Norman, then when Whitetiger challenged the idea, why did you reaffirm it? What does that even mean that the Bible is God in the "figurative sense"? That is a strange sounding claim.
Now I'm not a translator. I just read a ton about this stuff and occasionally talk to translators and those that work for the publishing companies.
Translators do use the Septuagint in their translations. Look at the multiple footnotes that mention it. I'm assuming that you mean why isn't it the base for the entire OT. The OT is a Hebrew and Aramaic document. I assume that would be the main reason. On this, I would venture that you and I agree that would be the reason.
Where we differ is you don't seem to think the Septuagint has any place at all in translating. My guess would be that the scholars would say that since copies of the Septuagint are many centuries older than the oldest available Hebrew, notable differences are noted in footnotes and differences that fix apparent errors in the Hebrew (such as Ahaziah's age) are incorporated into the text.
They are, just not in the way you think they should be. All versions of the Septuagint that I own list differences. I don't know or claim they list them all. So why print multiple versions of the Septuagint? Why not print one and list differences in the footnotes?
What I see your request as being is like requesting they print a Nestle-Aland 27th and United Bible Society 3rd of every single Greek manuscript. Why do that? The costs would be mammoth for what isn't a large market anyway. The average Christian doesn't buy the Septuagint or Greek texts. The average Christian probably barely reads their Bible. Why print multiple copies when the info can be placed in notes and save a ton of costs?
And I think that's a big factor in this discussion. A lot of these things would be nice to have. However, all of this costs money. A lot of money. And how many copies of these would be sold to recover the costs? Not many at all. This isn't greed on anyone's part. It's just practicality. Front the money and I'm sure someone would do it.
Let me reply with a question of my own. Why do the next fifty not contain most of the New Testament? That's an important point isn't it? If they don't contain most of the New Testament, what's the big surprise they don't contain an Old Testament?
I think those are reasonable, fair shots at answering those questions. Next time I talk to a professional translator, or person in the Bible publishing industry I'll ask if I remember.
Now, let me lay some ground work and ask a question or three.
Textual issues
The autographs are the Word of God. Any change to them constitutes a change to the Word of God. If you disagree with that, let me know. I'm assuming you agree with that.
We don't have the autographs.
Every manuscript has errors.
Every translation has errors.
The Bible never promises inerrant manuscripts or translations.
Not having the autographs, this is where the field of textual criticism comes in. Textual criticism done by Erasmus, a Roman Catholic, along with follow up work of Beza and Stephanus is the basis for the KJV NT.
So every translation comes from textual criticism.
Textual criticism is the field for determining what the autographs said. It's not a monolith. Not everyone in the field agrees on everything. However, there is way more agreement than disagreement.
Translation issues
How to translate isn't a monolith either. The KJV itself is not a word-for-word translation. The KJV adds a lot of words. Many times they are italicized. Many times there are what could be called "free" translations in the KJV or what KJV adherents would call paraphrases if it were in another version.
So in places like those, did the KJV "change the word of God"? If one says "no", then one shouldn't have an issue when modern versions don't render something word-for-word but do "free" translating.
Having laid that ground work, back to a group of questions I and other have asked multiple times and frankly, is the first question that must be asked for your claim of changing the Word of God . . .
What are you calling the "Word of God"? When you say the Word of God is changed, you must appeal to something. It's not the originals. It could be a reconstruction based on textual criticism. However, you don't like textual criticism even thought the KJV itself came from textual criticism. So if you reject that field, do you have one manuscript that is the standard? If so, which one and why? Do you have one translation that is the standard? If so, how and why did that become the standard?
Simply, what is the standard "Word of God" you measure the changes by and how did you choose that standard?





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