Jehovah the God of Communication

PRESERVATION OF GOD'S MESSAGE

Has God's communication with humans been hindered by the use of different languages and minor variations in translation?  No. For example, we may be aware of only a few of the original -language words that Jesus used.  (Matthew 27:46; Mark 5:41; 7:34; 14:36)  However, Jehovah  made sure that Jesus' message was transmitted in Greek and, in time, other languages.  Later, Bible manuscripts were copied again and again by Jews and Christians, preserving the holy writings. These were translated into many more languages of the Syrians,  Egyptians, Indians, Persians, Ethiopians, and innumerable other peoples. 

Producing the Bible in  many languages thwarted the efforts of such men  as Roman Emperor Diocletian, who in 303 C.E. ordered that all copies of the Scriptures be destroyed. There were countless attacks on God's Word and on those who translated and distributed it.  In the 16th century, William Tyndale set out to translate the Bible from Hebrew and Greek into English, declaring to a well-educated man:  "If God spare my life, ere many years I will cause a boy that driveth the plough shall know more of the Scripture that thou doest."  Tyndale had to flee from England to the European continent to translate and print his translation.  Despite a campaign by the clergy to burn  publicly all the Bibles they could find, copies began to circulate in great numbers. Eventually, Tyndale was betrayed and was strangled  and burned at the stake, but his Bible translation lived on. It was consulted extensively in the preparation of the widely distributed King Jame version of the Bible. -Read 2 Timothy 2:9. 

Granted, some surviving ancient copies of the Bible contain minor mistakes and discrepancies. However, thousands of fragments, manuscripts, and ancient translations have been compared and painstakingly studied by Bible scholars.  This study validated the contents of the vast majority of Bible passages.  The few verses about which there is a degree of uncertainty do not change the overall message. A study of ancient manuscripts convinces sincere Bible students that they have what Jehovah originally inspired Bible writers to record. -Isaiah 40:8. 

Despite fierce opposition from enemies, Jehovah has seen to it that his Word is the most widely translated book in the history  of mankind.  Even at a time when many have little or no faith in God, the Bible remains a best seller and is now available, in whole or in part, in over 2,800 languages. No other work comes close to the Bible in breadth of distribution and availability.  Some Bible translations are not as clear or as reliable  as others.  Still, it is possible to learn the Bible's basic message of hope and salvation through nearly all translations. 

Next time: Jehovah the God of Communication/NEED FOR A NEW BIBLE TRANSLATION 

From The Watchtower magazine