The Bible Societies are guilty of sins of omission. By sins of omission I’m not referring to the KJVers’ claim that the Bible societies tampered with the Sacred Writ. Instead, I refer to the fact that by not making an electronic version of the Bible texts freely available on the Internet they have allowed poor quality translations to fill the vacuum. Our Bible Societies exist to propagate God’s Word as widely and as accurately as possible. But by not freely sharing electronic versions of their texts they have caused a proliferation of inaccurate translations and source texts. There are a couple of bright spots on the horizon but they are both not from Bible societies. First, the ESV is widely distributed for free in a myriad of formats. The result is that it has shown up on the computers of people who might prefer the NIV but can’t get a free version of it. The NET Bible is another translation that has made excellent use of free distribution to fuel its sales and acceptance. (In their favor, I will say that the Contemporary English Version is an excellent translation that Societies have allowed to be redistributed freely.)

A cursory examination of the archive at Crosswire shows antiquated and inaccurate translations*, most of them based on the worst Greek texts (I’m not qualified to speak about Hebrew). The Greek texts themselves are out-dated and inaccurate. And this same heritage of archaisms and inaccuracy continues right through dictionaries, commentaries and more. Essentially, the potential Bible student is offered outdated scholarship and a mishmash of texts to choose from. In a vacuum of excellence, mediocrity is the norm. I don’t wish to suggest that Scrivener’s 1811 and Strong’s Concordance and Matthew Henry’s Commentary are without merit. But I am not being slanderous in asserting that no modern scholar uses these because better options are available. And the vast majority of pastors and teachers use better and newer manuscripts and more comprehensive concordances and commentaries simply by using the newer translations and the study and devotional Bibles produced for these translations.

* Please note that I don’t intend any disrespect for the SWORD project which is doing its best despite the Bible translation bottleneck.

The most disadvantaged students of the Bible are presented, through economic necessity or lack of other options, with the worst Bible resources. God bless you. Go in peace. Be warmed and be filled. We send away those hungriest for God’s Word with empty promises called mission statements and then dump bounty on the already gorged through yet one more specialty Bible publication for those able to pay the price. I’m tired of seeing the hungry chewing on gristle while a sated few get to feast on God’s Word packaged and repackaged in ever more tantalizing formats.

What needs to be done?

1. The United Bible Societies need to take action across the board to make sure that the best translations are available for every language in a widely shareable format. This includes two types of translations: formal and idiomatic when possible, and the best editions of the original Bible editions in Hebrew and Greek.
2. Failing that, individual Bible Societies must take it upon themselves to make as many translations available as possible.
3. Failing that, individuals with access to electronic copies of the best Bible translations must risk litigation, break copyrights and distribute publicly God’s Word in as many languages as possible.

I have been encouraged to circulate a petition, but I feel it would be far better to ask those who care about this topic to write about it on blogs, Facebook and Twitter. I’ve linked below to several people who have already shown their support by blogging about this topic. Thank you.

See also:

Nora McNamara: What he said

Peter Kirk: The electronic Bible shouldn’t only be for a privileged few

Eddie Arthur: Bible Feast and Bible Famine

Mark Horne: Intellectual property seems more like a state invention than God’s idea

Dr. Claude Mariottini: Holding the Bible Hostage

Sans Blogue: Shame on Bible Societies

Jim West: I’m With Dave and Tim On This One

Bayly Blog: Copyright law again used to deny God’s Word to Portuguese believers…

Here at Lingamish:

Illegal sources of the Portuguese Bible in digital format

Logos.com hawks luxury Bibles while the world starves for God’s Word

Ezekiel and the Submarine