Featured How to interpret the Bible

III. Instruments and Tools for understanding the scriptures

1. Use the right translation (KJV)

A. The KJV is based on the correct underlying Hebrew and Greek texts, while your modern versions are based on corrupt texts edited by heretics.

For example, the ESV and NASB are translated from the Nestle Aland Greek text, let me tell you about the people who edited this text:

“KURT ALAND denied the verbal inspiration of the Bible and wanted to see all denominations united into one “body” by the acceptance of a new ecumenical canon of Scripture which would take into account the Catholic apocryphal books (The Problem of the New Testament Canon, pp. 6,7,30-33). “

Aland does not believe in verbal inspiration of the Bible, and that the Old Testament and the gospels are full of myths that were not inspired by God but merely a naturalistic process. Kurt Aland does not believe that the canon of Scripture is complete or settled.”

Eberhard Nestle (1851-1913)

“Nestle, of the popular Nestle-Aland Greek New Testament (nearly 30 different editions now), rejected the infallibility of the Bible, and believed it was no more than a normal piece of literature. He claimed that authors of the New Testament never expected their writings to be read by others let alone be taken as the authoritative word of God.”

wayoflife.org has an excellent article with extensive documentation of the heretics and apostates behind textual criticism, it’s titled “Textual criticism drawn from the wells of infidelity”

B. The KJV is based on a better translation philosophy

The KJV is what is called a formal translation which means the words are translated accurately and precisely with an equivalent word or phrase

some bibles like the NIV are translated with a dynamic equivalent, meaning the translator tries to figure out what the passage means, and then put that into the translation. It's more interpretation than translation at times.



For example, Jesus wept, might be translated in a dynamic version as Jesus was sad.

While it might be true that Jesus was sad, that’s not what God said, God said that Jesus wept.

Some extreme examples would be translating Jesus as the guinea pig of God instead of Lamb of God. This is called a cultural substitute.

Now let me say that some bibles like the ESV and the NASB claim to be literal translations, and I have found some problems with them. for example Romans 6:6 says our old man was crucified with Christ, the Greek word for man is the word “anthropas” and it means man, it’s where we get out word Anthropology from. But the NASB and the ESV translate this verse as “our old self was crucified with him” that is NOT an accurate translation and is a minor form of a dynamic translation. I was looking at a version called the Modern English Version, which claims to be modern revision of the KJV, in 2 Timothy 2:4 where it says “no man that warmth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life” the MEV said “no man that engages in active warfare entangles himself in civilian affairs ” the problem is the idea of civilian affairs is not found in the Greek, it’s an interpretation of the passage that was passed on as translation. the word “life” in the KJV, however, is there and comes from the word “bios” where we get our word biology.

I say all that to say that after being at BBTI and doing all my linguistic studies, and looking up many words and passages and comparing many versions, I have found the KJV to be much more faithful and accurate to what God actually said in the Hebrew and Greek inspired texts.

C. The Translators of the KJV were incredible scholars

-Lancelot Andrews

He was the president or director of the Westminster group that translated twelve books altogether, from Genesis to 2 Kings.

he acquired most of the modern languages of Europe at the University of Cambridge.

Lancelot Andrews' manual for his private devotions, prepared by himself, is wholly in the Greek language.

"Such was his skill in all languages, especially the Oriental, that had he been present at the confusion of tongues at Babel, he might have served as interpreter-general."

was conversant with FIFTEEN LANGUAGES."

-William Bedwell

was also in the Westminster group translating the books of Genesis through 2 Kings from the Hebrew into the English.

an eminent Oriental scholar

his fame for Arabic learning was so great that scholars sought him out for assistance. To him belongs, as

McClure stated:

"the honor of being the first who considerably promoted and revived the study of the Arabic language and literature in Europe." [op. cit., p. 101]

in Antwerp, in 1612, he published in quarto an edition of the Epistles of St. John in Arabic with a Latin version.

for many years he was engaged in compiling an Arabic lexicon in three volumes

Dr. Bedwell also began a Persian dictionary,

-Miles Smith

was in Company Three, the Oxford Group. That group translated a total of seventeen books, from Isaiah through Malachi.

he went through the Greek and Latin Fathers, making his annotations on them all.

so expert was he in the Chaldee, the Syriac and the Arabic, that they were almost as familiar as his native tongue.

-John Bois one of the NT translators

at the age of 5 he read the bible in Hebrew!

They say the KING JAMES BIBLE TRANSLATORS were inferior and didn't have the privilege of all the learning we have today. The truth is absolutely the reverse. We don't have the privilege of all the learning that they had. Ask if any of the translators of the modern versions have read the Bible through at the age of five! They probably couldn't even read at five. Then put those other two words on the end--"IN HEBREW" and see what they say to that.

in the chambers of Dr. Downe, the chief university lecturer in the Greek language, Bois read with him twelve Greek authors in prose--the hardest that could be found both for dialect and phrase. It was a common practice for this young man to read and study in the University Library at four a.m. and stay without intermission until eight in the evening, a total of sixteen hours straight

“The translators revived” by Alexander McClure has extensive documentatio2.n of the qualifications of the KJV translators

D. the KJV used a better and more thorough translation technique

the translators were broken up into groups, of 5-6, the group was tasked with a section of the scriptures for examples from Genesis-2 Kings, Each translator in the group translate the action on his own, then the whole group came together and translated their section together, then that group would send their translation to all of the other groups and they would look over the translation, and if there were any disputes they would discuss them, then they would send the translation to a final group made up of the best of the KJV translators, one of them was that guy John Bois who read the bible in Hebrew at age 5. So you see how thorough it was. this is very different from how it is done today.

 

2. Use good study tools

1. Get a study bible or reference bible

-I am using a King James Study bible by Nelson, previously it was called the Liberty Annotated Study bible, it has good comments and notes, I like that the center columns have explanations of words and such. It does however criticize the wording of the KJV sometimes, but the theological notes are sound and are Baptist, Dispensational, Pre millennial and conservative in nature.


-the Defined KJV from Bible for Today, it has uncommon, archaic, and hard words defined in footnotes.


-AMG’s Key Word Study bible

Has good and decent study notes, some of the words in the text are coded to strong’s numbering system and in the back of the bible there is a Hebrew and Greek dictionary with extensive word studies that you can look words up. Sometimes the KJV translation choices are criticized and you have to be careful about that.


-the Thompson Chain Reference Bible, has great chain references, very good for topical studies, have to be careful because it does not interpret Revelation literally.


Study Bibles are not infallible, but they can definitely be very helpful.


-At the very least a good wide margin bible, or bible with cross references is helpful, I would encourage you to take notes in your bible, when you learn new things, or when you look up the meanings of words, write them down, it will help you remember and will always be there when you are looking at a verse.


B. Use Commentaries


Like any other tool commentaries are not infallible and have to be judged according to the scriptures and filtered through the bible, they do contain errors.

But realize they also can be very helpful

wayoflife.org has an excellent article on bible commentaries, just go to their site and int he search bar type in “commentaries”

if you want to ask me after class or church about commentaries or any other tools we talk about today, I would be glad to talk with you.


C. Use Dictionaries

-Noah Webster’s 1828 dictionary of English

-Oxford’s English Dictionary

D. Use Lexicons (Dictionaries in other languages)

For Hebrew I use Brown Driver Briggs Hebrew Lexicon

For Greek I sometimes reference Thayer’s Greek Lexicon

My Favorite Lexicon is in both Hebrew and Greek and it’s called “The Complete Word Study Dictionary” by AMG Publishers

Some people like Strong’s Concordance, I don’t use it a whole lot, but many other people do.

E. Get a Bible dictionary or Encyclopedia

Way of Life Encyclopedia of Christianity

Smith’s Bible Dictionary

F. Make use of modern technology

E-sword is my favorite program, I use it on my computer, and also in my iPad and Iphone, it has tons of stuff, for example you can get the KJV text with every word coded to Strongs numbering system and then with just a click you can look up the meaning of a Greek or Hebrew word, on there you can get at least 29 Free commentaries, 10 different dictionaries (including Smith’s bible dictionary and Websters 1828 English dictionary), 3 different free bible language lexicons, around 40 free reference books, a handful of free devotionals, I love E-sword. There are also other programs like Olive Tree, or Sword searcher, I think E-sword is the best so much so that I paid for it twice and it’s super incredibly cheap, the computer edition is free though.

 

Hints, Allegories, and Mysteries: The New Testament Quotes the Old

 

3. Read the Bible


One of the simplest ways to understand and study the bible is simply by reading it

1. Establish a daily time for reading the bible
2. Establish a place for reading the Bible, preferably a place without noise and distraction
3. Have a reading plan, read the Bible systematically

I supposed I knew my Bible, Reading piecemeal, hit or miss,

Now a bit of John or Matthew,

Now a snatch of Genesis, Certain chapters of Isaiah,

Certain Psalms (the twenty-third) Twelfth of Romans, First of Proverbs-- Yes, I thought I knew the Word! But I found that thorough reading Was a different thing to do,

And the way was unfamiliar When I read the Bible through.

You who like to play at Bible, Dip and dabble, here and there.

Just before you kneel aweary, And yawn through a hurried prayer;

You who treat the Crown of Writings As you treat no other book-- Just a paragraph disjointed,

Just a crude impatient look--

Try a worthier procedure

Try a broad and steady view;

You will kneel in very rapture When you read the Bible through!

-- Amos R. Wells

D. Read with attention and for understanding don’t just read words, concentrate!


Psalm 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.


Meditate means to speak with yourself ,to ponder, to think about.


E. Don’t be discourage if you don’t understand everything or if you don’t feel like your “getting something out of it”



JC Ryle:


"This is a crafty temptation of the devil. At one stage he says, "do not read the Bible at all." At another he says, "Your reading does you no good: give it up." Are you that man? I feel for you from the bottom of my soul. Let me try to do you good.


Do not think you are getting no good from the Bible, merely because you do not see that good day by day. The greatest effects are often silent, quiet, and hard to detect at the time they are being produced. Think of the influence of the moon upon the earth, and of the air upon the human lungs.


Remember how silently the dew falls, and how unperceptively the grass grows. There may be far more going on than you think in your soul by your Bible-reading.


The Word may be gradually producing deep "impressions" on your heart, of which you are not presently aware. Often when the memory is retaining no facts, the character of a man is receiving some everlasting impression. Is sin becoming every year more hateful to you? Is Christ becoming every year more precious? Is holiness becoming every year more lovely and desirable in your eyes? If these things are so, take courage. The Bible is doing you good, though you may not be able to trace it out day by day.


The Bible may be restraining you from some sin or delusion into which you would otherwise run. It may be daily keeping you back, and hedging you up, and preventing many a false step. Yes, you might soon find this out to your hurt, if you were to cease reading the Word! The very familiarity of blessings sometimes makes us insensible to their value. Resist the devil. Settle it in your mind as an established rule, that, whether you feel it at the moment or not, you are inhaling spiritual health by reading the Bible, and unknowingly becoming more strong."