Encore Post: The Bible, it’s stories, phrases, poetry and images are so woven into our culture we don’t even notice it. Even more so it is a part of our worship, prayers and teaching that it is a natural part of our faith. So it is easy too forget that God’s word was not originally spoken and written in English, but in two or three eras of the Hebrew language, Aramaic and the everyday Greek of the Roman empire. The King James Version was so well done that it had a staying power of nearly 500 years and influences all of our modern translations. Yet even it loses some of the meaning moving across languages, culture and time period. That is why Lutheran pastors have been traditionally taught to read the Hebrew and Greek of the original texts.
One way to see that is to try to translate from English to English. Think of the word “Excellent.” What word would you use in its place if you could not use the word “Excellent?” Does the word you picked mean exactly “excellent?” Not really. Some shades of meaning are lost — like when you see a picture in black-and-white instead of color.
So, when you are trying to understand a passage, consider the original language. If you never learned them, there are tools you can use to get at the original. With the advice of your pastor, select two to four different translations for your study. Pick ones that are somewhat different in approach. When you study, read them together. If they say virtually the same thing, you know the original is not difficult to translate. If they are very different, check the notes of a study Bible or ask your pastor what is going on behind the translations.
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“To be able, with a little effort, to move one step closer to the Good Shepherd, and not take that step? To be able, with a little effort, to hear the voice of the Good Shepherd more distinctly and more fully, and not make the effort? That is nonsense; and for one who is to be a shepherd of the flock of God, to feed the sheep of Christ–for a man with that privilege and that responsibility not to take the trouble to hear the Chief Shepherd in His own tongue–what shall we call it but ingratitude to the God who has given us both the languages and the means of mastering them? The languages are not a burden; they are a gift and a privilege” – Martin H. Franzman, Toward a More Excellent Ministry (St. Louis: CPH, 1964) 85.