Deuteronomy 2:4 –Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your GOD which I command you.

It’s a controversial topic, with arguments about versions and different points of view about just what exactly one verse or another might mean – but I feel really strongly about the issue of the integrity of the Bible. And I’m not the only one …

Myra and I are using a different “Through The Year” Bible this year. To be honest, it’s not my favorite, and it will probably only get this one outing.  It’s based on the new(ish) English Standard Version, and it’s a pretty good translation. But the way the text has been divided make for some very long morning devotions on some days, and very short on others. It’s not ideal, but not the end of the world either. What did bring me up short though was something the other day, where a small part of one chapter in Jeremiah was inserted, out of place, at the end of another chapter. Now I’m sure the editors could come up with interesting and even reasonable explanations for why they thought is was OK to take liberties with the text. But it’s not right.

I know that the Bible as a collection of “Books” is by no means as simple as it looks. I’m not naïve. I know, in particular, that many of the Old Testament books were for a considerable time “living” documents, derived from multiple sources. And it is self-evident that over the centuries there have been many translations and our understanding of meaning has changed as scholarship has developed. But there’s something else that’s happened too.

Many translations of the Bible have been politically influenced. Even the much venerated King James Version was influenced by the King’s own desire to reinforce the Bishop-based church structure – so that he directed, for instance, the “ecclesia” be uniformly translated as “church” and not “congregation”. Modern translations are sometimes much more egregious – attempting, for instance, to force gender-specific language where it has no place. (The “New Inclusive Translation” published by the Oxford University Press, for instance, refers to the father God as “father-mother”!)

It’s not really the political influence that bothers me so much though. It’s the well-intentioned manipulation or “dumbing down” of Scripture that inadvertently changes the spiritual intention. Without careful labeling and explanation of every moving of things around, confusion may arise.

I use several Bible translations (much to the disgust of some of my more legalistic friends) but I am careful, when there appears to be conflict, to do as good a job as I can of going back to the original language. I can, at least, use interlinear texts and dictionaries. And if things are still not clear, I go and ask an expert.  But I really don’t want to have to deal with uninspired messing with the Word!