Stop 9. Back to the measure

Here is the whole tree in one breath. The roots are old hand-made copies, Hebrew on one side and Greek on the other. The trunk is the fourth century, when the church named its 27 New Testament books. Four branches grew from it: Ethiopian, Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant. The Protestant branch splits into three twigs, and every leaf is a translation.

When you pick up any Bible, ask three questions.

First, which roots does it draw from? Is its Old Testament the standard Hebrew text, the Greek Old Testament, or both? Does its New Testament use the later Greek copies, or does it weigh all the copies?

Second, is it a revision or a fresh translation? A revision grows from an older English Bible. A fresh translation goes straight to the roots.

Third, does it tell you where the copies disagree? A Bible that shows you is not weaker. It is giving you the chance to look for yourself.

Now the hard question. Is this still God’s Word? Christians believe the original writings were God’s Word, without error. Nobody has those pages. So the work of comparing copies is how we get as close to them as we can. That work has gone well. The copies agree almost everywhere. The places where they differ are known, and good Bibles mark them. Nothing here means the Bible was lost. It means we have more witnesses than any other ancient book, and we can check them.

One last thing. The Bible is not the point. It is the tool. Jesus said what the point is, in the night before He died.

”Now this is eternal life—that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent.”
— John 17:3 (NET)

The text is the instrument. The Person is the life.

Soli Deo Gloria.