Kootenai Church Sunday School

The Bible we hold is a translation of ancient manuscripts. But does that gap between the original autographs and our English Bibles introduce error we should be worried about? In Lesson 27 of Christian Ethics and the Old Testament, Dave Rich works through the transmission and translation of Scripture—and makes the case that we have every reason for confidence.

Rich opens with the logic: reliable manuscripts plus faithful translation equals God's Word in English. Either piece can fail, and he walks through what happens when it does. From there he examines the manuscript evidence for the Old Testament—the Masoretic Text, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the Septuagint—showing that agreement across those sources is remarkably stable. The one significant variant, Psalm 22:16, turns out to have strong textual support for "they pierced my hands and feet," consistent with its unmistakably messianic context.

New Testament transmission is even more extensively attested—over 5,800 Greek manuscripts, with 99.5% of the text determinable from existing evidence. Rich walks through the nature of the variants honestly, showing that the most significant ones are well known, clearly marked in modern translations, and doctrinally non-threatening.

The lesson closes with a survey of English translations across a spectrum from highly literal to outright corrupt: the YLT, NASB, LSB, ESV, NIV, New Living, and then the Message, the New World Translation, the Passion Translation, and several others that distort the text to serve a theological agenda.

God had a purpose in giving His Word, Rich argues, and that same providence extends to its transmission and translation into every language.