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As a preacher of the Bible, I cringe when I hear other preachers say phrases like “this particular word is better translated _______.” The reality is that there may be good reason for the preacher to disagree with a particular word choice, but what seems to be communicated with the above statement is “you can’t trust your Bible.” As a preacher of the Bible, the last thing I want to communicate is that you can’t trust your Bible, or that you need a fancy degree to understand the word of God. As I need to remind myself all the time, “letters” behind my name (from a degree) aren’t everything.

The reality is that many Bible translations, and probably the ones you prefer and use, are the result of a committee of men and women who have dedicated their lives to studying, teaching, and translating the Scriptures. They read, write, and live the world of ancient languages and customs, long-dead civilizations, and complex background issues. Furthermore, they must be adept at modern culture as they seek to communicate the ancient truth of words written thousands of years ago to a contemporary audience.

Therefore I was delighted to see the following video. I first learned about it from Denny Burk’s blog. About the video, Denny wrote,

Last year the ESV translation committee met at Tyndale House in Cambridge, England to discuss revisions to the ESV. The BBC filmed a portion of their deliberations, and the video above includes their discussion about how to translate doulos in 1 Corinthians 7. The video gives fascinating insight into how translation committees do their work and deal with disagreements over translation. In the end, the committee votes 9-3 to change four instances of “slave” to “bondservant” in 1 Corinthians 7.

Among those participating in the discussion are Peter Williams, Gordon Wenham, Jack Collins, Wayne Grudem and Paul House. Lane Dennis is there as well as Justin Taylor, Bruce Winter, Clint Arnold, and J. I. Packer.

As you can see, each of the scholars presenting opinions have prepared their own individual conclusions on the matter (think research paper), and then after all the “papers” have been shared, the committee votes on the changes. This kind of revision is done periodically with all major translations, otherwise the language quickly becomes unhelpful in communicating to the culture.

Enjoy the video.

This is the passage in question, with the current ESV text of 1 Corinthians 7:20–23:

Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called. Were you a slave when called? Do not be concerned about it. (But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity.) For he who was called in the Lord as a slave is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when called is a slave of Christ. You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men.

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