Monday 31 October 2011

LLOYD-JONES ON BIBLE TRANSLATIONS

DMLJ was always at pains to warn Christians against becoming slaves to anything, not even to a particular translation of Scripture.   While he used, I think exclusively, the KJV in his pulpit work, and spoke very highly of it as a translation, he did not shy away from criticising it as a translation when he thought it was either weak or poor or even wrong.  With 2011 being the 400th anniversary of the KJV of the Scriptures, we are finding a lot of noise from the AV only people about the features of this translation; yes, it is good, but it is hardly the best translation, and is capable of improvement.  Improvements have undoubtedly been made in scholarship and in translation work, and this is good.  The frequency with which AV-using ministers have to re-translate the text to make it intelligible to the people of the 21st century is in itself a commentary on its antiquity and obscurity.  

DMLJ was no different.  He had to depart from the AV in favour, very often, of the RV, in order to have a more accurate translation of a particular text from which to preach. 

Nor did he accept that Paul is the author of the epistle to the Hebrews.  He simply refers to a statement in Hebrews, or simply that Hebrews describes Him as...  While he appreciated scholarship, he did not accept the “assured results” of scholarship that does not take the Bible’s own self-designation as “the word of God” seriously.

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