Recent Patterns in Bible Translation?

Several years ago I was shocked by a Bible translation when sharing the gospel in Marseilles, France. I had misplaced the French Bible I normally use (1979 Nouvelle Edition de Genève) in the reception area of a hotel. When I looked for it the next day it was nowhere to be found. So I used one of the giveaway Bibles that my fellow evangelist had brought from the U.S., the 2000 Le Semeur (The Sower).

That afternoon, when sharing the gospel in the old port area of Marseilles, I read Romans 3:23 to the North African man whom I had engaged in conversation. The verse and its translation are as follows:

Rom 3:23 (Le Semeur), “Tous ont péché, en effet, et sont privés de la glorieuse présence de Dieu.”

Rom 3:23 (my translation), “All have sinned, in fact, and are deprived of the glorious presence of God.”

When I saw the word “presence”, I was flustered, never having encountered the word presence in that text before. It seemed to pull the rug out from under my entire gospel presentation. The additional word had changed the meaning of the text—from teaching sin as a deprivation of God’s glory to teaching sin as physical separation from God.

My Marseille experience with the Le Semeur remained etched on my heart as I returned to teach evangelism in Kansas City. In fact, it was that experience that led me to consider: (1) the importance of Bible translation for personal evangelism; and (2) the fact that some translations sound an unclear tone as regards the message of the gospel.

Translations of the Bible are not merely words on a page they are living organisms of potentiality—carrying with them doctrinal significance and spiritual impact!

Since that mission trip to Marseille, the study of various Bible translations has become of great interest to me. I have found that there appears to be discernible patterns of unusual translations being inserted into contemporary English Bibles, much like the one I encountered in the French Bible in Marseille. For example, please note the following unusual translations:

Rom 3:23, “everyone has sinned and is far away from God’s saving presence” (American Bible Society’s 1993 Good News Translation—GNT);

Rom 1:16 (GNT), “I have complete confidence in the gospel; it is God’s power to save all who believe, first the Jews and also the Gentiles”;

Rom 1:16, “I am proud of the good news! It is God’s powerful way of saving all people who have faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles” (American Bible Society’s 1992 Contemporary English Version).

The insertion of “presence” into Romans 3:23 in the GNT matches what I encountered in the 2000 French Le Semeur. The addition of “presence” in this text forces a relational view of the atonement, hindering the use of this verse for communicating the substitutionary atonement.

The removal of the negative “not ashamed” Romans 1:16 has important ramifications to the power that text. The concept of not being ashamed of the gospel is mentioned by Paul in 2 Timothy 1:8, as it also is in the Servant Song of Isaiah 50. Further, removing the active verb construct “who believe” to the equivocal “have faith” removes active belief as the only requirement for saving faith as communicated in Acts 16:31.

Acts 16:31 (ESV), “And they said, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.’”

“Having faith” can mean a lot of different things, including some whose religious experience resides in reciting a creed to “declare their faith.”

The ramifications of these two changes, as a small example, should use bring pause as we consider contemporary Bible translation work.

[For further information on this topic please consult a paper I wrote on “Virtualized Biblical Innerancy”: http://www.evangelismunlimited.com/documents/virtualized-biblical-authority.pdf ]