WCF 1.8 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 authentical; so as, in all controversies of religion, the Church is finally to appeal unto 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 unto 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.
This is what Genesis 1:2 looks like in Hebrew.
This is what 1 Corinthians 13 looks like in Greek.
The Bible was originally written in both Hebrew and Greek with the tiniest portions of Aramaic. These languages were providentially chosen by God to preserve his whole counsel. Hebrew was the language of the nation of Israel and then Judah. Greek was a bit like our English language today since the Greek was the business language of the world and if you went to another country at the time of Christ you could hope that some of the people would speak Greek. This is also why Jesus and the disciples quoted from the Septuagint which is the Greek translation of the Old Testament.
Matthew 5:18 says, "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."
JOT, n. [ Heb. yod.] An iota; a point; a tittle; the least quantity assignable.
TITTLE, n. [from tit, small.] A small particle; a minute part; a jot; an iota.
A quick search on wikipedia for tittle also yields this information:
"A tittle is a small distinguishing mark, such as a diacritic or the dot on a lowercase i or j. The tittle is an integral part of the glyph of i and j, but diacritic dots can appear over other letters in various languages...
In the Greek original translated as English "jot and tittle" are found the words iota and keraia (Greek: κεραία).[1] Iota is the smallest letter of the Greek alphabet (ι). Alternatively, it may represent yodh (י), the smallest letter of the Hebrew and Aramaic alphabets. "Keraia" is a hook or serif, possibly referring to other Greek diacritics, or possibly to the hooks on Hebrew or Aramaic letters, (ב) versus (כ)..."
If not one iota, small particle, minute part, jot, tittle, the smallest letter of the Greek or Hebrew alphabet, or the dot above the letter i or j shall be lost or forgotten until heaven and earth pass and all be fulfilled we can confidently assert that God MUST preserve his word or this verse would be impossible. If the preservation of God's whole counsel was left up to us, we would have been bound to make a mistake and make mistakes upon mistakes until the entire Word of God was corrupted. Yet Christ promised that no small part of the law would pass away until all be fulfilled. So we must have a copy of the scriptures that is preserved in its original form.
It is the Hebrew and the Greek that were originally inspired by God and it was of these languages that it was promised that not one jot or one tittle should depart. So when the Church has a controversy over a part of scripture that has been translated into a 'vulgar' language, the only court of appeal is the scriptures in the original languages.
The people of God are commanded to read and search the scriptures. John 5:39 says, "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me." Jesus commanded us to search the scriptures, but how are we to search the scriptures if we cannot read Hebrew or Greek? The Roman Catholics have translations of the Bible in Latin, but not many people can read it. The only way for the common person to know what the Latin Bible says is for the priest to read the Bible and then translate it into the common language. This severely limits the ability of the Christian to search the scriptures on their own.
In 1 Corinthians 14:6-28, Paul admonishes those that speak in tongues that are unknown to the average person in that place. He tells the Corinthians to interpret these sayings and if there is no one there to interpret these sayings, then the person is to keep his peace. Not only does this verse allow for the translation of prophecy, but it requires it for the edification of others. What does it profit us if a man reads to us a portion of the scriptures in Hebrew or Greek? We cannot understand it and neither would it edify us unless a man translates or interprets it for us. Could there be any greater interpretation of the scriptures than a complete translation of the Bible that has stayed faithful to the original languages?
This section finishes by quoting Romans 15:4, "For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope."
This is what Genesis 1:2 looks like in Hebrew.
This is what 1 Corinthians 13 looks like in Greek.
The Bible was originally written in both Hebrew and Greek with the tiniest portions of Aramaic. These languages were providentially chosen by God to preserve his whole counsel. Hebrew was the language of the nation of Israel and then Judah. Greek was a bit like our English language today since the Greek was the business language of the world and if you went to another country at the time of Christ you could hope that some of the people would speak Greek. This is also why Jesus and the disciples quoted from the Septuagint which is the Greek translation of the Old Testament.
Matthew 5:18 says, "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."
JOT, n. [ Heb. yod.] An iota; a point; a tittle; the least quantity assignable.
TITTLE, n. [from tit, small.] A small particle; a minute part; a jot; an iota.
A quick search on wikipedia for tittle also yields this information:
"A tittle is a small distinguishing mark, such as a diacritic or the dot on a lowercase i or j. The tittle is an integral part of the glyph of i and j, but diacritic dots can appear over other letters in various languages...
In the Greek original translated as English "jot and tittle" are found the words iota and keraia (Greek: κεραία).[1] Iota is the smallest letter of the Greek alphabet (ι). Alternatively, it may represent yodh (י), the smallest letter of the Hebrew and Aramaic alphabets. "Keraia" is a hook or serif, possibly referring to other Greek diacritics, or possibly to the hooks on Hebrew or Aramaic letters, (ב) versus (כ)..."
If not one iota, small particle, minute part, jot, tittle, the smallest letter of the Greek or Hebrew alphabet, or the dot above the letter i or j shall be lost or forgotten until heaven and earth pass and all be fulfilled we can confidently assert that God MUST preserve his word or this verse would be impossible. If the preservation of God's whole counsel was left up to us, we would have been bound to make a mistake and make mistakes upon mistakes until the entire Word of God was corrupted. Yet Christ promised that no small part of the law would pass away until all be fulfilled. So we must have a copy of the scriptures that is preserved in its original form.
It is the Hebrew and the Greek that were originally inspired by God and it was of these languages that it was promised that not one jot or one tittle should depart. So when the Church has a controversy over a part of scripture that has been translated into a 'vulgar' language, the only court of appeal is the scriptures in the original languages.
The people of God are commanded to read and search the scriptures. John 5:39 says, "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me." Jesus commanded us to search the scriptures, but how are we to search the scriptures if we cannot read Hebrew or Greek? The Roman Catholics have translations of the Bible in Latin, but not many people can read it. The only way for the common person to know what the Latin Bible says is for the priest to read the Bible and then translate it into the common language. This severely limits the ability of the Christian to search the scriptures on their own.
In 1 Corinthians 14:6-28, Paul admonishes those that speak in tongues that are unknown to the average person in that place. He tells the Corinthians to interpret these sayings and if there is no one there to interpret these sayings, then the person is to keep his peace. Not only does this verse allow for the translation of prophecy, but it requires it for the edification of others. What does it profit us if a man reads to us a portion of the scriptures in Hebrew or Greek? We cannot understand it and neither would it edify us unless a man translates or interprets it for us. Could there be any greater interpretation of the scriptures than a complete translation of the Bible that has stayed faithful to the original languages?
This section finishes by quoting Romans 15:4, "For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope."
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