In his sermon, Eric Bechler discusses the importance of the original languages of the Bible, Hebrew for the Old Testament and Greek for the New Testament, emphasizing their divine inspiration and authenticity. He highlights the necessity of translating the scriptures into the common languages of all nations to make them accessible to all believers, as not everyone knows the original languages. Bechler explains the historical context of why the scriptures were originally written in Hebrew and Greek and points out the significance of translations throughout history, such as the Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate. He acknowledges the challenges and imperfections of translations, noting that while the original texts are infallible, translations, although not God-breathed, are crucial for understanding God's word. Bechler stresses the importance of preparation, practice, and reflection when reading scripture, urging believers to approach the Bible with reverence and seriousness, recognizing its divine authority and significance.

Our reading today from the Second London Baptist Confession comes again from chapter one of the Holy Scriptures today, paragraph eight. The Old Testament in Hebrew, which was the native language of the people of God of old, and the New Testament in Greek, which at the time of the writing of it was most generally known to the nations, being immediately inspired by God and by His singular care and providence kept pure in all ages are therefore authentic. So as in all controversies of religion, the church is finally to appeal to them. But because these original tongues are not known to all the people of God who have a right unto and interest in the scriptures and are commanded in the fear of God to read and search them. Therefore they are to be translated into the vulgar language of every nation into which they come.

That the word of God dwelling plentifully in all, they may worship him in an acceptable manner, and through patience and comfort of the scriptures may have hope." Today we'll focus on the original languages of the Old and New Testament and the importance of translations. First, we'll discuss the special place the Scriptures have in their original languages and what that means, and then we'll talk about translations. I mentioned a number of weeks ago that the scriptures were written by around 40 different people across 1500 years in multiple languages. In the Old Testament, the prophets and the people of Israel and the Jews spoke and wrote in the Hebrew language. They wrote in their common language, inspired by the Holy Spirit.

Their words were God breathed. Thus, we consider them to be infallible without corruption. What does Paul tell us about the Jews? Unto them were committed the oracles of God in Romans 3 2. However, to be precise, there are a few passages in the Old Testament written in Chaldee.

These are Jeremiah 10 11, Daniel chapter 4 verse 2, and Ezra chapters 4, 5, and 6. These I think are a consequence of the exile in Babylon. Nonetheless the Old Testament was predominantly written in Hebrew. What about the New Testament? Why Greek?

With the Old Testament it's obvious why it was written in Hebrew. This was what God's people spoke. In the New Testament period several languages were spoken. In the fourth century BC there was a notable figure, Alexander the Great, and he conquered lands from Greece to Egypt, stretching all the way to India. As a byproduct of his conquest, the Greek language became the primary language in commerce and government, thus making it the primary language throughout his kingdom.

Following Jesus' death and resurrection, God called Saul of Tarsus to take the gospel to the Gentiles. God's word would now be both for the Jew and the Gentiles. And God chose Greek, the common language of the lands, to communicate to the masses. As we have touched on in previous weeks, we have great confidence in the writings of the Old and New Testaments being inspired and authentic. This is based on the presence of many ancient manuscripts, numerous quotations of Scripture from early Christian writers, which match very closely to the ancient manuscripts themselves, and early translations into other languages such as the Samaritan Pentateuch, the Greek Septuagint, the Syriac version, and the Latin Vulgate, among others.

Paul in his letter to Timothy tells us that all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." 2 Timothy 3 16. Although men wrote down these words, they were from God, inspired by the Holy Spirit. They were God-breathed and carry the authority and power of God himself. We have Jesus's own words to the two men on the road to Emmaus after Christ's resurrection regarding the truth of scriptures. These are the words which I spoke unto you while I was yet with you that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses and in the prophets and in the Psalms concerning me." Luke 24 44.

Furthermore Jesus in speaking with his disciples expressed his confidence in the enduring purity of Scripture, purity across the ages. For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled. Matthew 5 18. Wilhelmus the Brackle concludes, both languages, Hebrew and Greek, have remained as untainted to the Holy Scriptures that even though various manuscripts contained some writing or printing errors, and heretics have sought to corrupt them in various places. The scriptures have nevertheless been fully preserved due to the faithful, providential care of the Lord, as well as the meticulous attention given to the manuscripts by both the Jewish and the Christian churches.

Only the aforementioned languages are authentic, having the inherent authority to be both credible and acceptable. It was in these languages that it has pleased the Lord by the inspiration and direction of the Holy Spirit to cause His word to be recorded. There is one additional point to make here. The inspiration given by the Holy Spirit to the authority of the Holy Scriptures was specific to the original languages in which they were written. The inspiration by the Holy Spirit was not part of the translating into other languages.

The translation has not been God-breathed. They have been written and determined by men. They're not infallible. And disagreements can arise in how the original words should be translated into particular language. Something is always lost in translation.

Disagreements can also arise in interpretations when we study and research what Scripture says. The final appeal to resolve any of these disagreements must be made to the original language text, the Hebrew manuscript for the Old Testament and the Greek manuscripts for the New Testament. And we are blessed to have the Bible translated into English, but we have to remember that the final authority is the scriptures in the original language. A. A.

Hodges writes, the scripture in those languages are the absolute rule of faith and ultimate appeal in all controversies. The original sacred text has come down to us in a state of essential purity. But what if we don't know Hebrew and Greek, which is most of us? Must we learn it? Teach it to our children?

Although I would not discourage you in that pursuit, it is certainly not required or expected. For most of us, this would be a very difficult and represent a huge barrier to our reading and studying about God and His commands. The Old Testament was written in the common language of the Jews, the New Testament in the common language at that time, And since not everyone knows or will ever know Hebrew or Greek, many scholars over the centuries have translated those manuscripts into the common language of their people. And we are blessed and thankful for their efforts and their sacrifices. We are all familiar with John Wycliffe, William Tyndale, Martin Luther, all who desired to get the Bible and its message into the language and hearts of the people.

But they were not the first ones with a desire to get the Bible into the language of the people. Even before Christ came, 72 Jewish scholars met in Alexandria, Egypt to translate the Hebrew Old Testament into Greek. This was in response to so many Jews speaking Greek rather than Hebrew in that culture in that time. This translation is called the Septuagint and is sometimes referred to as the LXX manuscript. As the power and influence of Rome grew, a need for a translation into Latin also grew.

Many translations in Latin were written. The most notable was the Latin Vulgate. Jerome in 405 AD completed his translation from the original Hebrew Bible, even though he had access to the Septuagint. And with respect to the Vulgate and the Septuagint, and I'll actually include here the King James Version, are these translations as authoritative as the original text? Some would argue.

Are they infallible? I think still some would argue that. I would say certainly not. As translations by men, they are no more authoritative or infallible than any other translations made without the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. No translation is perfect.

The doctrinal content may be conveyed properly and yet they fail at some level to capture everything taking place in the source language. There are puns and word plays that cannot be translated. Words have meanings and they have sounds. The meaning can be translated but the sound rarely can. As an example let's look at Genesis 2 7.

The Lord God formed man from the dust of the earth or dust of the ground. The Hebrew word for man sounds like hadam, hadam. The Hebrew word for the ground sounds like hadamah. They're spelled the same except for that last syllable on the word for ground, hadam, hadamah. You can see a connection there in the words used in the Hebrew that is just not there in the words in English.

And there are many examples like that. There are also words in Greek and Hebrew that don't have precise equivalence to the English. Maybe some nuance is lost because of that. There are Hebrew words with multiple meanings and a single English word must be chosen, thus losing a broader dimension to what was conveyed in the Hebrew. Today according to Wycliffe Bible translators in September 2024, speakers of 3, 765 languages had access to at least a book of the Bible.

And that represents about 51% of all languages and approximately 98% of all people. In total there are 756 languages with a full translation of the Bible which is amazing. Yet much work still has to be done in a world with an estimated 7396 languages. But what does God's Word say about this? There is no direct command to translate the Bible into all the languages yet.

God has expressly commanded us to read his Word And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart and you shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, when you rise up, You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." Do you want me to read it? Well, to what extent here? Search the scriptures, John 5, 39. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom Colossians 3 16 I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read unto the holy brethren first Thessalonians 5 27 We have also a more sure word of prophecy where until unto you do you do well that you take heed 2nd Peter 1 19 so from both the Old Testament and the New Testament we have commands to hear the scriptures to search the scriptures to read the scriptures all the days of our lives, then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God, Proverbs 2.5.

But how can this be accomplished if we don't understand Hebrew or Greek? The scriptures must be translated into the language we understand and use daily. We need translation so that we can read God's word ourselves and be guided by God's Holy Spirit and truth and understanding. Paul writes, Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms, in hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. Colossians 3.16.

As Christians, we want to worship God, and we want to worship God in an acceptable manner. We should be, we should also be wanting to obey his commands. We can't do this without referring to God's word, without actually reading what God says. I'd like to close with some guidelines for profitable reading of the scriptures presented by Dr. Brackel.

For the reading of scripture to be profitable, there must be preparation, practice, and reflection. First, preparation. What does he mean? Each time when one engages himself to read, one, he must with mental concentration place himself in the presence of God. He must promote a reverent spiritual frame, being conscious that the Lord shall speak to him.

Number two, he must lift up his heart to the Lord, beseeching him who is the author of this word for his spirit that he may cause us to perceive the truth expressed in God's word and apply it to the heart. Three, he must attentively incline the heart to obedience in order to exercise faith, to be receptive to comfort, and to comply with all that which the Lord shall proclaim, promise, and command. Second, practice. As you read, it is essential to do so calmly and attentively rather than hastily. If there is lack of time, it is better to read less but to be attentive in doing so.

In order to read God's Word in a studious and scrutinizing manner, one must observe the context preceding and following a given text and take notice of both the manner of speech and the objective of the text. The text must then be compared with other texts where the issue at hand is explained more comprehensively and with texts which are similar in content. One can also read Scripture without engaging in studious research for the meaning of the text. For example, a practical reading of Scripture, such is the case when, with a humble, hungry, and submissive spiritual frame, one places himself before the Lord while reading slowly and thoughtfully as if hearing the voice of God and subjecting himself to the Holy Spirit to operate on his heart as he reads. And Finally, reflection.

Upon reading scripture, this consists of joyfully giving thanks for his word. Two, painstakingly striving to preserve this good spiritual frame obtained by reading His Word. Three, meditating while engaged in one's occupation upon that which one has read. Four, sharing with others what was read and discussing it. And five, Especially striving to comply with what was read by bringing it into practice.

I Don't know about you. But when it's time to read my Bible, I I grab it I sit down and I start reading Sometimes I have to ask myself am I just reading to check that box off my list that I've read my Bible today? Check. Or am I really anxious to see what God has to say to me today? Perhaps it would be better first for me to prepare myself as Dr.

Brackle suggests. The Bible is not just a book. It's not like a hinty or a mystery book. It's God's word. God, the God who created all things, who is sovereign over all things, who is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent.

These are His words. They're special and they should be precious to us and we should probably treat them as such. I would encourage each of you as I will try myself to consider these guidelines each time I reach for my Bible to sit and read it, to really get a presence of, have that reverence and seriousness. This is God's word. I need to take it serious.

Amen.