The Coronation ... how should this event bring us back to the Bible?

If the King’s Coronation service follows the pattern of that of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, His Majesty Charles III will be handed a copy of the Bible as part of the ceremony. But, out of the hundreds of different English language translations, who knows which version it’ll be?

Imagine you were interviewed or gave an important talk which was reported throughout the world. If it was translated into 723 different languages, you’d probably be flattered.

But if some of these happened to be strange new versions using different words and emphases from your original, then you’d possibly be perplexed or annoyed.

Interestingly, according to ProgressBible, a complete version of the Bible has been translated into 723 different languages worldwide.

Figures for the number of English language translations are, however, harder to obtain. Estimates place the figure around 900 versions if you include all the translations, portions and paraphrases printed since 1526.

Whatever the exact number, it appears to be surprisingly large when compared to the 723 versions in non-English languages.

Now, it’s marvellous news that the Bible has been translated into a whole range of languages. It’s good too that, as a partial reflection of God’s glorious abundance, a variety of English language translations exist.

Indeed, there are times when one accurate translation might possibly shine a light on a facet of God’s word that another trustworthy translation might not capture.

But is the ever-increasing number of English translations really good news, now there are Bible versions which appear to cater to almost every political or theological persuasion?

With so many versions readily available, how can new believers choose those that accurately reflect the original meaning of the text, avoid those which don’t, or carry out an accurate Bible word search if the word they’re seeking has been incorrectly translated?

During a Bible study I once attended, there were so many translations being used that, when we took it in turns to read a particular passage out loud, it became increasingly difficult to follow the text.

If the home group had been any bigger – and included even more versions – our brains would no doubt have been boggled by a whole Babel of Bibles!

Unfortunately, when it comes to quoting Scripture, there can be a temptation to cherry-pick the translation which best suits our purpose, the point we’re trying to make or – God forbid – the one that’s most likely to tickle our ears.

2 Timothy 4:3 provides a timely warning: ‘For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.’

The danger of having many translations is clear – if people don’t like one version, they can always use an alternative.

Although we might choose a ‘translation’ that’s just up our street, we could eventually find ourselves down a blind alley. So, because of this, it’s important we remind ourselves of the centrality of God’s word and the importance of accurate translation.

Correct understanding, interpretation, and application of Scripture matters! If the translations we use are flawed or theologically slanted, how can we seek guidance profitably, handle God’s word correctly, or study it responsibly?

Among the many English versions now available, one particularly modern tendency in Bible translation is to produce versions such as 2007’s The Inclusive Bible: The First Egalitarian Translation.

According to Goodreads, ‘Seeking to be faithful to the original languages, Priests for Equality have sought new and non-sexist ways to express the same ancient truths. The Inclusive Bible is a fresh, dynamic translation into modern English, carefully crafted to let the power and poetry of the language shine forth … giving it an immediacy and intimacy rarely found in traditional translations of the Bible.’

According to Revd Bosco Peters (Christ’s College, Canterbury, NZ), however, ‘Some renderings in The Inclusive Bible may send you back to a re-examination of the original, and you may […] be surprised how prejudiced our images are, a prejudice not shared by the original.

‘For example: Mark 3:1 […] “Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand” (NRSV). The Inclusive Bible has it as, “someone who had a withered hand.” And actually The Inclusive Bible is correct. [The Greek word in question] means “a human being, whether male or female”. Inclusive Bible ‘But, occasionally, The translation seems to have gone too far… Deuteronomy 5:21 [reads], “Neither shall you covet your neighbour’s wife” (NRSV)… The original does not say “Do not lust for your neighbour’s spouse” [though The Inclusive Bible does].’

The desire to remove inappropriately sexist language is laudable, particularly when some of the pronouns in the original language aren’t gender specific. Other translations, however, alter clearly male pronouns into something that’s either female or gender-neutral, possibly neutering parts of the Bible in the process!

Another version, The Queen James Bible (QJB), appeared in 2012. It’s described on Amazon as being ‘based on The King James Bible, edited to prevent homophobic misinterpretation’.

The text goes on to say: ‘Homosexuality was first mentioned in the Bible in 1946, in the Revised Standard Version. There is no mention of or reference to homosexuality in any Bible prior to this – only interpretations have been made.

‘Anti-LGBT Bible interpretations commonly cite only eight verses in the Bible that they interpret to mean homosexuality is a sin: Eight verses in a book of thousands! The [QJB] seeks to resolve interpretive ambiguity in the Bible as it pertains to homosexuality: We edited those eight verses in a way that makes homophobic interpretations impossible … You can’t choose your sexuality, but you can choose Jesus. Now you can choose a Bible, too.’

However, quite aside from its obvious agenda when editing those verses, it seems a little disingenuous for the QJB translators to imply that homosexuality was unknown to the Israelites, Greeks and Romans, and that it wasn’t invented until 1946.

And then there’s The Passion Translation (TPT ). Its author, Dr Brian Simmons, said on Sid Roth’s sensationalist ‘It’s Supernatural!’ TV programme that he’d received a vision in which he visited ‘the library of heaven’, saw part of the Bible that doesn’t yet exist, and tried to steal a book to which he wasn’t entitled!

TPT’s website describes it as an ‘easy-to-read Bible translation that unlocks the passion of God’s heart … merging emotion and life-changing truth [… to] help you encounter his heart and know him more intimately.’

However, according to Christian website Got Questions, ‘The TPT goes well beyond the idea of “translation” and reimagines the Bible as one human author thinks it ought to be written.’

Stranger still, there’s the oddly named Cotton Patch Gospel, which has Jesus born in Gainesville, USA, fleeing to Mexico during the slaughter of the innocents and eating the Last Supper in a US convention centre!

One passage, taken from Matthew 11:16-17, has Jesus telling the crowd: ‘How shall I describe this generation? They are like kids playing in the streets and shouting at each other, “We put on some rock-and-roll, but you wouldn’t dance; so we put on some funeral music, but you wouldn’t go into mourning”.’

The text, which at one point refers to ‘Communists and peaceniks’, also changes places like Tyre, Sidon, Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum to Columbus, Albany, Dalton, Calhoun and Savannah.

Was it for this, I wonder, that men such as Wycliffe, Tyndale, Coverdale and others sought to translate the Bible into a language that even a ploughboy could understand?

With fear of God and respect for His holy word having declined significantly, the deluge of different English-language Bibles sometimes makes it hard for people to discern what God’s word really says.

So, because the Bible warns of false teachers, preachers and ‘things taught by demons’ (1 Tim. 4:1), we need to be on our guard when it comes to what we read and hear.

As Galatians 1:8 warns: ‘But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse!’

This is why it’s important that the Bibles given out in Sunday Schools, handed to new believers, shared in our home groups, used in church services, and provided for our pews are accurate and reliable.

In Deuteronomy 4:2, Moses tells God’s people: ‘Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the LORD your God that I give you.’

Revelation 22:18-19 reiterates this, saying: ‘I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: if anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.’

Though the verses refer to the book of Revelation, the principle of neither adding nor taking anything away from the Scriptures holds true.

Sadly, in the case of several translations – and this includes many I don’t have space to mention – you can’t necessarily judge the book by the cover nor see the wood for the trees.

They may say ‘Bible’ on the cover, but are the contents entirely Biblical?

Believers should not only handle the word of truth correctly (2 Tim. 2:15), but should get their hands on the most accurate version of God’s word – one that will nourish the spirit, rather than giving us indigestion or the spiritual equivalent of food poisoning.

During her 1953 Coronation, the young Queen was handed a copy of the Bible. The Archbishop of Canterbury then said: ‘Our gracious Queen… we present you with this Book, the most valuable thing that this world affords.’

The Moderator of the Church of Scotland then added: ‘Here is Wisdom; this is the royal Law; these are the lively Oracles of God.’

The Bible is no ordinary book. It is God’s word. It is to be read with reverence, acted upon appropriately, and handled with care.

Whether we’re a pastor, prince or an ordinary person, woe to us if we neglect the Bible, treat it lightly, or misinterpret, misuse or misapply it.