Understanding Scripture
Lesson #2 – Translations
Remember our model of the Bible’s inspiration process from last week? Here is
where translation fits in to the process, and where this lesson is focused.
God Inspires Scripture
Linguists Translate Manuscripts
Scribes Copy Manuscripts
God
Inspiration Process
Us
Languages of the Bible
1.
Hebrew

2.
This is the language of the Old Testament.
Greek

3.
This is the language of the New Testament.
Aramaic

Many scholars believe that Aramaic was the everyday language Jesus
spoke. Though we can’t know for sure, it was a common spoken language of
the day.
Popular Translations of the Bible
King James Version – published in 1611.

This is probably the most well-known translation, written on the reading
level of a second year college student.

Since this translation was published, we have discovered several older,
more reliable manuscripts. That accounts for some of the changes in
newer translations.
American Standard Version – published in 1901.


The ASV is an American update of the English Revised Version that was
released in Europe in 1881.
It used a formal language that few people ever actually spoke.
Revised Standard Version – 1946-1952.


Its English is excellent, and most scholars consider it an accurate,
literal translation.
It was updated later to the New Revised Standard, which is still a
favorite of scholars.
New American Standard Version – 1963-1971.


This focus for the NASV is to be an extremely accurate, literal
translation. Because of this, its English is wooden in some places.
It is a good, conservative version that is excellent for studying.
New International Version – 1973-1978.


The best-selling Bible version since 1999, the NIV is written on an 8th
Grade Reading level.
It focuses on dynamic equivalence, translating the text literally in
some places and finding the equivalent of idioms that are used in
others.