This is the final part of a nine-part series on divine authority in Bible translation. The full series can be accessed...
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.
Are Hidden Flaws in the “Back Translation” Method a Reason for Poor Scripture Engagement? Part 3
Editor’s note: This is part 3 of a 3-part series. Read part 1 and part 2 first, which lay out the problems with the...
Sola Scriptura Bible Translations Part 8: Expressive Resemblance: Following the Pattern Given Us
This is part 8 of a nine-part series on divine authority in Bible translation. The full series can be accessed here....
Are Hidden Flaws in the “Back Translation” Method a Reason for Poor Scripture Engagement? Part 2
Editor’s note: This is part 2 of a 3-part series. In part 1, we examined the difference between translation quality...
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Sola Scriptura Bible Translations Part 7: Brothers and Sisters, We Are Not Prophets
This is part 7 of a nine-part series on divine authority in Bible translation. The full series can be accessed here: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 In Part 6, we introduced the idea of “interpretive resemblance,” that...
Are Hidden Flaws in the “Back Translation” Method a Reason for Poor Scripture Engagement? Part 1
Abstract: The various Bible translation agencies, starting in the 1930s, have struggled to consistently produce high-quality, widely used Scripture portions for minority languages. This paper examines methodologies used in translating minority language Bibles using...
Sola Scriptura Bible Translations Part 6: Interpretive Resemblance: True “Meaning-Based” Translation
This is part 6 of a nine-part series on divine authority in Bible translation. The full series can be accessed here: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 In Part 4 of this series, we emphasized the importance of meaning in...
Sola Scriptura Bible Translations Part 5: Should the Bible Always be “Clear”?
This is part 5 of a nine-part series on divine authority in Bible translation. The full series can be accessed here: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 In Part 4, we looked at ways in which being too “literal” can distort...
Sola Scriptura Bible Translations Part 4: Why “Word-for-Word” Doesn’t Work
This is part 4 of a nine-part series on divine authority in Bible translation. The full series can be accessed here: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 Over the last few decades, highly paraphrastic translation styles have...
Sola Scriptura Bible Translations Part 3: Sola Scriptura in Theology and Translation
This is part 3 of a nine-part series on divine authority in Bible translation. The full series can be accessed here: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 Since the Bible is God’s Word, it carries God’s authority. If a church...
Sola Scriptura Bible Translations Part 2: What Does the Bible Say About Bible Translation?
This is part 2 of a nine-part series on divine authority in Bible translation. Part 1 can be found here: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 Before we begin any task or role, we need to know what God has to say about it. For...
Sola Scriptura Bible Translations: God is the Author(ity) — Part 1
The Bible very clearly presents itself as God’s own Word. Because it is God’s own Word, God speaks to us through the Bible with his full authority. All people need to hear what God said, understand, believe, rejoice, worship, and obey. We all need to know what God...
The Desecration of Bible Translation, Part IV: Eugene Nida’s Troubling Pattern of Deception
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 In the last paragraph of Part I of this series, I presented several facts about Nida that would seem to have made it highly unlikely that he would be able to revolutionize Bible translation. Towards the end of Part II, I quoted Nida in which...
Islam and the Bible: Questioning Muslim Idiom Translations
Note: The author thanks Dr. Ant Greenham, the book's editor, for clarifying the penultimate paragraph. The review is incomplete without Dr. Greenham's comment left on Dec. 4, 2023, 6:34 PM. The current, treacherous state of the world of Bible translation is in large...
The Desecration of Bible Translation, Part III: Eugene Nida Defines Dynamic Equivalence
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 4 Nida’s “revolution” in Bible translation could have never been accomplished without the coining of “dynamic equivalence.” In addition to it catching people’s attention in contrast to the more technical terms that he used thirteen years prior...
The Desecration of Bible Translation, part II: the Linguistics Background of Eugene Nida’s Dynamic Equivalence
Part 1 | Part 3 | Part 4 Nida’s first monumental step to make Bible translations less literal began when he attended the third Camp Wycliffe (which was later renamed, the Summer Institute of Linguistics, or, SIL) in the summer of 1936.Hugh Steven, Doorway to the...
The Desecration of Bible Translation, Part I: Introducing Dr. Eugene A. Nida (1914-2011)
Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 When dealing with that which is true, precise translation is always possible. If technical manuals and medical books, instead of being translated, were rendered as loosely as have been numerous versions of the Bible since the mid-1960s, it...
Why They Have No Bible
When I reach for my Bible, I ask myself which one. I have several Bibles, in several versions, basic texts and study Bible editions. And I am not the only one so blessed. The majority of American households own a Bible, and on average, they have at least...
Tyndale’s Unfinished Revolution
William Tyndale had a profound impact on English Bible translation. His translation of the New Testament—the first English translation to be based on the original Greek rather than the Latin Vulgate—formed the basis for all English translations of the Reformation...
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 permission. Bible translation organizations in the United States receive more than $500-million in donations per year. So how many Bibles actually get...
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 Everyone” campaign by email (if you are on their email list you should have received it as well).email to author, Jul 27, 2022, 5:08 AM “What if the...
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 understood as referring to Jesus as Jesse and David’s source or origin. Moreover, we showed how Jesus being the “Root” of Jesse and David connects to, yet...
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...