Wednesday is Westminster Confession of Faith day! Last week we focused on the perspicuity of Scripture and found that while there are some sections of Scripture that are difficult to understand and can be twisted by a certain type of person, the things pertaining to our salvation are so clear that ordinary people by ordinary means of careful reading can understand them. Today we look at the issue of original languages and translations.

VIII. 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 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.

The first thing the framers of the Confession alert us to is the importance of the original languages. The Old Testament was written in Hebrew (mainly) and the New Testament in Greek. It is to the original languages that we must go for final appeal when there is a controversy over what the Scriptures say, as these are the words ‘immediately inspired by God.’ This was written into a context where the Roman Catholic Church relied on the Latin Vulgate, a translation with some serious flaws. It’s also important to note that the framers saw the way God’s inspired Word had been kept pure by His providence. Despite the period of time between the original writings and now, we have remarkable witness in the manuscripts that testify to the accuracy of the transcription process. This is best exemplified by the finding of manuscripts at Qumran, which although about 1000 years older than the ones possessed at the time, were remarkably consistent with them.

Secondly, the writers of the Confession wanted to highlight another error of the Roman Catholic church of the time. They realised that while it was important for scholars to be able to go back to the original languages, this was not possible for the vast majority of the common people. Therefore, it was deemed right and helpful for the Scriptures to be translated into the ‘vulgar’ (or common) language of every nation to which the faith came. This would allow ordinary and less-schooled Christians to be able to let God’s Word dwell in them richly. This was something that the Roman Catholic Church was not so keen on in those days, but now is in agreement with the Reformers on.