William Tyndale had a profound impact on English Bible translation. His translation of the New Testament—the first...
Bible Translation Articles
The Journal of Biblical Missiology is committed to building a strong, Bible-centered foundation for Bible translators worldwide. You’ll find articles on Bible translation methodology, reviews on the latest translation releases, and discussions on the everyday, practical elements of translation.
Honoring the authority of the Bible … down to every single verse.
Sagamore Institute Study Attempts To Quantify The Cost of Bible Translation
This article originally appeared on the website Ministry Watch, and has been reprinted here with the author’s...
Good Money for Bad Bibles?
Earlier this year I received a request from YouVersion (a.k.a. https://www.bible.com/) to support their “Bible for...
The Root and the Shoot: Part 2
In Part 1 of this two-part series, we demonstrated that the phrases “Root of Jesse” and “Root of David” are best...
More Articles
The Root and the Shoot
This article is posted as a 2-part series. You can find Part 2 here. The phrases “Root of Jesse” and “Root of David” in Scripture are often misunderstood to refer to the Messiah as a descendant of David and his father Jesse. However, a closer look reveals that the...
“Son of God” Unresolved: Ten Years After a Landmark Petition, Translators Continue to Remove “Son of God” and Insert Islamic Teaching into New Translations
Ten years ago, Biblical Missiology led a petition asking Wycliffe Bible Translators, SIL International, and Frontiers to stop replacing or removing the terms “Father” and “Son of God” from Bible translations. The petition came only after years of efforts to address...
HeGetsUs.com Strikes Out in Its Baseball Messaging
If you are wondering what connection baseball has to do with this website, I am sure that you are not alone. On July 5, I was watching the New York Yankees play against the Pittsburgh Pirates, hoping to see the Yankees mount another comeback win, which unfortunately...
Should Christians Use the Quranic Name of Jesus in Arabic Bible Translations?
This response article originally appeared on the website of the Jenkins Center for the Christian Understanding of Islam, and has been reprinted here with the author's permission. Click here to download this article in PDF format. The Quran refers to...
Functionalism: Why the New Dominant Paradigm of Bible Translation Makes Syncretism Inevitable
By Seth Vitrano-Wilson Many Christians have heard of the debate going on in Bible translation circles between “literal” (also known as “word-for-word” or “formal equivalent”) and “dynamic equivalent” (also known as “thought-for-thought” or “meaning-based”)...
Christ in the Scripture of Islam: Remnantal Revelation or Irredeemable Imposter? (Part 2 of 2)
By Matthew Bennett Read Part 1 here. In particular, this essay's attention is focused on the purportedly shared character of Jesus. As one publication puts the matter, "Among the major world religions, Islam is the only non-Christian faith that recognizes the person...
Yesu or Issa? (Part 4 of 4)
Read part 1, part 2, and part 3. Several reasons for not employing Issa in Scripture translation in the Muslim world 1. عيسى /Ɂīsa/ should not be considered a transliteration of the Greek name Iēsous, first, because it contains an ع /Ɂ/, a phoneme which does not exist...
Yesu or Issa? (Part 3 of 4)
By Ian Westmark Read parts 1 and 2 of this article here. Several less obvious scriptural reasons for which the apostles may have employed a transliteration of the Messiah’s Hebrew name when preaching to Gentiles 1. Because Yahweh alone is our salvation. As has been...
Yesu or Issa? (Part 2 of 4)
By Ian Westmark Several more or less likely reasons for which the apostles employed a transliteration of the Messiah’s foreign name when preaching to Gentiles Read Part 1 of this article here. 1. Because God himself named the Messiah. Before Jesus’ conception the...
Standing as a Sign, Rising to Rule
by Seth Vitrano-Wilson The Hebrew text of Isaiah 11:10, which speaks of the Messiah as the “root of Jesse,”On the Messianic nature and theological significance of the phrase “root of Jesse,” see Vitrano-Wilson, The Root and the Shoot: A Glorious Yet Often...
Who Defines Truth? God or Satan?
Sometimes Bible translators run into problems where an audience seriously misunderstands an important issue in Scripture, and the translators look to see if they can solve this problem by modifying the translation. This makes perfect sense if, for example, the...
Why Biblical Missiology Signed the Arlington Statement on Bible Translation
The Arlington Statement on Bible Translation, a new statement on faithful principles of Bible translation, has been released. Biblical Missiology is one of the statement’s initial signing organizations (click here for the full list). Since Biblical Missiology is only...
Making the Bible More Islamic Than the Qur’an Through the First Half of the Islamic Creed (the Shahada)
Muslims have long claimed that Jews and Christians changed the Bible so that neither of them would accept Muhammad as the final prophet from God. While history stands as a witness against this baseless allegation, Muslims need no longer to rely on their polemical...
5 Reasons “Muslim Friendly” Bible Translations are Counterproductive
By Pierre Houssney, Click here to read this article in Arabic. “Muslim friendly” Bible translations, technically termed “Muslim Idiom Translations” (MITs), are well-meaning attempts to produce the Bible in a way that is easily accepted and understood by Muslims. These...
A Review of the Tchadien Arabic Bible Translation
Concerns about the translation practices of our Evangelical Bible Translation agencies. The recent publication of the Tchadien Bible translation on bible.com provides a solid example about why we should be very concerned about current translation practices being...
‘Israel’ Removed from Denmark’s newest Bible Translation
Danish Bible Society tampers with ‘Israel’ in its newly-released 2020 translation, causing protests from translation societies and pro-Israel activist groups worldwide. The Contemporary Danish Bible 2020 has changed numerous references to Israel to refer to instead to...
Κύριος in the New Testament: Christology, Trinity, and Translation
The Greek word κύριος (kurios ‘Lord’) carries amazing theological weight in the New Testament. It is often used as a title for Jesus, and can also refer to God the Father (e.g. Matthew 11:25, Acts 17:24) as well as the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:16-18). Kurios is...
“Adam the Son of God”: Why Literal Meaning is Essential
Some of the greatest gems of truth lie in the Bible’s genealogies. The end of Luke 3:38 contains one such treasure, equally exquisite for both its richness and rarity: “Adam, the son of God.” Inherent within this description of our very first forefather is a witness...
Relevant Ramblings on Bible Translation: Dr. Seuss vs. Dr. Eugene A. Nida
Only in a fallen world would an author like Dr. Seuss afford readers a biblical view of language while the man most responsible for influencing how Bibles have been translated since the mid-1960s deprive us of this very thing! To mention Dr. Seuss is to...
Are Bible Translators Trying to Bring Christianity and Islam Closer Together?
The hows and whats: Recently I attended a conference at which a number of speakers spoke about some disturbing trends in Bible translation. Some of these projects are being supported by the gifts of church members who are completely unaware of what is going on. Did...