Bible Translation Part 2: Manuscripts and Variants

A controversial point regarding Bible translations is textual sources. The original manuscripts, or autographs, were inspired by God, but none of those originals remain in existence. The autographs were copied, and copies were made of copies for centuries. Most of those "in-between" copies have also passed from existence, with no traceable unbroken chain back to the originals.

For both the Old and New Testaments, there are relatively small numbers of ancient copies and more plentiful numbers of newer copies. The OT majority texts are from AD 500-1000, with the oldest complete Hebrew OT dated 1010. Almost no ancient manuscripts were available until the 1940s-1950s, when the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, containing hundreds of manuscripts and portions of every OT book except Esther. The Dead Sea Scrolls range from three centuries BC to one century AD. A complete scroll of Isaiah, dated two centuries BC, is 1000 years older than the previous oldest copy.

Most of the Greek majority texts come from the 11th-14th centuries, (although a few texts as old as 350 are included in the majority group), and there can be over 500 per century. The minority Greek texts have closer to fifty copies per century, but the oldest are a copy of John only 35 years after the original and a collection of Paul's letters from AD 100. Some translators promote the older texts as being closer to the original, while others prefer the newer texts due to more plentiful material.

The Old Testament scribes were meticulous in copying Scripture. They had to have a uniform number of lines per page. They could not write from memory but had to say the words aloud as they wrote. Finished manuscripts were checked, and if more than three errors were found on a page, that copy was rejected. The scribes  counted every word and letter, and some counted the middle word and letter of a book.

The New Testament copyists weren't as strict, but the volume of evidence is enormous. There are over 5,000 Greek manuscripts of the NT, 15,000-30,000 Latin versions, over 1,000 ancient versions in other languages, and many quotations of the NT in writings of early Christians.

For both OT and NT, the huge amount of material that has been compared provides overwhelming evidence that we have God's message accurately preserved. The Dead Sea Scrolls are very close to the younger manuscripts. For example, the Isaiah scroll was 95% identical to manuscripts 1000 years younger, with almost all differences being spelling changes and obvious slips of the pen. NT manuscripts dated less than a century after the apostles wrote have incredible agreement with later copies.

The Greek NT manuscripts that have been compiled agree at an estimated 95% or higher. The most liberal estimate (Wade) is 7% differences, and conservatives place the number at 1-2%. A conservative pastor compared Wade's differences to versions translated from opposite textual sources and found that only about 40% of Wade's variants even show up in translation; when they do, there is usually no difference in how the passage is preached. As affecting translation, older and younger manuscripts are 98-99% identical. When Westcott and Hort released their Greek NT in 1881, utilizing newly discovered older manuscripts, they admitted that nearly thirty years of work had resulted in substantial variations that were "less than 1/1000th of the text." No teaching is missing or in doubt; anything that might be in question in the 1-2% is taught elsewhere in the Bible.

Using different sources results in different wording in some cases, particularly between older and newer texts. The differences that exist between manuscripts are called variants. This is a point of contention, with allegations that some manuscripts are corrupted. Thousands of manuscripts have been classified, and centuries of study have identified and codified textual variants. No two manuscripts are exactly alike, but the vast similarity of the manuscripts assures the accuracy of the Word of God.

Textual criticism is the practice of comparing manuscripts to identify the variants. Most variants are easily recognizable and explainable. Some involve obviously transposed letters or other obvious copying errors. These mistakes are rare, and the agreement of the vast majority of texts confirms the correct reading. There can be changed word order ("Jesus Christ" instead of "Christ Jesus") or added words in later copies ("Jesus" to "Lord Jesus" to "Lord Jesus Christ" to "our Lord Jesus Christ"). Though not identical in wording, there is no significant difference.

Other variants that are a bit trickier have also been analyzed and compiled. Either the context of the passage or the weight of evidence usually clarifies the correct reading. There are very few variants that cannot be explained or definitively nailed down, and none of them affect any doctrinal truth or practical teaching. When there are variants, most scholars document them in the footnotes or marginal notes so that all possible readings are provided.

Translation differences have sometimes been used as causes for alarm, particularly when it seems that a translation is leaving out words of the Bible. The differences in translation are not arbitrary or sinister; they are merely reflections of the manuscripts being used. Because no two manuscripts agree even within the same manuscript family, all translators have to make decisions about variants.

Differences between translations work both ways. One translation will have "missing" words in some verses when compared to a second translation; however, the second translation will have "missing" words in other verses when compared to the first. It all depends on the decision made based on textual evidence. The NASB, for example, does not deny the blood of Christ because it uses the word "blood" only 97 times compared to the KJV's 101 times. Both versions teach the Messiah-ship of Jesus, even though the KJV has "Jesus Christ" or "Christ Jesus" 254 times compared to the NASB's 228.

Even through the passing of centuries and the multiple times the manuscripts were copied, there is incredible consistency between them, confirming that God has preserved the accuracy and authority of the Bible over the spectrum of time. Rather than being in opposition, the older and newer manuscripts support each other in affirming God's truth.

(Much of this material was gleaned from teaching by Dr. Mark Minnick. For additional resources, visit www.mountcalvarybaptist.org, choose the Resources tab, then Translations.)