How We Do the Translating
We started translating this Bible because we found so many errors in the existing Bibles, and we usually also find them confusing, misleading, and hard to read. Yet, many people refuse to accept the fact that someone can do a better job today, because the process of Bible translating is clouded in myth and is presumed to be more difficult than it really is.
We also find that most people will stand by a Bible translation that is very inaccurate, while rejecting others that may be far more accurate out of hand, because they don’t like the way the new Bibles are worded. However, the new Bibles are worded that way simply because they are more accurate So, let’s look at the actual wording of a few scriptures in the Bible to see what they say and how they are translated. Then we suggest that you compare the words shown below to those that are found in your favorite Bible translation.
We’ll start with the first two verses in the Bible, Genesis 1:1, 2 (LXX).
In Greek, these verses read: 1 εν αρχη εποιησεν ο θεος τον ουρανον και την γην 2 η δε γη ην αορατος και ακατασκευαστος και σκοτος επανω
της αβυσσου και πνευμα θεου επεφερετο επανω του υδατος
Or
1 en arche epoiesen ho Theos ton ouranon kai ten gen 2 e de ge en aoratos kai akataskeuastos kai skotos epano tes abyssou kai pneuma Theou epephereto epano ton hydatos.
A word-for-word translation of these verses into
English reads:
1 In ancient/time (beginning) made (created) the God
(Powerful One) the heaven (sky) and the earth (ground or land), 2 but the earth
(ground or land) was not/seen and unformed, and darkness upon (covered) the
abyss, and Breath (Spirit) God (Powerful One) moved upon (over) the waters.
A popular English Septuagint translation reads:
1 In the beginning
God made the heaven and the earth. 2 But the earth was unsightly and
unfurnished, and darkness was over the deep, and the Spirit of God moved over
the water.
We have translated it as:
1 In an ancient time God created the heavens
and the earth. 2 But the earth was unsightly and unfinished, darkness covered
its depths, and God’s Breath moved over its waters.
First, notice that there are many word choices in English (those shown in parenthesis), which we may use and still translate the original language properly, and these are just some of the options. For example:
· Was it in the beginning or in an ancient time when God did His creating? The Greek word arche means at a set period a long time ago.
· Did God make or create the earth? Both words mean the same.
· Was it God or the Powerful One? God means Powerful One.
· Did He create the heavens, or heaven, or the sky? There was no different word for heaven or sky in either Hebrew or Greek. Here the Greek word ouranon is singular, and means sky or heaven (something above the earth). However, we have chosen the word heavens here, because the clear meaning is that God created all that is above the earth.
· Did he create the earth, the land, or the ground? Again, there is no separate word for each of these things in either Greek or Hebrew, so the choice in English is up to the translator in each instance where the Greek word ges is found, and settling on just one word to translate it throughout the Bible would make many verses confusing to its readers.
· Also, consider the translation of the word pneuma (πνευμα), it just means Breath, but it is usually translated Spirit, which is (once again) the Latin word for breath.
So, as you can see, there are several ways to translate these two simple verses, and all of them can be correct. However, some modern Bible translators have gone out on limbs in their ‘easy reading’ translations and changed these and other verses to mean something that they actually don’t say.
How have we chosen to do the translating? First, recognize that nobody, no matter how scholarly, actually speaks ancient Greek today, and especially not Alexandrian Greek. Yes, speaking Modern Greek is an aid, but it can also be a hindrance, because Modern Greek words have changed meanings and nuances through the centuries, and some have been affected by common religious beliefs. So, since we are trying to go beyond accepted doctrines and get back to what was actually said, we must look beyond what the words may mean in Modern Greek.
None of those who are doing the translating here speaks Alexandrian Greek either, nor do we speak Modern Greek. However, we have studied Koine (Common) Greek, which is the Greek that much of the Christian Era Scriptures were written in. And although we can’t speak it (nobody can, because the language is 2000 years old), we have access to many fine interlinear (Greek/English) Bibles and word references. So, we don’t sit down and read all the Greek words and write them in English, as a modern translator for the United Nations (for example) would do, immediately translating the words from one language into another. Our work is tedious and requires much research… and we often find that there are no accurate references for the true meanings of many words and phrases.
So, what do we do? First, we start with (a good interlinear Bible translation), then we put the Greek words next to the English words. And as we go along, we check to see if the Greek words really coincide with the English words that are shown. Also, we must look at the context to see what was implied by what actually happened.
Here is an example of what we typically look at (from 1 Samuel 13:11): ‘kai And eipe Samouhl Samuel said, ti What pepoihka have you done? kai And eipe Saoul Saul said, dioti Because eidon I saw oti that diesparh scattered o the lao people ap from emou me, kai and su you ou paregenou did not come en in tw the marturiw testimony twn of the hmerwn days as dietaxa you set in order. kai And oi the allofuloi Philistines sunhcthhsan were gathered ei in Macma Michmash.’
Where we come across unfamiliar or questionable Greek words we look them up, and sometimes we break them into root words to make sure that we understand what may have been actually implied and that we’re not just accepting someone’s traditions of what they mean. And where no logical reference or root can be found for a word, we may defer to the Hebrew text, or go to other Bible translations and see what was said there.
Next, the texts are rearranged and edited into contemporary English for clarity, and then they are put online for everyone to read and comment on. Recognize that not many Bible translators would allow such scrutiny or open critical reviewing.
So, our translation of the verse above (1 Samuel 13:11) reads, ‘Samuel asked, What have you done? And Saul replied, I did this because I saw that my men had left me, and you didn’t come when you said you would. After all, the Philistines are camped [just outside] Michmash.’
First, understand what we are trying to do with this Bible. We’re trying to make it very accurate and easy to read, while giving the readers a better idea of what was actually said… which means that we are attempting to avoid the use of words that are already given special meanings by religions. Take for example the words, soul, spirit, cross, Hell, Satan, Devil, angel, Christ, etc. The Greek words they are translated from don’t necessarily mean the same things that religious people conjure up in their minds when they read these common English words. So, we have made every attempt to substitute very accurate synonyms or word choices to provide you a fresh look at what was actually said.
Also, we have found that many common terms, such as forever, everlasting, system of things, Hell Fire, etc. (just to name a few) don’t really appear in the Bible at all.
One of the advantages of using the Greek Septuagint (pronounced Sep-twa-gent – with a hard G – not Sep-too-uh-jent) as a source is that it gives us a better idea of what the Bible looked like during the time of Jesus and his Apostles. For, although Jesus likely spoke just Aramaic, and Matthew likely wrote his gospel in Aramaic, whenever Jesus or his Apostles quoted the Bible of their time, most of it reads very much like the Septuagint, not the modern Hebrew text. And as the result, we can more clearly see why they used certain words whenever they quoted the ‘Old Testament.’
Until now, most Bible translating has usually been done by people who were experts in Hebrew for the Ancient Scriptures of Israel (Old Testament), and by another totally different group who were experts in Greek for the Christian Era Scriptures (New Testament). So, while one word in the Hebrew text may have been translated into a certain word in English, the corresponding word in Greek may have been translated into an entirely different English word. As the result, some very common words of Christian Era Scriptures (such as resurrection, tribulation, etc.) just can’t be found in the Ancient Scriptures of Israel. But in the Greek Septuagint, we can see a closer version of the Bible as Jesus read it, and we find that these words which Jesus quoted actually do appear there.
Take for example, the words of Daniel 12:1, 2. One modern Bible translation (from the Hebrew text) reads: 1 And during that time Michael will stand up, the great prince who is standing in behalf of the sons of your people. And there will certainly occur a time of distress such has not been made to occur since there came to be a nation until that time. And during that time your people will escape, every one who is found written down in the book. 2 And there will be many of those asleep in the ground of dust that will wake up, these to indefinitely lasting life and those to abhorrence and indefinitely lasting shame.
In Greek it reads: 1 kai kata ten oran ekeinen pareleusetai Michael ho aggelos ho megas ho estekos epi tous uious tou laou sou ekeine he hemera Thlipseos oia ouk egenethe aph ou egenethesan eos tes hemeras ekeines kai en ekeine te hemera hypsothesetai pas ho laos os an eurethe eggegrammenos en to biblio 2 kai polloi ton katheudonton en to platei tes ges anastesontai oi men eis zoen aionion oi de eis oneidismon oi de eis diasporan kai aischynen aionion.
Translating it into English word-for-word, reads: 1 And on the hour that, arose Michael the messenger (angel) the great who/stands on (over) your sons of/the people yours, but the day difficulty (tribulation) as not begun (happened), such not begun (happened) since the days those, and in those the days lifted all the people who were found written/in the book. 2 And many of/them lie/down in the flat/spot the ground (earth or land) resurrected (stand again) some for the life age, some for the disgrace, some for the scattering and shame age.
We translated it as: 1 And in that hour, [God’s] Highest Messenger MichaEl (the one who watches over your sons of your people) will arise, and then a time of difficulty will begin such as has never happened before and will never happen again. For [God] will raise all those whose [names] were written in the book, 2 and many who died and were buried will be resurrected, some to life in the age, some to disgrace, and some will be scattered and shamed in that age.
What problems have you noticed? First, notice that Michael was identified in the Greek text as the great messenger (or angel), not as the great prince (which is what the translation of the Hebrew text says). This is a much more complete description of Michael’s position and nature, and it fits exactly with the words of Jude 9, where he was identified as the arch (highest) angel (or messenger). So, we can see that when Jude referred to Michael, he was referring to the person spoken of here in Daniel.
Next, notice that Daniel spoke of the θλιψεως (thipseos), which the Hebrew text translates as time of distress, but can also be translated as day of difficulty (or tribulation). However, the term ‘tribulation’ (time of difficulty) is not found in most copies of the Ancient Scriptures of Israel. This is important, because this is the exact same term that Jesus used when he said (at Matthew 24:21), ‘Because then there will come a great time of difficulty (θλιψεως – thipseos) such as has never happened since the world’s most ancient [times] until now, nor should ever happen again.’
So, as you can see, no tie can be made to Jesus’ words from the Ancient Hebrew text. And as the result, it has gone unnoticed that Jesus was actually quoting Daniel 12:1 when he was foretelling events that would lead up to the end of the time when he would be ‘near.’ Due to this translating anomaly, many religions have come to a totally different idea of the period that was being foretold in the Book of Daniel, and wrong teachings have resulted.
Also, consider the word at Daniel 12:2, αναστησονται (anastesontai). From the Hebrew text it is translated as wake up, however, this is the Greek word for resurrected (stand again). So, because Bibles that are based on the Hebrew texts don’t usually say resurrected or resurrection, the vital connection to Jesus’ promises for life after death and to the time when the events mentioned in Daniel’s prophecy will really happen, have gone unnoticed or have been misunderstood by most religions.
And notice one last combination of words that occurs more than once in the Greek text at Daniel 12:1, 2 alone. They are ζωην αιωνιον (zoen aionion, or life age). It is interesting that some Bibles translate these words as everlasting life, and the Bible quoted above translates it as indefinitely lasting life. However, the Greek word αιωνιον (aionion) is found here in its SINGULAR tense, NOT PLURAL, so it shouldn’t be translated as everlasting life or as indefinitely lasting life. It simply means life in the age – another missed teaching. And what’s more, the modern English Bible that we quoted above, when it finds these same words in the Christian Era Scriptures translates them as everlasting life. So, the translators of that Bible recognized that the Hebrew word was speaking of a temporary time, but failed to recognize that aionion was speaking of something temporary in the Christian Era Scriptures too... and this has led to more doctrinal misunderstandings. For more information, see the linked document, The Hereafter.
As you can see, using the Greek Septuagint as a valuable reference (where proper translating techniques have been employed) may alter the meanings of religious teachings and dogma. And we haven’t covered the fact that the Greek text of Daniel 12:1, 2 seems to imply three outcomes, not two, as the Hebrew text suggests.
Understand that there are problems with the Greek Septuagint text, as there are problems with the existing Hebrew texts. And while the Septuagint is older than the current Hebrew renderings (and that it was the main Bible of Jesus and his Apostles), all we currently have is translations of translations. In addition, it was just a translation from the ancient Hebrew text to begin with. This means that the wording can be no more accurate than the abilities of the purported seventy Jewish translators who each translated a portion of the Ancient Scriptures of Israel into Greek to create the Greek Septuagint. The fact is; some did a much better job than the others did. And, there are several versions of the Septuagint available today that differ quite markedly.
However, the wording of the Septuagint does more closely resemble the wording of the most ancient existing Bible scrolls that were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, so we must assume that much has been lost from the existing Hebrew texts also. As the result, we suggest that you examine translations from both sources before drawing major conclusions.
It is interesting to note that the Septuagint appears to be the Bible of preference for the Apostle Paul, and by the mid-Second Century C.E., it was the preferred Bible of most (if not all) early Christians. For more information on the Septuagint and its sources, see the link http://www.kalvesmaki.com/LXX/.
It has also been brought to our attention that some Hebrew scholars claim that the Septuagint was never a complete work and that it originally only contained the Pentateuch (Genesis through Deuteronomy). They say that the addition of the rest of the books was a First-Century Christian fabrication, which was developed to slander the Jews. However, we have found no condemnatory words that aren’t also found in the Hebrew texts, and if these remaining books were copied by Christians, they still represent older texts than what are currently available in Hebrew, and we have no reason to trust Hebrew scribes more than Christian scribes.
One interesting proof that there may be problems in the Hebrew text can be found at Genesis 21:22, 32. And while no doctrinal changes are involved, it is significant that one name is found in the Greek text that isn’t found in the Hebrew, indicating that changes and errors have crept into the Hebrew text. The missing name is Ochozath, who is described as the ‘bride finder’ of King Abimelech.
What is so significant about this, is that the particular portion of the Ancient Scriptures of Israel (the whole middle portion of Genesis) is written in the oldest form of text found in the Bible, a pre-Israelite dialect known as Ugaritic (from the tablets found in the ancient City of Ugarit on the coast of Modern Syria). This is likely Hebrew as it was spoken by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob before their descendant’s 400 years of captivity in Egypt, which surely affected their language. And, if this name (Ochozath ) wasn’t in the original ancient Hebrew text, how would anyone have known about it to add it more than a thousand years later? We trust the Septuagint on this one, and believe that this proves there are other errors in the existing Hebrew text.
We also find the Septuagint’s rendering of Genesis 2:8-15 (that there was no ‘Garden of Eden,’ but it was called the ‘Paradise of Delights,’ and it was located on ‘the east side of the Land of Edom’) far more likely (see the account and the linked Notes). And there are several other scriptures where we’ve found reasons to trust the Septuagint text… but then again, we’ve also found many obvious errors in the Greek text.
Also consider the content of the three following verses:
Amos 5:26 (Septuagint), ‘But then you took up with the tent of Molech, and the star of your god Raiphan… and images of them you made for yourselves.’
Amos 5:26 (Hebrew text), ‘And will actually carry Sukkuth your king, and Kaiwan, your images, the star of your god, whom you made for yourselves.’
Acts 7:43, ‘Rather, you took the images that you made for worship to the tent of Moloch and to the star of the god Rephan.’
So, from Stephen’s words at Acts 7:43, which rendering of the names of Amos 5:26 seems to be correct? Judge for yourself. Of course, recognize that the differences in the spelling of the names are probably just the differences between the Hebrew and Greek pronunciations… or the natural changes in languages over hundreds of years.
The fact is; we are constantly finding obvious errors in both the Greek and Hebrew texts. Some are mis-written names, others are scribal notes that were included as text but shouldn’t have been; we have found portions or words that were copied from the wrong line, and we have found differences in chronology between the Hebrew and Greek texts. We can say this with surety because the errors are obvious. There is enough redundancy in the Bible, and we have two different texts to compare against each other (the Greek and the Masoretic), so where we find differences we are prompted to do research. And the good news is that none of the errors so far has affected doctrinal integrity.
One area where errors in the text become very clear is in the book of Psalms, for Hebrew songs and poetry follow clear guidelines or order and rhythm. Yet, some of the Psalms follow very little order or rhythm, indicating that much was lost in translation in the work of what appears to be that of a novice translator. However, when checking the Hebrew text we find the same errors, leading us to conclude that either the Hebrew text was translated from the Greek, or that the song was poorly remembered by those who initially recorded it for posterity.
We recently read a commentary about this Bible in which the writer called our selecting the Septuagint for its source foolish. And he asked, ‘What will they do when they get to the book of Isaiah where the text is totally different from what is found in the Hebrew text?’
In reply, we ask, ‘What about the Proverbs?’ The text there is also quite different from the Hebrew, and it makes more sense! So, which should we trust as being right? We are currently leaning toward the Septuagint, for the natural rhythm of the Greek text in the Proverbs shows that it more closely reflects the original writing of Solomon, which was obviously done in verse.
Also, our translating of the book of Isaiah seems to make more sense than what we find in popular Hebrew texts, so could it be that this most maligned Greek text is more accurate than its Hebrew counterpart? If so, this could change many of the most important prophecies of the Bible.
The interesting thing about the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, is that in most cases where God (or His spokesman) speaks, He speaks in poetry, and this can be clearly seen in the Greek text. Yet, when we compare His words from the Hebrew text we find clunky, difficult wording that could never be fit into what is obviously the original poetry.
For more information, see the linked document, The Bible’s Internal Proofs of its Authentic History.
One of the things you will notice in your reading of the Septuagint is that many names and their pronunciations are quite different from what we find in Hebrew-based texts. However, recognize that due to its lack of vowels and the years since it was spoken, no one knows how most words and names were actually pronounced in Hebrew. Yet, in the Septuagint, we can see how Hebrew-speaking Jews thought they should be pronounced in Greek, so there is more reason to trust the Greek pronunciations. And in certain instances, you will find names totally changed (as in the names of the kings of Persia that are found in Ezra Chapter Four), but these names were apparently the ones that were commonly in use in the Third Century B.C.E.
Another example, which involves a difference in the names of a land or country, is found in the book of Job. For, at Job 1:1 we read that Job lived in the land of the Ausitidi in the Septuagint, but in the Hebrew text it says that he was from the land of Uz. Why the difference? Because the name of the land had probably changed by the time that the Greek text was translated. For more information, see the Note ‘Who Was Job?’ in the book of Job.
We have also changed the spelling of many common names to reflect more closely how they were actually pronounced (for those who are interested), and to give you some idea of what those names meant to ancient Israelites. We realize that this will be unpopular with those who prefer familiarity to accuracy, but these changes should have been made by Bible translators hundreds of years ago.
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