In the preface to his translation of the New Testament, The New Testament for Everyone, N.T. Wright answers the question, “Why do we need another translation of the Bible?” Fair question, especially at this stage. Depending on who you ask (and what you consider to be an official “translation” rather than a paraphrase), there are between 450 and 900 English translations on the market today, with more than 100 of these having been produced in the last 25 years alone. With such a proliferation of Bibles available to readers, I suppose one answer Wright could offer would be, “What’s the harm in one more?” But that’s not the response he chooses.

Instead, Wright argues that translation has been the characteristic activity of the church since the beginning. On the Day of Pentecost, as God’s Spirit filled the followers of Jesus, the mission was carried forward in the proclamation of God’s Gospel. This Spirit-filled annunciation took the form of various languages so that those assembled on that day could have access to the public truth of God’s crucified and raised Messiah. This universal message was appropriately contextualized in the tongues of the day. As Paul will say in Romans 10:14, “How are they to hear without someone preaching?” Parenthetically, we grasp what is implied: “and how are they to hear the preaching unless it is translated into language they understand?”

Wright argues that each generation ought to be about the work of translating the Bible. This work constantly requires fresh, contemporary language. The staunchly conservative crowd will surely cross their arms at this, at least at first. Are you saying we have nothing to learn from those who have gone before us? Of course not. That’s hardly Wright’s point. He doesn’t argue that each generation should throw out everything that has come before and start from scratch. But he does bring up a point that few Bible readers ever consider — at least in my opinion. Each generation needs its own translation, not because the timeless message of God has changed, but precisely because language patterns and usages change ALL THE TIME. The worst thing we can do (with apologies to the KJV crowd) is make the life-giving message of God’s Word archaic and inaccessible. We need Bible translations which adhere to the best principles of exegesis and hermeneutics, but these same translations must always be laboring to express the biblical message in easily understandable terms. We will never come to know what the text “means” if we don’t have adequate contemporary language with which to express it.

Just as Jesus taught us to pray for our daily bread, our bread for each day, we can never simply live on yesterday’s bread, on the interpretations and translations of previous generations.

Wright, The Bible for Everyone, p.928