Subject: How inspired is the NAS Bible today? |
Bible Note: The message is authoritative, not because it is inspired in its translation, but rather because it is translated from an inspired source. There is nothing miraculous about a translation. If I were to translate some other book, such as Don Quijote, from Spanish to English, how do I know that the text is authoritative? Because we have Spanish copies with which we can compare it The words may be different, but we can be confident that if I know Spanish and I know English, that my careful translation will be accurate to what Cervantes wrote. The same is true regarding Scripture. Scholars who know Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek and understand principles of translation can carefully create a new translation. Again, there is nothing supernatural about such a translation, but the fact that it is an accurate translation from an authoritative text makes us comfortable that what its Author had to say in Greek is so close to what we read in English as to bear the same authority. --Joe! |