Translating the Bible into English

The Bible was written in three languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. The majority of the Old Testament was written in Hebrew, except for parts of Ezra, Daniel, and a few phrases in Genesis 31:47 and Jeremiah 10:11; all of which were written in Aramaic. The New Testament was written in Greek, except for a few expressions which appear in Aramaic. 

Interestingly, each language has its own uniqueness and specialty. 

• Hebrew, the language of the Jewish people, is known for its conciseness, having only twenty-two consonants and no vowels. It is a vivid language that pictorially describes ideas. 
• Though Aramaic was used in ancient times, it became widely used by the Jews during their captivity. Since Aramaic served as the international language of trade, the Jews adopted the language, though scholars and religious leaders still learned Hebrew. 
• Greek is known for the richness of its language. It is precise and complex, allowing the writer great depth in expressing a thought. Greek was widely used during New Testament times due to the process of Hellenization.

Translating the Bible into its current day English and other languages has been a long and arduous process. Many Christians have suffered and died to provide us with the precious Word of God in an understandable form. One of the earliest translations is known as the Septuagint, which translated the Old Testament into Greek in 250 BC. 

Later, St. Jerome translated the Old and New Testaments into Latin, often referred to as the Latin Vulgate. In 1484, John Wycliffe translated the first complete English Bible from the Latin Vulgate in an effort to provide the common people with a Bible. Opponents persecuted and killed many of his followers for owning and reading this Bible. Some time later in 1530, William Tyndale translated the Bible from the original languages into English. Believing Tyndale committed heresy, the king of England burned Tyndale at the stake, as well as his translations of the Bible. Finally, in 1611, King James I authorized the first English Bible.