1948.—Errors in Translations.
Is it not a plain contradiction of the text, ''All scripture is given by inspiration of God,'' to say that there is a mistake in translation of scripture passages? How can we prove that any of the Bible is correct if we acknowledge mistakes in the Bible? The Holy Scriptures are one thing; the translation of those Scriptures quite another. When Paul wrote the text quoted in part above (2 Tim. 3:16), he referred to the Old Testament Scriptures, written originally in the Hebrew language. The New Testament was written in Greek. We do not have those original writings. They are probably not in existence. But we have copies of copies of them. One, for instance, was found in a convent at Mount Sinai; one was found in the Vatican; one was found in Alexandria, Egypt; many others have been found elsewhere. When the King James version was translated, the better manuscripts referred to above had not been found; the translators had copies of copies of copies unknown in number to us. The constant multiplication of these copies multiplied small errors. Devout scholars have for years been seeking to get as many copies as they could as near the original copies as possible. The Siniaite MS., the Vatican MS. 1209, the Alexandrian, and some others, carry us back to the fourth and fifth centuries; and, while they show errors in later copies, they prove as evidence of no other ancient book proves, that our Bible is correct, and that the errors in copying are infinitesimal. The next question is, What does our Father say in these Hebrew and Greek writings which have come down to us? Of course, every true child wants to know. Therefore every translation by competent, honest scholars he will welcome. The very best translation in existence, compared with the very best originals, is the American Standard Revised Version. We do not mean by this that the King James Version is unreliable; it is not, but it is not nearly as good a rendering, it is not so uniform and clear, as the American Revision.