In a previous post, I talked about our willingness to discuss possible translations of the original words of the Scriptures. In many passages, everyone agrees on the originals. When we are grappling with the meaning of the text, we are willing to consider alternate translations suggested by commentaries for added insight into meaning. If anyone looks up a word in a dictionary, in a sense, he is discussing the translation of that word in his own mind. He wants to come to a better understanding of the word, a clearer understanding of what the Scripture means.
When it comes to the manuscripts and which words are the original words, I am sure you are well aware of exceeding great controversy. The reality is, the actual words under disputation are relatively small — I’ve seen various estimates of the number of variants in the New Testament, and even the most ardent King James Onlyist (KJO) typically admits that the vast majority of words are under no dispute at all. (See the KJV Parallel Bible Project for vivid examples: verse after verse is identical in both major Greek New Testament texts.) There is even less dispute over textual matters in the Old Testament. [Read more…]
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