International Christian Translation of the Bible: Why Are They Needed?

Bible Translations: Why Are They Needed? The Bible is and has been the best-selling book worldwide for many years. In fact, a version, called the Mazarin Bible, was the first book ever printed on the Gutenberg Press hundreds of years ago. The rich history and religious significance of the Bible also mean it has been translated into numerous languages as well as varying formats by a Christian translator. While this article will not focus on specific doctrinal beliefs as far as a particular version of the Bible, it will focus on several reasons as to why numerous translations exist.

Opening the Lines of Communication Think about how we communicate with every day. We often speak to others, but more often we now use the written word. In Biblical times the option to text someone a town or country away was not an option, so written communication was necessary. When the Bible was first scribed, it was created in Biblical Hebrew which was the king’s language of that time. Everyone was expected to know and understand this language and way of speaking. So the original Koina, a language much like English, could easily spread the Word in an appropriate manner.

Keeping in line with communication, as the world expanded and separated, more languages and manners of speaking were utilized. This meant that in order to share the good news of Christ a Christian translator was needed to translate the gospel into an appropriate language.

Even today, there are people in the world that would be unable to read or share the gospel of Christ without the Christian translations of the Bible. It seems unimaginable, but there are over 2,000 different International Christian translation of the Bible. This does not account for the numerous versions that have also been translated.