Text and Translation

Welcome to the Bible Translations Page.

***This is a work in progress--resources will continue to be added***

The Rosetta Stone stands as a monument to the necessity and inestimable value of translation (this photo is my own pic taken at the British museum in 2001 during a study tour).  Whether it be opening the door to a hidden language or making what is unreadable clear to an audience translation is essential.  Translating the Bible into the language of the people is a necessity for both salvation (Rom 10:17) and progressive sanctification (Jn 17:17).  Sadly this issue has been used to cause unnecessary division and friction within the church.  This page serves as a resource for addressing the Bible translation issue.  Below are articles I have written addressing this issue.  Following this section is a compiled listing of resources to help Christians honesty and accurately think through these issues.  These are here to help Christians grow and be encouraged with the historic orthodox position on this translation issue.

My own posts related to this issue of orthodoxy and orthopraxy:

• Helpful Books for Educating Yourself concerning the English Translation Only Position
• The Fundamental Baptist Fellowship (FBFI) and the Modern One English Only Position
• The KJV 1611 Translators Preface
• The Septuagint (Three part series)
• Septuagint Quotations in New Testament and the KJV 1611 Hebrew Old Testament Position
• The One English Only Position: Does Psalm 12 Really Say and Teach God would Preserve the Hebrew text?
• The One English KJV 1611 Only Position is Really a Plea for Their Own Exclusive Authority
• Don't forget (whatever your view on the English Translation issue) we should be on the same side
• Providential Preservation of Scripture. Test Case: The Proof Text Matthew 5:17-20

Resources on the text and translation issue (books, theological journals, etc...)

Barnard, Richard K. God's Word in Our Language. The Story of the New International Version. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1989.

Beale, David. A Pictorial History of Our English Bible. Greenville: Bob Jones University Press, 1982.

Carson, D. A. The Inclusive Language Debate: An Plea for Realism. (Grand Rapids: Baker), 1998.

_____. The King James Version Debate: A Plea for Realism. (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic), 1978.

Combs, William W. "Erasmus and the Textus Receptus." DBSJ 1 (Spring 1996): 35-53.

_____. "Errors in the King James Version?" DBSJ 4 (Fall 1999): 151-64.

_____. "The History of the NIV Translation Controversy." DBSJ 17 (2012): 3-34.

_____. "The Preface to the King James Version and the King James Only Position." DBSJ 1 (Fall 1996): 253-267.

_____. "The Preservation of Scripture." DBSJ 5 (Fall 2000): 3-44.

Custer, Stewart. The Truth about the King James Version Controversy. Greenville: Bob Jones University Press, 1981.

Decker, Rodney J. "Verbal-Plenary Inspiration and Translation." DBSJ 11 (2006): 25-61.

DeYoung, Kevin. Why Our Church Switched to the ESV. Wheaton: Crossway, 2011. 

Liss, Steven B. "Why the KJV-only Position is Wrong." A ten page paper written in partial completion of a Master of Theology (Th.M.) at DBTS (Spring 2012).

Mount Calvary Baptist Church. Trusted Voices on Translations. Greenville: Mount Calvary Baptist Church, 1995.

Miller, Timothy E. "An Evangelical Apology for the Septuagint." DBSJ 22 (2017): 35-55.

Rehurek, J. "Preservation of the Bible. Providential or Miraculous? The Biblical View. MTSJ 19/1 (Spring 2008): 71-90.

Schnaiter, S. E. "Review Article. New Age Bible Versions by G. A. Riplinger." DBSJ 2 (Fall 1997): 105-125.

Scorgie, Glen G. and Mark L. Strauss. The Challenge of Bible Translation. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003.

Sorenson, David H. Touch Not the Unclean Thing. The Text Issue and Separation. Duluth: Northstar Baptist Ministeries, 2001.

Straub, Jeffrey P. "Fundamentalism and the King James Version: How a Venerable English Translation Became a Litmus Test for Orthodoxy." DBSJ 16 (2011): 41-64.

Thomas, Robert L. How to Choose a Bible Version. Making Sense of the Proliferation of Bible Translations. Geanies House, Great Britian: Christian Focus Publications, 2000.

Wallace, Daniel B. "Inspiration, Preservation, and New Testament Textual Criticism. GTJ 12 (1991): 22-51. 

Wegner, Paul D. The Journey from Texts to Translations. The Origin and Development of the Bible. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1999.

White, James R. The King James Only Controversy. Can you Trust the Modern Translation? Minneapolis: Bethany House Publishers, 1995.

Ward, Mark. Authorized. The Use & Misuse of the King James Bible. Bellingham: Lexham Press, 2018.

Williams, James B. (General Editor). From the Mind of God to the Mind of Man. A Layman's Guide to How we Got our Bible. Greenville, Belfast: Ambassador-Emerald International, 1999.

_____. (General Editor). God's Word in Our Hands. The Bible Preserved for Us. Greenville, Belfast: Ambassador-Emerald International, 2003.