as bonded leather or genuine
leather so your Bible will give years of service.
If you don't know which Bible to buy be careful about asking the book
store clerk for suggestions. The clerk can tell you which one is selling
best (probably The New International Version) but modern English versions
are not the most accurate.
Clerks may be influenced by advertising blitzes or Madison Avenue-type
promotions designed to hype a certain version. For example, the first
edition of The New Living Translation had a $2.5 million promotional
budget and an endorsement on the back cover by Dr. Billy Graham.
Modern English Bibles are also based on less than five percent of
available manuscripts that are reliable. They sometimes leave words out
of the text, or add them, and sometimes leave out entire verses without
making the reader aware of this. No one is to take away or add to God's
Word (Deut. 4:2, Prov. 30:6, and Rev. 22:18,19.) Revelation states: (". .
. If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the
plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away
from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part
out of the book of life . . .")
Consider that the Authorized King James (AKJ) has 790,685 words, The New
International Version (NIV) has 64,576 fewer words, The New King James
Version (NKJV) 19,755 fewer words, and The Revised Standard Version (RSV)
30,534 fewer. Obviously these versions have left out many words which
were not all articles or thee's, thou's, thine's, and ye's.
One tidbit of uncommon knowledge regarding the "archaic" thee's, thou's,
thine, and ye's (Elizabethan English) is that the first three are second
person singular and ye is second person plural. Modern translations are
void of this distinction.
WHAT ABOUT ARCHAIC WORDS?
Although the KJV is criticized for its use of "archaic" words the NIV
uses 61 archaic words, the New American Standard Version (NASV) 160, the
NKJV 144, and the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) 140.
These same versions also use many of the same archaic words used by the
AKJ. The truth is that some of today's most popular periodicals always
use archaic words. Many of these publications are read daily.
Since the AKJ has been around nearly 400 years, these newer Bible
versions have obviously left out words ignoring the clear Scriptural
command of Rev. 22:18, 19.
TEXTS USED FOR TRANSLATING
The texts used in translating modern Bibles employed the higher critical
method, sometimes referred to as dynamic equivalence. With this method
the Bible is not treated like the Holy, inspired, inerrant, infallible
Word of God but like any other ancient book being translated. An attempt
is made to interpret the meaning of the Greek or Hebrew and express that
meaning in English. Such are the texts of Kittel (Hebrew Text), or Nestle
or Aland.
If the preface of a Bible you are considering reflects the use of any of
the above texts the interpreters used dynamic equivalence. The same would
be true of the text of the United Bible Society.
The AKJ translators treated their manuscripts as if they were handling
Sacred Scripture, the very Words of God, and used a translating technique
known as literal equivalence. Realizing it is the place of the Holy
Spirit to interpret and give meaning, the AKJ translators tried to lift
words from one language and place them in a different language without
trying to interpret meaning.
Many modern translations base their Old Testament (OT) readings on the
Septuagint - an alleged Greek translation from Hebrew. (The OT was
written in Hebrew and the New Testament written in Greek.) Many Bible
scholars feel there is no documentation the Septuagint, or LXX, actually
exists.
The name Septuagint means "seventy", hence the Roman numeral LXX. Six
representatives from each of the twelve tribes, that were scattered over
the world at that time, were supposed to convene to translate from Hebrew
into Greek. (We won't get into LXX vs. LXXII.)
Communication gurus would tell you this would not work well. The rule of
thumb is "the more links in the communication loop, the greater the
possibility of error." In other words, greater accuracy is possible going
from Hebrew to English, rather than from Hebrew to Greek to English.
WHAT ABOUT BIBLE COPYRIGHTS?
Those selling Bibles may say a certain translation may read somewhat
differently but it still says the same things as the AKJ. The very fact a
Bible is copyrighted shows that it does not say the same things as the
AKJ.
The Derivative Copyright Law states in part: "To be copyrightable, a
derivative work must be different enough from the original to be regarded
as a 'new work' or must contain a substantial amount of new material.
Making minor changes or additions of little substance to a pre-existing
work will not qualify the work as a new version for copyright purposes."
If a Bible is copyrighted it must be changed so that it does not read
like the AKJ, and just dropping some "a's", "and's", "the's" or doing
away with "thee's, thine's, thou's and ye's, would not be a sufficient
change to warrant a copyright. Therefore, modern Bibles don't read the
same as the AKJ.
EASY BIBLE INTERPRETATION?
If you intend to buy a new translation because it may make the Bible
easier to understand, you may be disappointed. The Holy Spirit is the One
who unlocks God's Word not some interpreter who feels, based upon his
knowledge and intellect, he is giving the intended meaning of a passage
of Scripture.
No matter which Bible one uses there is still no substitute for deep,
diligent, prayerful study. In addition, the heart that is fully
committed, gives Jesus Christ first place, and is empty of self will be
able to discern more of what God is saying than the superficial Scripture
surfer who is using the most popular version of the day.
Over the years this writer has written down some very important
principles of Scripture interpretation. These rules did not come from any
textbook but many were suggestions from men far more scholarly than this
writer.
It is hoped the reader will find these guidelines clear and practical.
They should prove to be useful tools for unlocking Scripture that may not
have been very clearly understood before.
SUGGESTIONS FOR INTERPRETING SCRIPTURE
1. Learn how to read your Bible properly by correctly observing all
punctuation marks. (This takes practice. You may have to do some reading
to yourself aloud.)
2. Consider the HISTORICAL setting surrounding the verses.
3. Consider the CULTURAL/SOCIAL aspects involved in the verses. (What is
the usual custom?)
4. Consider the CONTEXT of the verses being studied, particularly the
context of the verses that come before and after.
5. Remember the Law of First Mention. If you can't decide how a word is
used or with what it is associated, try to find where the word was first
used in Scripture and in what context. It will then be used in the same
context throughout the Bible.
An example would be how the word "leaven" is used. Leaven first used in
the Bible was symbolic of evil. It is therefore used in the same context
throughout Scripture.
6. In any passage where it is difficult to determine exactly what is
meant or how a teaching should be applied, try to find at least one verse
that is undeniably clear. Then all other verses must be interpreted in
the light of the clear verse.
7. Many times when a verse is (or verses are) hard to understand
Scripture will give an understandable illustration elsewhere.
8. Read all other PARALLEL PASSAGES that relate to the passage you are
studying. One example would be an incident that occurs in the four
gospels, such as the crucifixion of Christ, should be studied in each
gospel where information is given.
9. Learn the quirks of the Bible you are using. As mentioned before,
modern Bibles use a translating technique called dynamic equivalency
(paraphrasing) while the Authorized King James uses one called literal
equivalency, or true translation without attempt to interpret. The New
King James Version paraphrases in over 2,000 places, the New American
Standard in over 4,000 places, and the New International Version in over
6,600 places.
10. SECOND PERSON SINGULAR (you, yours - one person) vs SECOND PERSON
PLURAL (you or yours - a group of several persons or many people.) As far
as is known by this writer, this differentiation is made only in the
Authorized King James text. Where thee, thou, or thine is used it means
second person singular (one person). When ye, you, or yours is used it
means second person plural (more than one person such as a group). See
Luke 22:31,32.
11. "The NEW is in the OLD concealed. The OLD is in the NEW revealed."
The first statement refers to things that were used as examples such as
Typology, e.g. Moses, a type of Christ; also Joshua, etc. The OLD is
revealed in the NEW in the form of quotations from Old Testament books.
12. The Bible uses figures of speech. Some figures of speech and their
examples are:
The Simile - uses words "like" or "as". Example: Love is like a red, red
rose.
The Metaphor - the words "like" or "as" are left out. Example: Love is a
red, red rose.
The Personification - the giving of human characteristics to inanimate
objects. Example: "Hear, O Heavens, and give ear O earth .. . . " Isaiah
1:2a.
13. Every verse in the Bible has three applications: Historical,
Doctrinal, and Inspirational.
This is not meant to be an all inclusive list but just a few principles
of which this writer is aware. They should prove helpful to any
conscientious student of the Bible.
This sermon was published in "News of Interest" newsletter, sent out by. [email protected]. You may subscribe this informative newsletter for free at: [email protected]. It looks at the things going on around us from the standpoint of a Bible Believer.
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