God Speaks Your Language: Why Bible Translation and Study Bibles Matter

By Donald L. Brake

God Speaks Your Language is a presentation of the theories and issues facing modern Bible readers. It encourages readers to let God's word speak for itself. English words must be accurate in their literary narrative, in the beauty of poetic verse, and in mysterious figurative language--all to capture the rich meaning of his revealed word.
Our first language is the window into our soul. To know God, to share our deepest feelings with our Creator, we will do it in our mother tongue. It is the Bible in our language that will truly massage our minds and allow the "words" of the Infinite to penetrate our inner self.
The need for study Bibles enables the reader to apply translation into added explanation. Proper analysis of Bible versions will help avoid selecting a version one likes because it fits one's lifestyle or church tradition.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Resource Publications
• Release date: Sep 19, 2022
• ISBN: 9781666753196

Donald L. Brake

Donald L. Brake is married to Carol and together they have children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. They are currently retired living in Flower Mound, Texas, where their life revolves around research, writing, golfing, and collecting rare Bibles. Brake is the author of many books, academic and historical fiction, including the History of the English Bible, Jesus, A Visual History, and novels, including In the Shadow of His Hand and They Called Him Yeshua.

Book preview

1

What God Said

The truth is, it doesn’t matter what a verse means to me, to you, or to anyone else. All that matters is what the verse means!

—John F. MacArthur Jr.

Words are the building blocks of meaning. The arrangement of words is essential to lucid communication. Words and phrases poetically and rhythmically stated reach to the depths of the soul and stir a vivid emotional and intellectual response. All depend on the author’s choices—either in one’s original language or in translation from source language to a target language.

We expect the United States Constitution, Shakespeare’s plays, Emily Dickenson’s sonnets, and Francis Bacon’s direct writing style to be their words. Likewise, God’s revelation to humanity through the prophets and apostles was written in His words, with His syntax and, when beneficial, using His metaphors and artistic flair. The Bible is venerated for its unforgettable descriptions, its vibrant melody, its eloquence of expression, its mysterious images, and its poignant twists of thought.

The use of words is important in everyday life. Imagine someone retelling a joke but can’t remember the exact words of the punch line—it falls flat. Or a lawyer who doesn’t take the time to spell out the exact terms of a contract—it’s disastrous. Precise words are important for clear and exacting communication—it makes for a vibrant message.

In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Juliet says to Romeo, You kiss by the book.¹ That phrase has a powerful meaning in just five words. Imagine someone today reinterpreting Juliet’s words this way: Romeo, you kiss like a robot. Or perhaps expand them to say, Romeo, you need to kiss me in a genuine heartfelt love. Or maybe someone could explain her words: Romeo, you kiss as though you learned it from a kissing manual and are following the instructions exactly. While each could be interpreted as Shakespeare’s meaning, they add interpretation and lack the emotional impact and rhythmic beauty of his word choices, and possibly, it misses his intended ambiguity.

The Bible is an extraordinary book—it is the breath of God (2 Timothy 3:16). As such its words are the exact words and meaning in Hebrew (some Aramaic) and Greek that He intended to communicate to humanity. The translation into English immediately puts an exact rendering of God’s meaning at risk. As in the translation of all languages, there can be no word-for-word transmission of meaning from the source (original) language to the receptor (target) language. Both the source language and the target language have words that are not limited to single meanings. Every language has words with a range of meanings that depend on context to narrow the precise meaning. Figures of speech, customs, word order, and experiences prevent one word from having the same meaning in every situation. If we do not learn the original languages and read them directly, we are left with a translation, most likely into English—flawed though it might be.

It begs the question, if God were revealing His message today in Greek would He revise the language? Modern Greek uses the to be verb differently, verbs do not have a middle voice, and vocabulary has changed. Perhaps, He would reveal His message to mankind in English the de facto lingua franca of the western world?

The immediate challenge facing translators is uncovering the intended meaning of the inspired human authors when we don’t share the same language, cultural experience, historical circumstances, worldview, or the same level of education.

The difficulty in translating God’s word into English is very significant and requires careful thought in choosing the best word choices. When English versions accurately represent the original documents in the original languages, it expresses God’s message—that should be the goal. In that sense we can call translations, God’s Word.

Even Jesus and the New Testament writers quote and refer to the text translated into Greek from the Old Testament (Septuagint, LXX) giving it the same authority as the original Hebrew. It is generally thought that Jesus quotes the Septuagint about ninety or more times. The obvious conclusion is that Jesus considered the LXX, in these specific texts, as the same quality of inspiration as the Hebrew text. It does not follow that Jesus recognized all the LXX as having the same authority as the original Hebrew—it depends on the accuracy of the passage that he was quoting (Mark 7:6–7 quoting Isaiah 29:13, Matthew 21:42 quoting Psalm 118:22, Matthew 1:23 (narrated in 1:18–25) quoting Isaiah 7:14, and Luke 4:18–19 quoting Isaiah 61:1–2).

Chirichigno and Archer, New Testament scholars, count 340 places where the New Testament cites the Septuagint but only 33 places where it cites directly from the Hebrew Masoretic text.²

The choice of an English version that most clearly represents God’s revealed message is the central goal in Bible translation. The reader is left to the choice of a more closely literal translation (referred to as word-for-word) or a translation that clarifies or simplifies the meaning with expanded language (referred to as thought-for-thought). Which choice makes God’s Word understandable in the target language with no loss of important information in the source language? It is all about exposing the intended meaning of the author. Which avoids the temptation to expand the text rather than translate it?

A translation that leans heavily on the thought-for-thought principle of Scripture can be compromised by an interpretation that does not seek the intended meaning of the author but focuses on the culture and perceived needs of the target language.

A classic debate in the church for decades has been the issue of interpretation of the Bible. Do I seek to discover the intended meaning of the original author? Or do I see the Bible as a living document to be translated with the changes in cultural norms and findings of science? Many fail to understand there are so many interpretative opinions that picking the interpretation that fits a particular lifestyle and behavior is tempting. Each person becomes their own authority to interpret according to one’s background, opinion, or circumstances.

This is the same argument politicians are having with the United States Constitution. The country is embroiled in an epic battle over interpreting the meaning of the Constitution. Is it a living document subject to modern culture (judicial activism) or is it a document intended to be interpreted as originally written (originalism)? This same issue faces twenty-first century Christianity. Is the Interpretation of the Constitution and the Bible originalism or activism?

Is the Bible (Christianity’s constitution) to be interpreted as the original authors intended or at the impulses of the reader (reader-response)? Any theological issue can be construed to fit biases if interpreted by modern activism.

To interpret the Constitution as textualism requires a thorough understanding of eighteenth-century culture, history, and purpose for writing. It emphasizes the beliefs that the founding fathers were thought to have had at the time of the signing of the Constitution. The Conservative school of thought tends to have a stricter interpretation of the wording of the Constitution. It requires an interpreter to be a student of the document itself.

Hence the Supreme Court Justices must be men of intelligence and students of the law to understand the Constitution as written.

The Liberal school of interpretation of the Constitution is more flexible and open to modern needs and situations. They view the Constitution as a living document that constantly evolves with the changing times. This gives the Justices the power to interpret the Constitution considering political theory rather than placing decision on an archaic document.

The Bible is a bit more complicated because it doesn’t have just two [political] parties. There are multiple groups within Christianity with varying views of the Bible: Protestants and Catholics both have numerous denominations and sects within their traditions.

But the philosophy of interpretation of the Constitution and the Bible makes a great deal of difference in understanding the documents. The Bible is a document to be read as written (originalism/textualism) with attention to details of history, customs, literature (figures of speech, poetry, prose), and languages (Bible written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek). Otherwise, anyone can read the Bible and spin it to fit one’s own agenda.

Written communication has as its goal to convey a message to its readers. We assume what the author intends to communicate corresponds to the meaning of his text. Sometimes what the reader understands will not correspond with either the author’s intention or the text’s meaning. The reader cannot know the mind of the author. But with a study of the person, his writings elsewhere, and his times, one can begin to comprehend his intended meaning.

For Christians, the goal is author-text centered including the use of historical, grammatical, literary, and cultural approaches to understanding.

Reader-oriented interpretation is based on situational needs and preconceived notions. Reader interpreters can find and create meanings in the text to meet their needs and presuppositions.

It is only possible to place controls on meaning (Constitution or Bible) if it would make sense to the author who wrote it. Then, seeking the original intent of the author is fundamental to all Bible translation. 

Why don’t we have one uniform Bible that all can accept? Can the proliferation of English versions lead us to a better understanding of the Bible—God’s message to humankind? Or should we settle on one translation and abandon the others? From the formation of the English language to the plethora of modern translations, believers have sought to understand the Bible’s message in the vernacular.

God Speaks Your Language will make the case that translating the Bible into the vernacular is seeking the intended meaning of the author in his historical, cultural, and linguistic context. The reader will consider all the intellectual and emotional ingredients necessary to sift through the popularity of the vast numbers of publicly offered versions and uncover the version that is literarily superior to the others—the one that has the most accurate language, the most effective power, the best rhythm, and the most beauty and memorability. Choosing the right translation is the most important decision you can make on your spiritual journey—choose carefully and wisely!

1

. I have expanded Leland Ryken’s illustration of Shakespeare as one of his arguments that an author’s words are indispensable to meaning, The Word of God in English,

23–66

.

2

. Chirichigno and Archer, Old Testament Quotations,

25

ff.

2

The Book for Life

The Bible is the book of my life. It’s the book I live with, the book I live by, the book I want to die by.

—N.T. Wright, New Testament scholar

I cherish a desk clock in the shape of an open Bible that North Carrollton Baptist Church gave me as their pastor when I left the church to become Dean of Multnomah Biblical Seminary in Portland, Oregon. It was engraved with the statement: Thank you for teaching us to become people of the book. No greater compliment could be given.

My grandmother, Agnes Woods Brake, gave me my first red-letter edition New Testament King James Version as a Christmas gift in 1945. Sadly, I never read it. But it still rests in my collection of personal Bibles I have had on my spiritual pilgrimage.

About 1949–1950, a traveling evangelist, Bob, with a blind musician, came to our Christian Church in Colchester, Illinois. At the end of the first night of a weeklong campaign, my friend Joel, and I answered Rev. Ernest Louderman’s invitation to come forward and be saved. In the small back room, we accepted Christ as our savior and soon after were baptized. The message of the evangelist scared me, and I thought going forward assured me I wouldn’t go to everlasting hell.

My high school days showed no evidence of salvation or change of behavior. It was not until I married my high school sweetheart that I had an opportunity to know the true meaning of salvation. Carol’s jewelry store employer, Ellsworth Platt, introduced us to the Savior in a new and refreshing way and invited us to receive Jesus as or savior. This time I understood and the change in my life’s outlook was immediate. I began to see everything through the lens of the Bible. Mr. Platt encouraged us to get a Bible and start reading it—that was life transforming.

After my encounter with the Savior, my first Bible was a Scofield Reference Bible that I purchased at the reluctance of the Bible storekeeper who warned me in a grimacing voice that my choice was a Baptist Bible—as if he was protecting me from an imminent danger. When I insisted that Mr. Platt had directed me toward this specific Bible, he rang it up. My lifelong love for the Bible began.

Mr. Platt discovered the Amplified New Testament (published 1958) and insisted that it had the full range of meaning of the Bible. Of course, I purchased one immediately and began to read it. I shared my newly found claim that "this is the word of God’ with my uncle—he was not so convinced. I did not use it long because I thought it was confusing. The Amplified was exactly what it claimed. It expands (amplifies) the words used in the translation to include a full description and a wide range of word meanings. For example:

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies [dedicating all of yourselves, set apart] as a living sacrifice, holy and well-pleasing to God, which is your rational (logical, intelligent) act of worship" (Amplified, Rom. 12:1). 

I was weaned on the Scofield Reference Bible. It was my study guide while attending Moody Bible Institute and for the next twenty-five years it was my constant companion. I grew in the Spirit as I let God’s word begin to form my spiritual life and develop in me a conviction of an evangelical theology. As a young believer, I was captivated by the truth I began to discover in the Scofield Bible.³ In the following years at Cedarville College and Dallas Theological Seminary, I was introduced to the American Standard Version and New American Standard Bible both claiming to be word-for-word modern translations. But I still fell back to the more familiar King James Version as presented in the Scofield Reference Bible.

Returning from seven years of missionary service with SIM Ethiopia, I began teaching at Multnomah School of the Bible (now Multnomah University). Collogue, Ed Goodrich, who thought I needed some of the actual volumes of ancient Bibles to use in my classroom, prodded me into buying an offering from a bookseller in England—it was not his money, but it later paid dividends.

After considering my limited budget and with my wife’s encouragement, I purchased a 1590 Breeches Bible (Geneva Bible) and a 1569 Bishops’ Bible from Les Walker at Nelson’s Bookroom in Lydbury North, Salop, England. You can imagine my excitement when I discovered the Bishops’ Bible was a Great Bible, a far more valuable and rarer Bible. The discovery suggested I got the best of a professional bookseller. But had the bookseller thrown out a teasing line to draw me into his web of clients? I was hooked! I became a serious collector of rare English Bibles, Greek New Testaments, along with important Latin Bibles and Greek manuscripts.⁴

Years later as I ruminated on my original purchase, I had the strange feeling I didn’t outsmart Les at all. I purchased many rare books and Bibles from him as a personal friendship developed. Who was the wisest in the long run? My single good deal or his repeat customer who fell victim to his method of madness?

I spent the next twenty-five years alternating my Study Bible between KJV, NIV, and NASB. I especially loved the New International Version Study Bible and the NASB with Dr. Charles Ryrie’s study notes. The charts, introductory materials, cross references, and accurate, notes were captivating and challenged me for more investigation. The doctrinal teaching in Ryrie’s notes and the exegetical and historical notes in the NIV Study Bible were lifelines for my inquiring mind—my theological and biblical library was growing regularly.

My formal study at Moody Bible Institute, Cedarville College, and Dallas Seminary created in me a desire to learn Greek and Hebrew so I could study the Bible in the original languages. I did not want to rely on English translations. What I soon learned was that it takes a lifetime of language study to eliminate the help from English translations. In addition to reading, Hebrew and Greek when I am confronted with unknown syntax or unusual vocabulary, I turn to the NASB for help. Its literalness to the original languages gets me over the hump.

I hope we all echo the words of N.T. Wright, The Bible is the book of my life.

I trust God Speaks Your Language will guide you in developing principles that will enable you to understand the very nature of Bible translations/versions and why the choice of a translation is so important to your understanding of God’s inspired revelation and why that is necessary to spiritual growth.

3

. The Scofield Bible is called a reference Bible with notes much like modern Study Bibles.

4

. My rare Bible collection is at the Dunham Bible Museum at the Houston Baptist University and my adventures in collecting is chronicled in A Visual History of the English Bible,

2018

and A Visual History of the King James Bible,

2011

.

3

The Enduring Word

The Scriptures are indeed perfect; they were certainly spoken by the Word of God and His Spirit.

—Irenaeus, Second Century

The Bible’s message has endured for thirty-five hundred years. Handwritten manuscripts have endured for about twenty-five hundred years. The number of written scriptures or portions prior to the printing press number in the thousands: est. 5,800 Greek, 10,000+ Latin, and 9,500 in other languages. The question is not whether the message has been preserved, but how accurately have the exact words to communicate the message survived for three millennia?

Since the beginning of the Christian era, the Church has largely accepted the original autographs of the books of the Old Testament and New Testament as God inspired (God-breathed, i.e., 1Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:19–21).⁵ It is also generally believed that God has divinely preserved those words. The 1646 Westminster Confession of Faith states: . . . being immediately inspired by God, and, by His singular care and providence kept pure in all ages.⁶

Even more precise is the Helvetic Consensus Formula (1675, Canon I), God saw to it that His word, which is with power unto salvation to everyone who believes, was entrusted to writing not only through Moses, the prophet and apostles but also, He has stood guard and watched over it with a fatherly concern to the present time that it not be destroyed by cunning of Satan or by any human deceit.⁷

God’s Word Preserved

The preservation of the scriptures depends on the character of God and His promises to preserve it. The questions are: What is preserved? Who preserved the words God intended for His people? How were they preserved?

Let’s dispel the idea to start with that God has divinely miraculously superintended scribes and copyists down through the ages so that they copied each word without error. He did not divinely preserve the original manuscripts, nor did He inspire any English committee of seventeenth-century scholars to translate inerrantly into English God’s inspired, infallible, and inerrant words. God’s exact words were written in the original autographs—not copies of autographs much less English translations.

The doctrine of preservation is important when understood properly and biblically. Preservation did not guarantee the original manuscripts, as they came off the author’s stylist, would be preserved on those same pages. No original autographs of any of the books of the Bible exists today. The earliest Greek manuscript is a tiny fragment from the Gospel of John dated about one hundred years (P52—first half of second century) after the New Testament period. Neither does it promise the accuracy of any one manuscript, family of manuscripts, or English translation. It guarantees that among the extant manuscripts God’s exact and trustworthy text is complete. To establish the original Greek New Testament, the science of textual criticism must be relied upon. God’s inspiration does not extend to the copyist who wrote the texts but to the infallible words that fell upon the pages of the original manuscripts now represented by nearly 5,600 Greek manuscripts and countless Hebrew manuscripts.

There are several biblical references that suggest God’s word is preserved—first in the form of His eternal words and those revealing Himself in written Scripture.

Psalm 119:89: Forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens (ESV). The word of God is vigorously and compassionately constantly verifying itself as eternal and imperishable. God’s word as used in Scripture is not usually a reference to the written word, but a reference to the authenticity, veracity, and legitimacy of His words—orally, written, or settled in heaven. The scriptures are an act of God who fixed his authentic heaven-settled words in written form through human authors deliberately and purposefully.

Isaiah 40:8: The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever (ESV). The major premise of this section