Geological ages ago, when I was a student preacher, I read the text for one Sunday sermon from the Greek New Testament, translating as I went. After church one member of the audience asked me, "What Bible did you read from?" Proudly I told him, "That was the original Greek." He sniffed, "Hmm. Didn't sound much like the King James."

In the church circles where I spend most of my time today, we do not argue about which Bible translation to use. (We find other things to argue about.) But most of us know that some believers care very much about this issue, to the extent that we sometimes see bumper stickers that read, "If it ain't King James, it ain't Bible." 

Even though a segment of the church believes that only one legitimate English Bible exists, the rest of us know that in the truest sense, "Bible" means the Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic histories, songs, prophecies, biographies, letters, and so on, that we Christians honor as inspired, authoritative, and sufficient for our faith and life. In every time and place, people who do not read the ancient languages depend on translations into their mother tongue to understand God's word. And in some languages, more than one translation exists.

Of the many ways we can justify multiple translations, this essay focuses on one: Since the Gospels themselves present Jesus' sayings and deeds in various wordings, present-day Bible translations may legitimately do the same.

The Greek Gospels themselves often present Jesus' words in translation. Most scholars agree that Jesus used Aramaic as his mother tongue, along with Hebrew or Greek as the situation demanded (Wise, 1992). In a few cases the Gospel writers quote Jesus directly as he spoke Hebrew or Aramaic:

1. Talitha koum ("Little girl, get up") - Mark 5:41     
2. Ephphatha ("Be opened") - Mark 7:34
3. El(o)i el(o)i lema sabachthani ("My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?") - Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34

Apart from these examples, the rest of Jesus' words have come down to us in Greek. Perhaps he spoke some of them in Greek, as when he testified before Pontius Pilate (Matt 27; Mk 15; Lk 23; Jn 18), for Pilate likely knew Latin and Greek but no Aramaic or Hebrew. If so, those words could represent exact quotations of what Jesus said in Greek. But when Jesus taught Galilean villagers - farmers, fishermen, housewives and such - he no doubt spoke Aramaic, and the Gospel records of those teachings appeared in Greek. This means that already, before the end of the first century, Jesus' followers published some of his sayings in translation.

A well-known passage in the so-called triple tradition (where Matthew, Mark, and Luke all record the same incident) will illustrate how Jesus' original Aramaic words have come into Greek in different forms: the account of the healing of the woman with a hemorrhage (Matt 9:20-22; Mk 5:25-34; Lk 8:43-48). Jesus' first recorded words in this incident address the woman who touched his cloak: "Who touched my clothes?" (Mark) or "Who is the one who touched me?" (Luke). Here we see the same saying expressed in different words.

After the woman admits touching him and testifies to her healing, Jesus says:

• "Take heart, daughter, your faith has made you whole" (Matthew).
• "Daughter, your faith has made you whole.  Go in peace and be healed from your illness" (Mark).
• "Daughter, your faith has made you whole.  Go in peace" (Luke).

Adding these words together, we get a fuller idea of what Jesus said: "Take heart, daughter, your faith has made you whole. Go in peace and be healed from your illness." Here we see not translation variants but the three writers' different selection of Jesus' words from a larger utterance. In one of the clauses, "Your faith has made you whole," the three writers use exactly the same Greek words: hē pistis sou sesōken se. In another clause, "Go in peace," the writers use trivially different words: hypage eis eirēnēn (Mark) versus poreuou eis eirēnēn (Luke).

These examples do not tell serious Bible students anything they did not already know. However, the examples remind us that in any given Gospel passage we might not always have the ipsissima verba (the exact words) of Jesus, but we do have his ipsissima vox (the very voice). Just as the Greek writers expressed what he said in varying wording, so do the English translators. It does not matter that Jesus' words to the just-healed woman come out differently in different English Bibles:

• "Your faith has healed you" (NIV, REB).
• "Your faith has made you well" (NASB, NKJV, GNT, NRSV).
• "You are now well because of your faith" (CEV).
• "Thy faith hath made thee whole" (KJV).

The task of translating Jesus' words began earlier than we might have thought. In the decades following the Resurrection, Jesus' followers already translated his words and passed them on and wrote them down. Our English Bible translators stand at the other end of this process.

Sources:

Wise, M. O. (1992). Languages of Palestine. Pp. 434-444 in Joel B. Green and Scot McKnight, eds., Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press.