The Bible is ... Bible translations

As is commonly believed, the essence of the Bible is stated in the verse: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."

What is the Bible?

The Bible is a set of religious texts related to Judaism and Christianity and recognized in these religions as sacred. The texts proclaimed by the confessions are called canonical. In Christianity, the Bible consists of two significant parts - the Old and New Testaments. In Judaism, the New Testament does not recognize how everything controversial with Christ is disputed. Its very existence is questioned or accepted with great reservations.

Old Testament

The Old Testament refers to the portion of the Bible that was created in the pre-Christian era. This also applies to the beliefs of the Jews. The covenant consists of several dozen books, the number of which differs in Christianity and Judaism. The books are divided into three sections. The first is called "Law", the second - "Prophets", and the third - "The Scriptures." The first section is also called the "Pentateuch of Moses" or "Torah". The Jewish tradition elevates him to the recording of Moses' divine revelation on Mount Sinai. The books of the section "Prophets" include scriptures created during the period from the exodus from Egypt to the Babylonian captivity. The books of the third section are attributed to King Solomon and are sometimes called the Greek term - psalms.

New Testament

The books of the New Testament constitute the second part of the Christian Bible. They refer to the period of the earthly existence of Jesus Christ, his sermons and messages to his Apostle disciples. The basis of the New Testament is the Gospels - from Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The authors of the books, called "evangelists," were disciples of Christ and direct witnesses of his life, the crucifixion and the miraculous Resurrection. Each of them describes the events connected with Christ in his own way, depending on what was identified as the main one. The Gospels convey the words of Jesus, his sermons and parables. The most recent in time of creation is the Gospel of John. It to some extent complements the first three books. An important place in the New Testament is occupied by the books of the Acts of the Holy Apostles and Epistles, as well as the Revelations of John the Divine. The Epistles reflect the interpretation of the Christian teaching from the Apostles to the church communities of that era. And the Revelation of John the Divine, also called the Apocalypse, gives a prophetic prediction of the Second Coming of the Savior and the End of the World. The Book of Acts of the Holy Apostles refers to the period that followed the Ascension of Christ. It, unlike the other sections of the New Testament, has the form of a historical chronology and describes the terrain on which events developed and the people who participated in them. In addition to the canonical books of the New Testament, there are also apocrypha not recognized by the Church. Some of them are referred to heretical literature, others are considered insufficiently reliable. Apocrypha is mainly of historical interest, contributing to the understanding of the formation of Christian doctrine and its canons.

The Place of the Bible in World Religions

The books that make up the Bible are not only Judaic and Christian traditions. They have no less significance for Muslims, in which part of the revelations and persons whose actions are described are acknowledged. Muslims recognize as prophets not only the Old Testament characters, for example Abraham and Moses, but also consider the prophet and Christ. Biblical texts are related in their meaning to the verses of the Quran, and they serve as a confirmation of the truth of the teaching. The Bible is the source of religious revelation common to the three world religions. Thus, the largest confessions of the world are closely connected with the Book of Books and recognize what was said in it as the basis of their religious worldview.

First translations of the Bible

Different parts of the Bible were created at different times. The oldest legends of the Old Testament were written in Hebrew, and some later - in Aramaic, which was the colloquial dialect of "Jewish street". The New Testament was recorded in the dialectal version of the ancient Greek language. With the spread of Christianity and the teaching of doctrine among different nations, a need arose to translate the Bible into the most accessible languages of its time. The first known translation was the Latin version of the New Testament. This version is called the Vulgate. Early Bible translations include books in Coptic, Gothic, Armenian and some others.

The Bible in the languages of Western Europe

The Roman Catholic Church was negative about translating the Bible into other languages. It was believed that this would disrupt the transmission of the meaning of Holy Scripture, caused by the difference in terminology inherent in unlike languages. Therefore, the translation of the Bible into German and English became not only an event in the field of linguistics, but also reflected significant changes in the Christian world. The German translation of the Bible was carried out by Martin Luther, the founder of Protestantism. His activities led to a deep split in the Catholic Church, the creation of a number of Protestant currents, which today constitute a significant part of Christianity. The English translations of the Bible, created from the fourteenth century, also formed the basis for the separation of some Christians around the Anglican Church and the formation of individual Protestant teachings.

Church Slavonic translation

An important milestone in the spread of Christianity was the translation of the Bible into the Old Slavonic language, executed by the monks Cyril and Methodius in the ninth century AD. E. The retelling of the liturgical texts from the Greek language required the solution of several problems. First of all, it was necessary to determine the graphics system, to create an adapted version of the alphabet. Although Cyril and Methodius are considered authors of the Russian alphabet, it is quite convincing that they used the already existing sign systems used in the Slavic script, standardizing them to their task. The second problem (perhaps even more important) was the adequate transfer of the meanings, expressed in the Bible by Greek terms, to the words of the Slavonic language. Since this was not always possible to implement, a significant array of Greek terms was introduced into circulation through the Bible, which received unambiguous interpretations through the disclosure of their meaning in the Slavonic interpretation. Thus, the Old Slavic language of the Bible, supplemented by the conceptual apparatus of Greek terminology, formed the basis of the so-called Church Slavonic language.

Russian translation

Although the Old Slavonic is the basis of late-time languages, spoken by many peoples, over time, differences are accumulated between the generally available modern language and the original basis. It becomes difficult for people to understand the meaning conveyed by words that come out of everyday use. Therefore, the adaptation of the source text to modern versions of the language is considered a difficult task. Translations of the Bible into modern Russian were carried out repeatedly, beginning with the XIX century. The first of them was carried out in the second half of the century. The Russian Bible was called "synodal", as the translation was approved by the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church. It conveys not only the actual side associated with the life and preaching of Christ, but also the spiritual content of his views with words understood by the contemporary. The Bible in Russian is intended to facilitate the current person the correct interpretation of the meaning of the events described. Religion operates with concepts that sometimes differ significantly from the usual domestic terminology, and the disclosure of the inner meaning of phenomena or interconnections of the spiritual world requires profound knowledge not only in Church Slavonic and Russian languages, but also a special mystical content that is conveyed in words. The new Bible, translated into Russian, makes it possible to continue the transmission of the Christian tradition in society, using available terminology and preserving continuity with the ascetics and theologians of former times.

The Satanic Bible

The influence of Christianity on society caused a reaction from the opponents of religion. In contrast to the Bible, doctrines were created, clothed in texts of a similar form, some of which are called satanic (another term is the Black Bible). The authors of these treatises, some of which were created in antiquity, preach value priorities that radically oppose the rastianism and preaching of Jesus. They are the basis of many heretical teachings. The Black Bible affirms the uniqueness and supremacy of the real world, placing man with his passions and aspirations in his center. The satisfaction of one's own instincts and needs is declared the only sense of a brief earthly existence, and any forms and actions are acceptable for this. Despite the materialism of Satanism, he recognizes the existence of the other world. But in relation to him, the right of the earthly man to manipulate or control the essences of this world is preached to serve his own passions.

The Bible in Modern Society

Christianity is one of the most widespread religious teachings in the modern world. This position is held by him for a considerable time - at least more than a thousand years. The teaching of Christ, which the Bible gives, covenants and parables constitute the moral and ethical basis of civilization. Therefore, the Bible became the most famous book in world history. It is translated into almost all modern languages and to many obsolete adverbs. Thus, ninety percent of the world's population can read it. The Bible is, in addition, the main source of knowledge about Christianity.