Bible translation is the process of rendering the biblical texts into other languages. This is an essential task to make the Scriptures accessible to people in their native tongues. There is a long history of biblical translation, which forms the key types of translations we have today.

Translation is a complex task involving language transfer, interpretation, and contextualization. Translators must determine the meaning of the source text and then find the best way to express that in the receptor language and culture.

The Bible was originally written in Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic. But as the understanding of these original languages diminished over time, and as Christianity spread to new regions, the need arose for the Scriptures to be translated into other languages.

Bible translation was first necessary for the Jews following the conquests of Alexander the Great (323 BC), when Greek became the common trade language of the eastern Mediterranean region. Jews living in Egypt and elsewhere had gradually lost the ability to speak and read in Hebrew and needed a translation of the Old Testament into Greek. The result was the Septuagint (from the Latin septuaginta meaning “70,” abbreviated LXX), which gets its name from a legend recounting how 72 scholars, six from each of the 12 tribes of Israel, completed the work of translation in 72 days. Scholars affirm that the Pentateuch was likely translated into Greek in Alexandria, Egypt in the third century BC and the rest of the Hebrew Scriptures followed. The Septuagint became the standard Bible for Greek-speaking Jews living outside Israel and the early Christians. Most Old Testament quotes in the New Testament come from the Septuagint.

One of the other early translations was the Old Syriac. Syriac was the chief language spoken in the regions of Syria and Mesopotamia and it is almost identical with Aramaic. The Syriac translation was especially valuable for Aramaic-speaking Jews and in districts adjacent to Palestine. In the East, other translations like the Egyptian, Armenian, and Gothic were made in order that people in those regions might read the Bible in their own tongues.

In the West, the Roman Empire established Latin as its official language so a Latin version, known as the Latin Vulgate (common version), was completed by the early Christian priest, Jerome. For centuries afterward, people thought no other translation was needed so the Bible remained in Latin. At this time, it was used primarily by scholars or in church liturgy.

About 500 years later, in the 14th century, a translation of the complete Bible was made in English. The translation was made mostly because of the efforts of theologian, John Wycliffe. Wycliffe believed that every person should be able to read the Bible for themselves. In the year 1382, Wycliffe and his associates completed an English translation from the Latin version.

In 1516, Erasmus, a monk and scholar, published the New Testament in Greek. This was significant because scholars in different lands could now access the New Testament in its original language.

One of these scholars was William Tyndale, whose ambition was to give people an English translation based on the original languages. He completed the New Testament in 1526 but it was the Bible translator Miles Coverdale who completed the entire Bible in English in 1535. Other English versions followed. The most popular of all the 16th-century Bibles was the Geneva Bible of 1560, which, because of its legible type and convenient size, became the Bible of English households and the Puritans.

In the interests of religious toleration, a group of church representatives resolved that a common version of the Bible, readily accepted by all the people, would help with their goal. This resolution pleased King James of England so he commissioned a group of scholars to complete the project. Earlier translations, including the Bishop’s Bible and Tyndale’s work, served as the basis for the new translation. It was completed in 1611 and authorized by King James to be read in churches. It came to be called the King James Version (KJV) and was the predominant English translation for hundreds of years, profoundly impacting English literature and language.

There are several contributing factors as to why there are so many Bible translations today. New discoveries and understandings about ancient languages, manuscripts, and cultural contexts continually inform translation work, leading to updates and revisions of existing translations or the creation of new ones.

Every reader has a different preference regarding language style, readability, and theological interpretation. Some prefer traditional translations like the KJV, while others may prefer more contemporary language or interpretations.

Different Christian denominations may have preferences for certain translations based on doctrinal considerations or historical affiliations.

Publishers may produce new translations to appeal to specific audiences or to address perceived gaps in the market. Additionally, translations may be tailored for specific regions or language communities to increase accessibility. 

Finally, language evolves over time, and what was clear and understandable in one era may become archaic or difficult for modern readers to comprehend. New translations seek to bridge this gap by using contemporary language while maintaining faithfulness to the original texts.

While all translators have the same goal—to reproduce the meaning of a text from one language into another—they differ as to how best to do this. All translation is the translator’s interpretation of what equivalent word or phrase best captures the meaning and contextualization of the original text.

All translations fit somewhere on the translation spectrum from literal to dynamic. On one side, literal translation is known as formal equivalence, which seeks to follow the form of the original language as much as possible, resulting in a more literal, word-for-word translation. Examples of this are the American Standard Version (ASV) and the New American Standard Bible (NASB2020).

At the other end of the spectrum is functional translation, known as dynamic equivalence, which seek to reproduce the meaning of the text. These translations offer an interpretation of the meaning of a text—not usually an individual word, as in formal equivalence, but as thought-for-thought translation. The Living Bible (TLB) and The Message (MSG) are examples of this and are paraphrases of the ASV.

In the middle of the spectrum are translations based on a combination of the formal and functional approach to the text, as mediating or optimal translation. The most popular version like this is the New International Version (NIV).

A more “meaning of the text” functional translation is The New Living Translation (NLT).  It was a revision of the ASV and falls somewhere between the NIV and MSG in its translation.

Both literal and functional translations have strengths and weaknesses. By mechanically reproducing forms, literal word-for-word versions risk miscommunicating the original meaning. Yet they can be helpful tools for study and observing things such as recurring words. While functional thought-for-thought versions may more clearly communicate the meaning of text, they are also more interpretive so have a greater risk of misinterpretation by the translators. Believers should use a variety of versions from across the translation spectrum when studying and reading the Bible.                    

The task of translation is never finished. This is because languages change over time and there are constant advances in biblical scholarship. Furthermore, the imprecision and ambiguity of language itself means there is always room to improve a translation in terms of its accuracy, precision, and clarity. The history of biblical translation grows as new translations are created.