WHY BIBLE TRANSLATIONS MATTER

In this post I will be employing the Bible versions recommended by a unitarian heretic in an interview he did with anti-Christian Muhammadan polemicist Paul Williams for the express purpose of showing that Jesus is worshiped as Yahweh God Almighty in the flesh: The Trinitarian “bias” in Bible translations with Professor Sean Finnegan.

In one of his livestreams Finnegan recommended the following versions:  

• Jewish Publication Society Tanakh (JPS): dynamic equivalence from Jewish perspective
• English Standard Version (ESV): formal equivalence from evangelical perspective
• New English Translation (NET): dynamic equivalence from evangelical perspective
• New American Bible (NAB): dynamic equivalence from Roman Catholic perspective
• New Revised Standard Version (NRSV): formal equivalence from a mainline/liberal perspective (353 Bible 24 – Recommended Bible Translations)

I will be employing the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE) for the most part due to its being a mainline liberal translation. I will signify whenever I quote from another one of the versions recommended by Finnegan.

FIRST EXAMPLE

According to Christ, the Father himself demands that every person give the Son the same exact honor that the Father receives:

“The Father judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son, so that all may honor the Son JUST AS they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.” John 5:22-23

Since the way individuals honor the Father is by worshiping him by the Holy Spirit’s empowerment in accord with the truth of his word,

“The woman said to him, ‘Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.’” John 4:19-24

It, therefore, comes as no surprise to find John recording an instance where a person worships Jesus as the divine Son of Man:

“Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’ He answered, “And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him.’ Jesus said to him, ‘You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.’ He said, ‘Lord, I believe.’ And he worshiped him.” John 9:35-38

Elsewhere, Christ identifies himself as the Son of Man in connection with his being the I AM who came down from heaven to perfectly fulfill his Father’s will:

“… So Jesus said [to them], ‘When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM (ego eimi), and that I do nothing on my own, but I say only what the Father taught me. The one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do what is pleasing to him.’” John 8:23-24, 28-29  

m. 8:24, 28 I AM: an expression that late Jewish tradition understood as Yahweh’s own self-designation (Is 43:10); see note on Jn 4:26. Jesus is here placed on a par with Yahweh. New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE)

As indicated by the NABRE’s fn., Jesus’ I AM statements echo the I AM declarations of YHWH, just as the following examples affirm:

“Behold, behold that I am (ego eimi), and there is no god beside me: I kill, and I will make to live: I will smite, and I will heal; and there is none who shall deliver out of my hands.” Deuteronomy 32:39 LXX

“Who has wrought and done these things? he has called it who called it from the generations of old; I God, the first and to [all] futurity, I AM (ego eimi).” Isaiah 41:4 LXX

“Be my witnesses, and I [too am] a witness, saith the Lord God, and my servant whom I have chosen: that you may know, and believe, and understand that I AM (ego eimi): before me there was no other God, and after me there shall be none.” Isaiah 43:10 LXX 

“I AM (ego eimi), the One blotting out your transgressions for mine own sake, and your sins; and I will not remember [them].” Isaiah 43:25 LXX

“I have not spoken in secret, nor in a dark place of the earth: I said not to the seed of Jacob, Seek vanity: I AM (ego eimi), I am the Lord, speaking righteousness, and proclaiming truth.” Isaiah 45:19 LXX

“I AM (ego eimi); and until you shall have grown old, I AM (ego eimi): I bear you, I have made, and I will relieve, I will take up and save you.” Isaiah 46:4 LXX

“I am [the] I AM (ego eimi ego eimi) that comforts you: consider who you are, that you were afraid of mortal man, and of the son of man, who are withering as grass.” Isaiah 51:12 LXX

“Therefore shall my people know my name in that day, for I AM (ego eimi), the One that speaks: I am present,” Isaiah 52:6 LXX

YHWH even condemned the Babylonians and Assyrians for describing themselves as the I AM:

“But now hear these words, you luxurious one, [who are] the one that sits [at ease], that is secure, that says in her heart, I am (ego eimi), and there is not another; I shall not sit a widow, neither shall I know bereavement… for your trusting in wickedness: for you saying, I am (ego eimi), and there is not another: you know the understanding of these things and your harlotry shall be your shame; for you said in your heart, I am (ego eimi), and there is not another.” Isaiah 47:8, 10 LXX

“And he shall stretch forth his hand against the north and destroy the Assyrian, and make Nineve a dry wilderness, [even] as a desert… This is the scornful city that dwells securely, that says in her heart, I am (ego eimi), and there is no longer any after me: how is she become desolate, a habitation of wild beasts! every one that passes through her shall hiss, and shake his hands.” Zephaniah 2:13, 15 LXX

In light of the foregoing, could God have made it any clearer that I AM is employed as a divine self-designation?

In regards to Jesus’ referring to himself as the Son of Man, he did so again at his trial where he used this title to describe himself as coming on the clouds of heaven and being enthroned at God’s right hand. His assertion resulted in the council condemning him to death for blasphemy:

“Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, ‘Have you no answer? What is it that they testify against you?’ But he was silent and did not answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?’Jesus said, ‘I am, and “you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power” and “coming with the clouds of heaven.”’ Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, ‘Why do we still need witnesses? You have heard his blasphemy! What is your decision?’ All of them condemned him as deserving death.” Mark 14:60-64

The reason for this charge is that the Lord was claiming to be that particular Son of Man whom Daniel foresaw ascend to God to begin ruling over all the nations, being that very same One whom the prophet stated would be worshiped by all peoples forever:

“As the visions during the night continued, I saw coming with the clouds of heaven One like a son of man. When he reached the Ancient of Days and was presented before him, He received dominion, splendor, and kingship; all nations, peoples and tongues will serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, his kingship, one that shall not be destroyed.” Daniel 7:13-14 NABRE

Since the Sanhedrin didn’t believe that Jesus is the Being whom Daniel foresaw, they viewed his words as blasphemous.

Proceeding on, Christ attests to being the preexistent Son that has been dwelling with the Father in the same glory from before the creation of the world, being the object of the Father’s infinite love:  

“So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed… Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.” John 17:5, 24

This explains how Jesus could have personally beheld Abraham’s joyous reaction to having foreseen the coming of Christ,

“‘Abraham your father rejoiced to see my day; he saw it and was glad.’ So the Jews said to him, ‘You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM (ego eimi).’ So they picked up stones to throw at him; but Jesus hid and went out of the temple area.” John 8:56-59 NABRE

Since he was already existing long before Abraham came into being.

Jesus even went as far as to make himself the object of prayers, assuring his followers that he himself will personally answer all the requests which are made directly to him:

“I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask ME for anything, I will do it.” John 14:13-14

Christ elsewhere states the Father himself will answer the invocations made in the name of his beloved Son:

“You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name.” John 15:16

“On that day you will ask nothing of me. Very truly, I tell you, if you ask anything of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.” John 16:23

This shows that the Father and Son are essentially coequal, since they both must be omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent in order to be able to perform all the miraculous deeds asked of them.  

It further proves that the Father and Son are equal in glory and honor, since they are both equal recipients of worship.

And seeing that the OT identifies YHWH as the Hearer of all prayers,

“Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion, and to you shall vows be performed, O you who answer prayer! To you all flesh shall come.” Psalm 65:1-2

This again confirms that the Son, along with the Father, is the one true God of all creation, which brings me to my next example.

SECOND EXAMPLE

After beholding the risen Christ in his glorified, physical flesh body, Thomas breaks out in worshipful adoration:

“Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.’ Thomas answered and said to HIM (eipen auto), ‘My Lord and my God (ho Kyrios mou kai ho Theos mou)!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.’” John 20:24-29 NABRE

Thomas worships Jesus by referring to him in a similar fashion to the way Jesus spoke of the Father:

“Jesus said to her, ‘Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, “I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God (kai Theon mou kai theon hymon).”’” John 20:17 NABRE

What makes these verses all the more remarkable is that the Greek has the definite article before the word “God” (theos) when ascribed to Christ, but has no article when the Father is referred to as God!

This shows that the use or nonuse of the definite article does not impact the meaning of theos (“God”) when employed of Jesus, contrary to the assertions of specific cultists and heretics.

In fact, Thomas worships Jesus in the exact same way that the psalmist magnifies YHWH:

“Awake, be vigilant in my defense, in my cause, my God and my Lord (elohay w’adonay). Defend me because you are just, LORD; my God, do not let them rejoice over me.” Psalm 35:23-24 NABRE  

Now compare the Greek rendering of this text:

“Awake, O Lord, and attend to my judgment, [even] to my cause, my God and my Lord (ho Theos mou kai ho Kyrios mou).” Psalm 34:23 LXX

The phraseology of Psalm 34:23 and John 20:28 is virtually identical, with the only difference being that the words are reversed. I.e., “the God of me and the Lord of me,” versus “the Lord of me and the God of me”!

Since the Hebrew Bible is emphatic that the only Lord God an Israelite can ever confess and worship is YHWH (Cf. Exod. 20:1-3; 34:14; 2 Kngs. 17:35-39; Isa. 37:14-20; Jer. 10:10-12), this means that Thomas was confessing the risen Son to be YHWH Almighty in the flesh, Israel’s one true God who had become a man. And instead of rebuking him, Jesus approves of and accepts Thomas’ confession!

The following critical biblical scholar does an excellent job of summing up the preceding evidence from John’s Gospel, which clearly establishes that Jesus is equal to the Father in divinity, glory, honor and worship:

(1) Jesus as Ego Eimi

There are several texts in the third edition where the divine “I AM” appears (8:24, 28, 58; 13:1; 18:6, 8). It is these texts in which Jesus appropriates the designation for Yahweh in the LXX. This appropriation of the divine name is one of the distinct characteristics of the Fourth Gospel, and there is no title for Jesus that could more definitely attribute divinity in its fullest extent to Jesus. Yet for Jesus to appropriate the title “I AM” is not to claim identity with God the Father. Jesus remains the Son but completely reveals the Father that to see Jesus is to see “I AM.”

The fact that these appear in the third edition is an indication of the third author’s intention to make it clear for his readers the full extent of Jesus’ oneness with the Father. The author focuses his attention on the notion of “I AM” in chapter 8.

The statement of 8:24 is striking in its simplicity: “… if you do not believe that “I AM” you will die in your sins.” In 8:28, the third author combines the title “I AM” with that of “Son of Man,” and, at the same time, continues to affirm Jesus’ dependence upon the Father: “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I AM, and I do nothing of myself, but I speak these things just as the Father taught me.” As divine as Jesus is, his divinity is not independent of the Father. In 8:58, the author combines it with the notion of preexistence: “… before Abraham was I AM.” Then in 13:19, Jesus informs the disciples that his ability to foretell events happening to him will be evident that “I AM.” Finally, in the act of being arrested (18:6, 8), Jesus identifies himself as “I AM,” and the power inherent in the title causes the arresting party to fall to the ground.  

(2) Jesus Is to Be Honored Just as the Father Is

In 5:22-23, Jesus claims that all are to “honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. The one who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.” In these verses that come from the author of the third edition, the essential equality of the Son and the Father IS CLEARLY STATED.

Related to this conception is the conviction that Jesus is to be “worshiped” as the Father is worshiped. That God is to be worshiped is clear from 4:19-24 and 12:20; but in 9:38, in an addition by the third author, once the man born blind recognizes Jesus as the Son of Man, he falls down and worships him, thus giving to Jesus the honor that is also due to the Father.

(3) Jesus Is Addressed as “My Lord and My God”

One of the most universally recognized statements of “high” Christology in the New Testament is that of Thomas to Jesus in John 20:28. Here, in material of the third edition, after seeing the wounds of Jesus, Thomas declares: “My Lord and my God!” The words of Thomas are simply unambiguous. He and the Johannine community patently apply titles otherwise reserved for God the Father to Jesus. This happens nowhere else in the Gospels with such clarity. (Urban C. von Wahlde, The Gospel and Letters of John (The Eerdmans Critical Commentary) [William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, MI/ Cambridge, U.K. 2010], Volume 1: Introduction, Analysis, and Reference, pp. 425-426; bold and capital emphasis mine)

THIRD EXAMPLE

I now turn to Matthew’s Gospel:

“When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, ‘Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.’ Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, ‘I am willing; be cleansed.’ Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him, ‘See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.’” Matthew 8:1-4

Here our Lord receives worship in the context of cleansing a man of leprosy, which is a miracle that the Hebrew Bible attributes to God alone:

 “Then the king of Syria said, ‘Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.’ So he departed and took with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing. Then he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which said, ‘Now be advised, when this letter comes to you, that I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may heal him of his leprosy.’ And it happened, when the king of Israel read the letter, that he tore his clothes and said, ‘Am I God, to kill and make alive, that this man sends a man to me to heal him of his leprosy? Therefore please consider, and see how he seeks a quarrel with me.’” 2 Kings 5:5-7

Christ is further worshiped in relation to his raising the dead,

“While He spoke these things to them, behold, a ruler came and worshiped Him, saying, ‘My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on her and she will live.’ So Jesus arose and followed him, and so did His disciples. And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment. For she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.’ But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, ‘Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well.’ And the woman was made well from that hour. When Jesus came into the ruler’s house, and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd wailing, He said to them, ‘Make room, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping.’ And they ridiculed Him. But when the crowd was put outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. And the report of this went out into all that land.” Matthew 9:18-26

And casting out a demon from a great distance without having to be physically present to do so:

“Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, ‘Lord, help me!’ But He answered and said, ‘It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.’ And she said, ‘Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.’ Then Jesus answered and said to her, ‘O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.’ And her daughter was healed from that very hour.” Matthew 15:21-28

This shows that Christ is omniscient and omnipresent since he can perform miraculous acts in faraway areas without needing to be there to do so.

Jesus also receives worship in respect to his sovereign power over natural elements, such as his authority to command the winds, waves and the seas:

“And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. A windstorm arose on the sea, so great that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him up, saying, ‘Lord, save us! We are perishing!’ And he said to them, ‘Why are you afraid, you of little faith?’ Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a dead calm. They were amazed, saying, ‘What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?’” Matthew 8:23-27

“Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, ‘It is a ghost!’ And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, ‘Take heart, it is I (ego eimi); do not be afraid.’ Peter answered him, ‘Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.’ He said, ‘Come.’ So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, ‘You of little faith, why did you doubt?’ When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’” Matthew 14:22-33

The reason why the disciples were shocked, in fact perplexed, is because they knew from the Hebrew Bible that YHWH alone commands the winds and the waves:

“who alone stretched out the heavens and trampled the waves of the Sea;” Job 9:8

“By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance, O God of our salvation; you are the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas. By your strength you established the mountains; you are girded with might. You silence the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples. Those who live at earth’s farthest bounds are awed by your signs; you make the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy.” Psalm 65:5-8

“Your way was through the sea, your path, through the mighty waters; yet your footprints were unseen. You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.” Psalm 77:19-20

In fact, the disciples’ crying out to Jesus to save them from perishing echoes what the proceeding Psalm states in respect to YHWH coming to the aid of those who travel through the seas:

“And let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices, and tell of his deeds with songs of joy. Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the mighty waters; they saw the deeds of the LORD, his wondrous works in the deep. For he commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea. They mounted up to heaven, they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their calamity; they reeled and staggered like drunkards, and were at their wits’ end. Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he brought them out from their distress; he made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad because they had quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven. Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wonderful works to humankind. Let them extol him in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.” Psalm 107:22-32

The foregoing is the reason why biblical scholars believe that these specific miraculous deeds that Christ performed in the sea are meant to be theophanies, signs intended to unveil Jesus’ divine identity.

For instance, note what the late liberal Catholic NT scholar Raymond E. Brown wrote in regards to Jesus’ walking on the waters:

“Against this background the absolute use of ‘I AM’ by the Johannine Jesus becomes quite intelligible; he was speaking in the same manner in which Yahweh speaks in Deutero-Isaiah. For instance, in John 8:28 Jesus promises that when the Son of Man is lifted up (in return to the Father), ‘then you will know ego eimi’; in Isaiah 43:10 Yahweh has chosen Israel, ‘that you may know and believe me and understand ego eimi.’ The absolute Johannine use of ‘I AM’ has the effect of portraying Jesus as divine with (pre)existence as his identity, even as the Greek OT understood the God of Israel.

John did not invent this usage, for there are examples that verge on the absolute use of ego eimi in the Synoptics even though one can argue that a predicate is assumed. For instance, in Matt 14:27 (Mark 6:50): As Jesus comes walking across the water, he says to the disciples in the boat, ‘Ego eimi; do not be afraid.’ This is the same use we saw in John 6:20 (footnote 202). That in this scene Matthew intends more than a simple ‘It is I’ is suggested by the profession of faith elicited by the disciples (Matt 14:33), ‘Truly you are God’s Son!’ Or again, when speaking of the signs of the last days Jesus warns, ‘Many will come in my name, saying ego eimi’ (Mark 13:6; Luke 21:8). The context does not clearly suggest a predicate (even though Matt’s 24:5: ‘I am the Messiah’); and the juxtaposition of ego eimi and ‘my name’ brings us close to Johannine usage…” (Brown, Introduction to New Testament Christology [Paulist Press; Mahwah, NJ 1994], p. 139; bold and underline emphasis mine)

And this is what Brown stated in a fn. in relation to two other “I AM” statements which impact the interpretation of Matthew 14:27:

“I would include two other texts. The first is 6:20 where the disciples in the boat are frightened because they see someone coming to them on the water, and Jesus assures them, ‘I AM; do not be afraid.’ The second is 18:5: The soldiers and police who have come to the garden across the Kidron to arrest Jesus announce that they are seeking Jesus of Nazareth, and he answers, ‘I AM.’ Some would tell us that the first means simply, ‘It is I, i.e. someone whom you know and not a supernatural being or ghost.’ And they would tell us that the second means simply, ‘I am he, i.e. the one you are looking for.’ A better solution is to recognize a play on the expression ‘I AM’ as having a twofold meaning: While it has a simpler story-line import (as just exemplified), it also has a higher connotation. In the first example, the sacral comes from the context that involved Jesus’ walking on the water and a dangerous storm from which they are immediately brought to land: in the second example it comes from those who, hearing Jesus’ response, fall back to the ground. Both, then, would be instances of a theophany or divine appearance of one who, like the God of Israel, is master of storms and the sea and at the mention of whose name every knee must bend.” (Ibid., p. 137, fn. 202; bold emphasis mine)

The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, which is another rather liberal, critical reference, concurs with Brown.

Here is what it states in reference to the Markan version of this miraculous story:

(b) WALKING ON THE WATERS (6:45-52). The approach to this story as an epiphany/theophany is most consistent with Mark’s presentation. The twin focus is Jesus and the disciples: (1) The divine identity of Jesus is suggested by his walking on the waters, his passing by them, and his words, “It is I” … The OT portrays walking on water as a divine function (see Job 9:8; 38:16). The representation of Jesus as walking on water thus carries an implicit claim about his divinity. he wanted to pass by them: The implicit christological claim is strengthened by the use of the vb. parelthein, which was linked with the theophany tradition in the LXX (see Exod 33:19,22; 34:6; 1 Kgs 19:11). Its appearance in the LXX of Amos 7:8; 8:2 also suggests that Jesus desired to help his disciples in their difficulty… I am He: In the context of self-disclosure and theophany, this phrase must allude to the OT revelation formula (Exod 3:14; Deut 32:39; Isa 41:4; 43:10) applied to Yahweh, thus contributing to the implicit christological message of the text. The formula ego eimi is prominent in John… (NJBC, eds. Raymond E. Brown, SS, Joseph A Fitzmyer, S.J., Roland E. Murphy, O. Carm [Prentice Hall; Englewood Cliffs, NJ], p. 611); bold emphasis mine)

Further notice the comments of the following English version of the Holy Bible:

w. 6:50 It is I, do not be afraid!: literally, “I am.” This may reflect the divine revelatory formula of Ex 3:14; Is 41:4, 10, 14; 43:1–3, 10, 13. Mark implies the hidden identity of Jesus as Son of God. (NABRE)

This concludes the first segment. Lord willing, I shall have more examples in the subsequent parts in this series.

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