2 Peter 1:21 (CSB)
because no prophecy ever came by the will of man; instead, men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
The "Deceptive Words" of Pharaoh and the Modern Assault on Scripture
Exodus 5:9 declares, "Impose heavier work on the men. Then they will be occupied with it and not pay attention to deceptive words." Notice how Pharaoh refers to the words of Moses and Aaron as "deceptive." Not much has changed in the past 3000 years. One of the most common concerns I hear as a pastor is that the Bible has been "translated so many times."
The "Lost in Translation" Myth: Setting the Record Straight
The misconception that the Bible has undergone multiple translations through various languages suggests that the Bible we read today is like a long-played game of "telephone," where the message gets slightly changed with each successive whisperer. However, this popular misconception couldn't be further from the truth.
The Old Testament was initially penned in Hebrew, with some portions in Aramaic, while the New Testament was written in Greek. The Bibles we read today, like the King James Version, CSB, ESV, and NLT, are based solely on these original languages, not on translations of translations. The Bible translators who have worked on these translations have devoted their lives to mastering these ancient languages. These scholars have access to these original texts, making the English Bibles we read today a direct translation from the original languages. So when we read our Bible today, we're not playing "telephone," we're listening directly to the original speakers.
The Scribes: Guardians of Scriptural Integrity
The Jewish scribes who copied the Old Testament Scriptures took stringent precautions to ensure that the accuracy of the texts wasn't compromised. They counted words, letters, and lines to make sure not even a jot or tittle was wrong. Their meticulous efforts were driven by a profound reverence for the Word of God. They understood the weight and gravity of altering even a single letter and how that could mislead all future readers of the Bible.
Dead Sea Scrolls: A Time Capsule Confirming the Accuracy of the Scribes
The Dead Sea Scrolls were one of the most remarkable discoveries in Biblical archaeology. The scrolls were found in the 1940s; they included texts that were more than 1000 years older than any of the oldest known Hebrew Scriptures at the time. Before the Dead Sea Scrolls, biblical critics scoffed at the book of Isaiah because of its prophecies about Jesus. The prophecies in Isaiah were so accurate that critics believed they were written after the life of Jesus. The manuscripts discovered in the Dead Sea Scrolls contain the entire book of Isaiah, and these manuscripts predated Jesus by hundreds of years. When scholars compared the Dead Sea Scrolls of Isaiah to versions that were over a thousand years newer, they found the text to be virtually identical, except for a few insignificant grammatical variations.
Your Trusted Bible
As you read your Bible, know that you are reading a book that has been meticulously and painstakingly preserved for thousands of years. No other book has withstood such scrutiny and emerged as verified through archaeology, critical interpretation, and historical corroboration like the Bible. In the future, when you hear someone claim that our Scriptures have been "lost in translation," remember that these claims don't hold water.
Knowing that the Bible is the authoritative, inerrant Word of God is essential to our faith. Everything we know about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and how we relate to them is based on Scripture. It's crucial for you to understand that the Bible has been both safeguarded through ancient manuscripts and validated by rigorous scholarly study. So find peace in the assurance of knowing that when God speaks, He does so clearly, precisely, and eternally. As Isaiah 55:11 (CSB) assures us, "so my word that comes from my mouth will not return to me empty, but it will accomplish what I please and will prosper in what I send it to do."