The
Spanish Bible
by
David W. Cloud
Through the years I have received
considerable correspondence from men regarding the Spanish Bible situation. The
standard versions used among fundamental Spanish churches are the 1909 and 1960
editions of the Reina-Valera. These are twentieth-century revisions of the
Cassiodoro de Reina Bible edited and reissued by Cipriano de Valera in 1602.
The problem is that the
Recently I received some
correspondence on this matter from a concerned reader, and have decided to
print my reply for two reasons: First, I want to publicly present my opinion on
this matter. Second, I want to give some information on the subject to our
readers. I talked recently with some men who have had dealings in Spanish and
who did not know much about the subject at hand. I think every man involved in
any way with Spanish-speaking people should know these things and be involved,
at least in prayer, in seeking the perfection of the Spanish Bible.
My position is this: While I can’t
say what the exact solution to the Spanish Bible problem is, I do know there is
a problem that must be addressed. I am convinced that the KJV and the distinctive
edition of the TR underlying it is the preserved Word of God, and one way or
the other the Spanish Bible needs to be brought to this Touchstone.
A difficult matter
I realize this is a difficult
matter.
First, it is difficult because the
1909 and 1960
Second, it is difficult because of
the variety and strength of opinions among fundamental men. Some want to see
the
It is true in general that the Bible
version and translation issue is probably the most difficult, divisive issue a preacher can deal with.
Does that mean we should cease striving for textual purity? Not on your life. The Lord
Jesus Christ said, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by EVERY
WORD which proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Matt. 4:4). We must
care about those words, and we must give our people those words!
"the Bible version and
translation issue
is probably the most difficult,
divisive
issue a preacher can deal with."
I know what it is to strive for a
pure Bible, not only in English but in other languages as well. When we arrived
in
My first attempt to correct that
problem was to approach the Bible Society of Nepal (a branch, at that time, of
the Bible Society of India, and a member of the United Bible Societies). I
attempted to get them interested in producing a sound Nepali Bible. (This
reveals how ignorant I was in those days!) After several months of
dealing with their deceit and hypocrisy, I woke up to the fact that the United
Bible Societies are apostate.
The result of that little foray into
the ecumenical Bible translation world was the writing of Unholy Hands on
God’s Holy Word: A Report on the United Bible Societies (available from Way
of Life Literature,
After ending my brief relationship
with the Bible Society, I began praying earnestly and with tears that God would
raise up some qualified men who could produce a sound Nepali Bible. Eventually
and after much difficulty this was brought to pass. The first edition of the
new Nepali New Testament was printed in 1993 and is being used and revised.
Anything worthwhile is worth
striving for, and that certainly includes the pure Word of God.
If I were doing missionary work
among Spanish-speaking people, I would do everything in my power to see the
Spanish Bible corrected and perfected.
There are some efforts in progress
to revise the
The Trinitarian Bible Society (
If I were a Spanish-speaking pastor
I would take a careful look into these projects to see if I could he1p or
support them. Such efforts cannot succeed without participation by concerned
men.
Then there is the version being
printed by the Broken Arrow Baptist Church of Pearce,
Missionary John Sawyer, editor of The Martyrs Bible
Series, has looked into this matter carefully and advises returning to the
text of the
It is my humble opinion that the
text of [the
In 1984 I bought a
I would like see the Trinitarian
Bible Society restore the full text of the
Though I cannot yet make a dogmatic
recommendation of any of these projects, if I were a
Spanish-speaking person or missionary I would not be satisfied until I had a
truly pure Spanish Bible.
Some have charged that "you
King James men" only care about the English language. It is not true. I know
many KJV men who care deeply about the condition of Bibles in other languages.
I know that I do. During our years in
When I visited
I wanted to know the state of the
Bible in the lands where I am working to produce sound literature.
I was interested, by the way, to
find that not one of the church leaders I met in eastern Europe knew ANYTHING
about the textual background and condition of their Bibles. How could they? Who
has taught them? Is this not what we must do? Is it not a priority in
missionary work to be certain that our Bible is pure? I think it is a copout
for men to avoid this issue because of the problems it inevitably causes.
|
"Through the years I have
noted a strange inconsistency in the position of
some men when it comes to Bibles in other
languages." |
The very first thing a preacher
needs to know is the condition of the Bible he will be using. If the Bible is corrupted, we cannot
fight the enemy effectively. Yes, people can be saved through impure Bibles;
we saw many saved in
The fact is that the
speaking person. It definitely needs
some significant correcting.
Please understand that I am not
referring merely to words in the
There are many places where the 1909
The KJV Received Text
should be the standard
I specifically compare the
Many of our readers will understand
that there are several editions of the Received Text. There are different
editions in Greek, and there are different editions represented in the
translations. Prior to the translation of the KJV there was in Greek the
Erasmus text (1535), the Stephanus (1551), and the Beza (1582), including
several editions of each. The KJV translators perused the Greek texts
mentioned, as well as many other versions and resources. They leaned heavily
upon the work of their learned forebears, the men who produced the Tyndale,
Matthew’s, Taverner’s, Great, and Geneva Bibles. The KJV is thus founded
upon a particular independent variety of the TR.
There are four main reasons why I
believe this variety of the TR, the KJV- TR, should be the Touchstone
for all translation work. (1) We must have an absolute standard, and to open
the text up for further revision at this point in history is to produce the
confusion we see all around us in the Bible world. The KJV text is not a
text in transition, whereas the preceding editions of the TR were. The hour
leading up to the KJV was one of transition and purification, but that hour has
passed. God obviously put His stamp of approval upon the KJV-TR and allowed it
to be published and translated throughout the world in a manner unprecedented
in history. At this confused, weak, apostate hour in history are we going to
perfect the Bible? I say not. That has already been done, and our part is to
lean upon that perfection. (2) The unique position the Authorized Bible has
had in the past 400 years of history forces me to bow before its authority.
(3) The importance of the English language in Bible preservation during this
era forces me to see God’s hand in a unique way in the production of the
English Bible. That is why I would correct any other language version with
the KJV-TR. (4) The unique and thorough revisions the English Bible was
brought through from Tyndale to the KJV force me to see the superiority of the
KJV-TR. This was an unprecedented purification process.
When someone says, "You are
fighting for the superiority of one mere translation in one mere language,"
I realize they do not understand - or refuse to recognize - the true history of
the English Bible.
I am thus convinced the KJV-TR is
the edition of the TR we must follow in all translation work. I am convinced
this is the Touchstone, the perfect, preserved Word of God.
Problems in the
Consider some examples of
corruptions in the 1909
"Of God" is omitted
in Matthew 2:12. "Draweth nigh unto me with their mouths" is omitted
in Matthew 15:8. "Jesus" is omitted in Matthew 24:2; Luke
9:43; Acts 3:26; Acts 9:29; and some other verses. "Yet found they
none" is omitted in Matthew 26:60. "From the door" is
omitted in Matthew 28:2. "As they went to tell his disciples" is
omitted in Matthew 28:9. Mark 1:2 in the
"Isaiah the prophet" rather than "the
prophets" as in the KJV. This results in a lie, because Mark was
quoting two different prcphets, not just Isaiah. The KJV is correct; the
(I believe the 1909
Examples of corruption could also be
given from the Old Testament. "For thou hast magnified thy word above
all thy name" is mistranslated in the
These examples were given to me by
several Spanish-speaking men over the years, and this is not an exhaustive list
of corruptions.
It is enough for me, though, to know
that something definitely needs to be done to revise the Spanish Bible.
I have heard some men say that the
Though the years I have noted a
strange inconsistency in the position of some men when it comes to Bibles in other languages. If the
Received Text is the perfect Word of God, it is inexcusable to promote or
defend ANY DIFFERENT READING IN ANY OTHER LANGUAGE. It is one thing to endure a
corrupted Bible while we are making every effort to see it revised; it is quite
another matter to excuse or defend corrupted texts.
|
"We need PERFECT Bibles, and
I applaud every man who has zeal for a perfect
Bible – even though he might make some
mistakes along the way. It is only because
of the efforts of such men that the
English world has a pure Bible today." |
I have met too many preachers who
know little or nothing about the textual basis and history of the Bibles
they use. Even worse, they don’t seem to care about this and they get a little
huffy when you try to delve into the details of the matter. They seem to feel
that since the Bible they use is the standard Bible in that particular language
it must be the one God wants them to use, regardless of its textual
corruptions. They even seem frustrated at the attempts of men who want to
produce genuinely pure Bibles in their language.
This kind of attitude makes me sad.
We need perfect Bibles, and I applaud every man who has zeal for a perfect
Bible – even though he might make some mistakes along the way. It is only
because of the efforts of such men that the English world has a pure Bible
today.
I repeat my position: I am convinced
that the KJV and the distinctive edition of the TR underlying it is the
preserved Word of God, and one way or the other every foreign language
translation needs to be brought to this Touchstone. Inasmuch as a non-English Bible
differs in meaning from the Received Text, it is corrupted.
My apology for bestowing so large a
portion of my time on Textual
Criticism, is David’s when he was
reproached by his brethren for appearing on the field of battle-‘Is there not a
cause?’ -John William Burgon
"No amount of earnestness can
be condemned when pleading, on straight lines, the cause of God. ... To
employ soft words and honeyed phrases in discussing questions of everlasting
importance; to deal with errors that strike at the foundations of all human
hope as if they were harmless and venial mistakes; to bless where God
disapproves, and to make apologies where He calls us to stand up like
men and assert, though it may be the aptest method of securing popular
applause in a sophistical age, is cruelty to man and treachery to Heaven.
Those who on such subjects attach more importance to the rules of courtesy than
they do to the measures of truth do not defend the citadel, but betray it into
the hands of its enemies. Love for Christ, and for the souls for whom He died,
will be the exact measure of our zeal in exposing the dangers by which men’s
souls are ensnared." -George Sayles Bishop, 1885
(This article was featured in Dr.
Cloud´s "O Timothy!" magazine, Volume 11, Issue 2, 1994, pages 14-20)
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