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NASB | 1 John 5:7 For there are three that testify: |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 John 5:7 For there are three witnesses: |
Subject: put 1Jn 5:7 BACK where it belongs! |
Bible Note: Greetings Aixen7z4! Thanks for the response my friend! You mention two very important aspects of how we get our Bible - transmission and translation. 1) Transmission: While we do not have the orginal autographs, we do have thousands and thousands of manuscripts from which the textual experts are able to make textual decisions. Their task in not easy. They have to decide upon minute details such as spelling and word order. However, the good news is this: the manuscripts agree the vast majority of the time. As you mentioned, there are times when a copyist might intentially or unintentially add something or leave something out. But, it is fairly easy to tell when this happened. If one has 400 manuscripts which all say one thing and 1 which adds or deletes something, it becomes fairly obvious that a change was made (for the most part). The end result is that we can be almost absolutely certain that what we have is what the authors originally wrote. Further, even when we aren't certain - no doctrine is effected. I thank God for the valuable ministry that these men and women perform by dedicating themselves to put out the most accurate text possible. 2) Translation: Translation is not an easy task. There are so many variables to consider. Translations can be accuarate or misleading. Which is why we need to do two things. First of all, we need to consult a variety of translation. Secondly, we need to rely on the original text for our ultimate decisions, not a translation. Unfortunately, the later is not possible for most Christians. So, we will have to rely on good translation and good scholars to help us understand what the orginal said. In closing, while I agree with most of what you said, I would have to disagree with your final statement. While not everyone is called to this task, I do believe that God does call some to make sure that the text we have is literally perfect. They perform a valuable ministry, a ministry which impacts every Christian's life and walk. Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |