1.1 Translation, Languages, and the Manuscripts
Bible translation matters. Even a single word can change how we understand the Bible. Important questions, including over women’s leadership in the church and home, often hinge on translation issues. We don’t all need to be translation experts, but a basic understanding of Bible translation concepts helps us judge whether the arguments we hear are valid.
—Ron Krueger, translation consultant for Wycliffe Bible Translators and SIL International
When Bible translators take upon themselves the daunting yet deeply meaningful task of Bible translation, what is it that they work with?
In short, they work with languages. Translation is the art and science of discerning meanings in one language—let’s call it the source language—and re-presenting those meanings in another language, the target language. Sometimes, it is easier for Bible translators to make a Bible translation by translating from an existing translation. For example, in some non-English-speaking countries, people may find Bible translations that were translated from English into their native languages. But to make a formal Bible translation that can be relied upon, most translators today would choose to translate directly from the text of the Bible in its original languages. In this section, let us explore the basics of the languages that make up our Bible.