Bible translation
Vernacular holy text
Bible translation is the rendering of Jewish and Christian scriptures into languages other than the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.
Major translations shape religious communities and literary traditions—the King James Version influenced English prose for centuries, while Luther's German Bible helped standardize that language.
Translation choices carry theological weight: The committee debated whether to use "virgin" or "young woman" in the passage.
Modern efforts range from word-for-word fidelity to thought-for-thought paraphrase.
- dynamic equivalenceTranslation preserving effect, not form
- ancient manuscriptsVery old handwritten documents
- exegesisCritical textual interpretation
- scripture studyExamining religious texts
- chapter and verseExact documented source details
Codex Sinaiticus · good news · hermeneutics · literal meaning · lexicon · cultural adaptation · syntax · canon · NIV · idiom · King James Version · Protestantism · sacred text · missionary · semantics · Hebrew · source language · word for word
- Early ModernRenaissance, 1500s, 1600s, Reformation, sixteenth century
- ChristianityJesus, Christ, God, Jesus Christ, holy
- translationtranslator, interpreting, interpreter, translators, interpreters
- church historychurch history, apostles, Protestant Reformation, Christian history, baptism
- Christian materialsgospel tracts, tract, devotional, religious tracts, hymnal
- Christianizationmissionary work, forced conversion, Catholic missions, colonial missions, church planting
Bible translationoriginal manuscripts
First handwritten source texts
autographs · source text · original text · Hebrew Bible · critical edition