Bible translators at work

Did you ever wonder how Bible translation happens? Here's a 4-minute video that shows just that. Other than the notebook computers and clothing styles not a lot has changed since that august group of 17th century Englishmen gave us the King James Version. In this example the English Standard Version (ESV) translation committee is debating how to translate the Hebrew word ebed and the Greek word doulos -- words often translated slave even though the original words can have various renderings depending on the context. This video demonstrates that translations of the Bible don't fall from the sky with a divine imprimatur, but are the result of diligent and prayerful scholarship. Whatever our preferred translation we should be thankful for the men and women who do the hard work of making it possible to read God's Word as accurately as possible in our own language.





via Justin Taylor