Bible Translations

What is Bible Translation?

Bible Translation is the retelling of the message of the original text into the language of the new community of believers using the language structure of the target audience such that the new recipients will feel at home with the message as if the message was first proclaimed in their own language.

The translation of scriptures into other languages became necessary when the message of the Bible began spreading out of it initial cultural milieu. The aim of the early translator and for that matter all translators, was to transfer the message of the original text into the language or languages of the new converts, such that the message causes the same emotional stir as it did among the original hearers.

So the Bible as a whole was translated into Greek, Latin and many other languages of the world, including the English Language. Translation therefore would have been unnecessary if the world had one language or that everybody could all read Hebrew and Greek. Since that is not the case, translating the Bible into other languages of the world is therefore mandatory if the people of the world are to hear and understand the message of God.

The messages of the sacred scriptures were first delivered by a wide variety of messengers with variant cultural backgrounds. The messengers of the sacred scriptures delivered their messages in different time periods, with specific audiences who were their contemporaries. The messengers of God used the culture of the people to deliver the messages they received such that they could communicate effectively to the audiences they were targeting. The messages aroused the emotions of the target audiences, causing them to be angry, sad, sorrowful or happy. Sometimes the messengers of God even caused their audience to laugh. The main language was Hebrew which the Israelites spoke. The Hebrew language has some dialects. Jesus spoke a dialect called Aramaic. As such some books of the Old Testament were written in Hebrew and others in Aramaic. It is possible to find both Hebrew and Aramaic in the same book of the Bible.

Due to interaction with their neighbors as well as political activities, the Jews came under foreign political powers with different languages. These political powers often imposed their languages on the countries the controlled. Greek became one of the dominant languages at the time of Jesus. The New Testament books and some Old Testament books were written in Greek.